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As hard as it may seem, put aside any thoughts you have regarding Melky Cabrera and his PED suspension at the end of the 2012 season.

Regardless of his indiscretions, Cabrera is a viable option to play the outfield at Fenway Park.

As a reminder, in his 113 games in 2012, Cabrera owned a .346/.390/.516/.906 batting line with 159 hits, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs and 60 RBI while walking 36 times versus 63 strikeouts.

His power and swing were seemingly built for Fenway. Taking a closer look at his 11 home runs in 2012, eight of them would have been towering shots over the Green Monster onto Lansdowne Street, as reflected on ESPN’s Home Run Tracker website.

In his career, Cabrera has played in 39 games at Fenway Park, resulting in 141 total at-bats with 42 hits, seven doubles, a home run and 16 RBI while posting a .298/.348/.369/.717 batting line.

Additionally, against the Red Sox’s AL East opponents, Cabrera has played in 213 career games with 719 at-bats, 196 hits, 42 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs and 92 RBI on the heels of a .270/.345/.496/.841 batting line.

Not bad numbers for a guy facing one of the toughest divisions in all of Major League Baseball.

While there is complete uncertainty in the outfield heading into the 2013 season, Cabrera could likely be had for relatively short money.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman posted a blog whereby he and an “unnamed expert” take a shot at predicting what most free agents will end up signing for.

According to Heyman, Cabrera could possibly land a two-year deal, but both he and his anonymous expert foresee a one-year deal. The expert anticipates for $6 million while Heyman thinks $8 million.

Either figure would be one the Red Sox could easily afford and willingly embrace on a one-year deal.

As with the Adrian Beltre signing of 2010, the team could bring Cabrera to town to enhance his value and seek a larger contract after the 2013 season.

If Cody Ross should opt to go elsewhere, Cabrera could offer solid production at a fairly reasonable cost for a team that will still be in transition mode next season.

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With every day that passes, more and more free-agent rumors start to swirl about.

Josh Hamilton is far from exempt from these rumors. After having made his demands last week of a seven-year $175 million contract, several teams have either had their interest peaked or have shied away completely.

Hamilton is a fascinating case. He is a prolific baseball talent whom has been haunted by his personal demons in the past. He is in what many consider to be in the latter portion of his prime while seeking a long-term big-money contract.

Sure enough, someone will pay the man.

Here’s the latest on some teams that have been tied to Hamilton recently.

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During the free agency winter of 2012, there is no more sought after starting pitcher than Zack Greinke.

While he has made no public declaration of exactly what he is seeking in terms of contract, one thing is certain: it will be sizeable.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman and an “unnamed expert source” collaborated on an article to predict what the top free agents will sign for.

Heyman believes Greinke will received six years and $150 million while his expert source agrees with the six years, he foresees a $147 million contract.

In other words, somewhere between $24.5 and $25 million annually.

Should he end up receiving that type of contract, Greinke would be one of the top five earning players in Major League Baseball. Dependent upon the structure of the contract, the only starting pitcher that could earn more in 2013 is Johan Santana.

Not bad for a player with a career 3.77 ERA and a 1.247 WHIP.

Here is the latest on his suitors.

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The Boston Red Sox have been suffering from an identity crisis. 

Yes, this is in part referring to the fact that they finished in the basement of the American League East this season, a feat they had not accomplished since 1993. 

In 1993, Boston still managed to post a record of 80-82, something Sox fans would have been more accepting of instead of the 69-93 record they “earned” this season. That equates to a cool .426 winning percentage. 

The last time the Red Sox had a worse winning percentage was in 1965, when the team went 62-100 for a .383 winning percentage. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office. The Bay of Pigs invasion had not even taken place yet and Elvis Presley was back from war, making music once again. 

In other words, it’s been awhile since the team has been this bad. 

These are the Boston Red Sox after all, aren’t they? 

The problem that exists with the identity of this team has been the front office’s inability to actually identity the right kind of player for Boston. 

Allow me to clarify. 

In some situations, the front office has opted to sign players they’ve lusted after (see J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo). 

Such was the case with Adrian Gonzalez. 

No, the team didn’t sign him via free agency. Lucky for Boston they were fortunate, if you can call it that, to have traded for him. Of course, it did cost them talent in the form of Anthony Rizzo and Casey Kelly. 

That said, the team was able to get their power hitting corner infielder and promptly signed him to a large contract extension that would pay him $154 million over seven years for an average annual salary of $22 million per season. 

Ouch. 

Now, if the production was there to warrant such money, it would be another story. The Red Sox coveted a power hitting corner infielder and what they got was a very nice hitting corner infielder. 

The problem: Boston already had their man, and they let him go. 

Since leaving the Red Sox, Adrian Beltre has been every bit the player the Red Sox wanted Adrian Gonzalez to be, and for less money.

Beltre signed with the Texas Rangers in 2011 for five years and $80 million, or an average annual salary of $16 million. 

In the same time that the Red Sox were waiting for Gonzalez to come around and embrace the role they had predetermined for him, Beltre was doing just that in Texas.

Since 2011, Gonzalez played in 282 games for the Red Sox compared to Beltre’s 280 for the Rangers.

That resulted in 1091 at-bats, 177 runs, 338 hits, 66 doubles, two triples, 68 home runs, 207 RBI and 61 base on balls for Beltre in Texas.

As for Gonzalez in Boston, he had 1114 at-bats, 171 runs, 358 hits, 82 doubles, three triples, 42 home runs, 203 RBI and 105 base on balls.

As for their batting lines:

As you can see, the offensive numbers are fairly comparable. Why then were Red Sox fans so disappointed in the performance of Adrian Gonzalez?

It might be as simple as the type of extra base hits. It can’t be the quantity—Beltre only has the edge by nine in that category, 136 to 127 in the course of over 1000 at-bats.

Or it could be the fact that Beltre hit home runs while Gonzalez was busy peppering doubles off of the Green Monster.

Of course, it could be the price tag attached to the double-hitting machine. Red Sox fans know better than most as to what it’s like to overpay for a player that just doesn’t give you what you want or need (again, see J.D. Drew).

The value attributed to Beltre is significant as he owns a 12.3 WAR in the past two seasons versus Gonzalez’s 9.2 in the same period of time (9.9 cumulative if you count his time in Los Angeles.)

While nobody will say that they are glad to see Gonzalez gone, there was a collective sigh of relief when the team was able to absolve itself of so much salary.

Whatever the case may be, Red Sox management missed the boat on the opportunity to build the franchise around solid baseball players like Beltre. 

At this juncture in team history, Red Sox Nation can hope for a realigned sense of player scouting and team ideals. This franchise and fanbase may not be able to stomach another season of mistaken identity.

Follow @THEChrisBenvie

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In the month of September dreams can come true, or they can just as easily be broken.

Right now for any fan of baseball, the month of September has been extremely entertaining. While two division races have been locked up and both the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals have punched their postseason tickets, there are still several teams vying for that playoff berth.

With every passing baseball season a new story is told, often times one that fans never expected.  The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals are evidence of that. Nobody thought they were going to make the playoffs, let alone win the World Series and alas, they accomplished both.

In September and October, Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols powered the offense, combining for a .365 batting average and a .425 OBP.

In other words, they got the job done.

It is those September stars that help propel a team into the playoffs and into baseball lore. While certainly all bets are off once the postseason rolls around, it takes a star in September to ensure the possibility of accomplishing the greater goal—a World Series victory.

There are a couple of caveats to this list. First, I wanted to keep things limited to the modern era of baseball. Therefore, this list only dates back to 1974. Far too many lists are made with the same names upon them. 

Second, quantifying a great player is difficult. As noted with Berkman and Pujols, batting average and OBP may be the most readily comparable split statistics available.

It is also necessary for a control to be evident. For consideration, batters must have a minimum of 500 plate appearances in September.

With that in mind, here is a look at 20 men who would become the greatest performers in the month of September in all of Major League Baseball history.

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Mike Trout will, in all likelihood, win the 2012 American League MVP Award.

With just 118 games under his belt in his rookie season, Trout leads the American League with a .328 batting average and 45 stolen bases. He owns a .393 OBP which is third overall in the AL, second in OPS with .963 and his .570 slugging percentage is third behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera.

Needless to say, the kid is in good company.

Beyond that, he has 27 home runs, 23 doubles and six triples in his 158 hits.

According to Fangraphs, he has a 8.6 WAR rating, while Baseball Reference puts him at a 10.2 WAR.

The evidence is there. Trout is very deserving of the MVP award. However, there are other players that have been playing incredible baseball this season in the AL that should not be overlooked.

Here is a tip of the cap to those players.

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They say that baseball is a young man’s game.

The constant running, training and wear-and-tear placed on a man’s body can be grueling. Over the years, it can cause even the healthiest of men to break down. 

Every so often, there are those players that defy that logic. Some may call it luck, while others consider it good genes; at the end of the day, however, it all boils down to the love of the game.

To take a look at MLB History, there have been numerous players who have managed to stay in the game through their late 30s. At that point, the numbers drop off.

The purpose of this list is to look at those players to managed to play at a high, or fairly high, level after reaching the age of 40.

More so, if they were a position player, they must have put in over 100 games of work. If they’re a pitcher, they must have 100 innings pitched under their belt.

With those caveats in mind, here is a look at the 20 greatest “old guys” in MLB history.

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Thursday in his article for the Providence Journal, Brian MacPherson brought up the excellent point that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have themselves a log-jam of sorts with first baseman.

Obviously, the Angels are not going to be parting ways with Albert Pujols.

After all, he is only one of the greatest players to ever take the field. What’s more, he also is in the first year of a 10-year, $240 million contract that makes him a permanent fixture with the Angels until 2021.

MacPherson lists Kendry Morales as a potential candidate for the Red Sox. Certainly, his potential is attractive, especially considering the cost would be relatively low for him.

During the 2010 season, Morales had a breakout year. He had a career best .306/.355/.569/.924 batting line with 173 hits, 43 doubles, 34 home runs with 108 RBI and 86 runs scored.

In other words, he would be the ideal fit to play in Fenway.

However, in his six seasons in the big leagues, that is the only time Morales has shown that type of production, which makes one weary that the 29-year-old could replicate those numbers in Boston, if even at a low risk salary.

That being said, the Boston Red Sox should absolutely go hard after 26-year-old Mark Trumbo. He is a first baseman by trade being squeezed in as a DH and outfielder where available. The signing of Pujols coupled with the breakout performance of Mike Trout has given Trumbo less value to the Angels than he had one year ago.

In just his second full season for the Angels, Trumbo has proven himself to be a beast on a team full of beasts.

With the Angels, the team has an embarrassment of riches and quality players. It is sort of like trying to pick your favorite Led Zeppelin album, there is just so much good to choose from.

In 278 career games, Trumbo owns a career .262/.308/.491/.799 batting line. This season has truly been his coming out party. He owns a .278/.332/.522/.854 batting line with 128 hits, 30 home runs, 16 doubles and 81 RBI.

To reiterate the fact, he is only 26-years old. His ceiling is nowhere near being reached.

Trumbo, in 34 career games owns a .316/.34/.693/1.038 batting line with four doubles and 13 home runs against the American League East opponents… in their ballparks.

On the whole he has played AL East opponents (not named the Red Sox) 68 times with 15 doubles and 17 home runs, posting a .281/.305/.550/.855 batting line.

In short, he’d be a phenomenal addition to a rebuilt Red Sox lineup in 2013 and would be a guy under team control until 2017.

Don’t be fooled though, he would not come cheap. The Angels would likely be after some more young prospects, however, the Red Sox have plenty to offer up.

Is this a deal that could come to fruition? Possibly. Should it come to fruition? In a perfect world…

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And just like that, Major League Baseball was able to catch its breath.

The 2012 trade deadline was nothing short of explosive on some fronts, while mundane and relatively quiet on others. Some teams, cough, Dodgers, cough, did everything in their power to shake things up, going all-in. Others took a much more conservative approach.

One thing is for certain, the competitive landscape of baseball has certainly seen some power shifts, several of which owed to the moves made this summer.

Here is how each team in baseball did with their in-season moves.

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The Houston Astros own the single worst record in all of Major League Baseball.

At just 40-88, they come across as a pathetic team, despite the fact that they’ve seen their share of injuries to key players such as Jed Lowrie and Francisco Cordero, coupled with the utter disembowelment the team underwent at the trade deadline.

Obviously, they are in the middle of a major overhaul as the team transitions from a National League ball club to an American League team in 2013.

That said, what reason do Astros fans really have to show up for the final 34 games of the season?

This past Saturday, a 50-year-old Roger Clemens toed the rubber for the independent minor league team, the Sugar Land Skeeters.

Prior to the arrival of Clemens, the Skeeters’ biggest star was former two-time American League All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir.

Everything changed when Clemens came to town. The Rocket came in and impressed everyone in 3.1 scoreless innings of work for the Skeeters.

Those on the list of impressed in attendance, Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow.

Clemens saw his fastball hit 88 mph on the radar gun.

Astros owner Jim Crane has made it known that he would be open to bringing back Clemens to pitch for the Astros this season.

In doing so, Roger effectively helps out the Astros organization as well as his own cause.

He gives fans a reason to show up to the ballpark everyday—not to say that the Juice Train isn’t enough cause for excitement on a nightly basis.

The idea of Clemens coming to town would likely help to fill the stadium for at least three games, possibly even four over the remainder of the season.

To date, the Astros rank last among 16 NL teams in attendance on the season, with only 1,310,710 fans having attended Minute Maid Park in 2012. 

If a deal was made today, fans could likely expect to see Clemens pitch against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, September 2nd.

Should the Astros look to capitalize on home-attendance opportunities, Clemens would not pitch again until September 10th against the Cubs. That could be followed up with a start on the 16th against Philadelphia, and finally, one last outing on the 23rd against Pittsburgh or the 24th against the Cardinals.

For Clemens, this could serve two purposes.

Most notably, it would reset the clock on his Hall of Fame ballot. Rather than seeing his name appear this fall for the first time, it would get pushed back five years.

The idea behind this logic is as obvious as it may seem: Hall of Fame voters may be more lenient on steroid era players five years from now.

It would also give fans the chance to have a new lasting image of Clemens. 

Rather than seeing him walking out of a courtroom post congressional appeal, fans could see Roger take the mound one last time and show that age 50, he still has got it.

Could this plan backfire for both parties? Absolutely.

Might it actually be pretty brilliant? Time will have to tell.

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