Miami Herald: Guillen: Expect a slimmer Miquel Cabrera

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‘‘If you see Miguel Cabrera now, you will be surprised,’’ Ozzie Guillen said as the winter meetings kicked off Monday at the sprawling Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel. ``I was in Miami [on Sunday] with him.

``The thing that impressed me the most, every time in the past three offseasons he went down to Venezuela. He’d stay down there, play winter ball and party, and forget about his training. Now he is training every day.’‘

...’‘I thought Miggy was taking himself out of the game,’’ Guillen said of Cabrera’s weight. ``When you’re 24 years old and you’re fat and you perform, you’re good. But when you don’t perform, you are a fat boy. Miggy understands that. Now he is in the best shape he has ever been in.’‘

Guillen would love for Cabrera to wind up with the White Sox.

‘‘He’s on my wish list,’’ said Guillen, a former third-base coach for the Marlins who continues to keep his home in South Florida. ``But if he’s not with the White Sox, I hope he stays in Miami. I love the Marlins. I live in Miami.’‘