What a productive salary drive by Melky Cabrera.

By getting MLB and the players' union to buy into his plan to withdraw from the batting race, Cabrera suddenly earned points among teams who'd consider him as a free agent.

Not the Giants, of course.

I was told general manager Brian Sabean has a better chance of giving Bengie Molina a uniform than Cabrera.

In other words, that ship has sailed.

Dishonorable exit aside, you don't throw a warm body into the playoffs ahead of men who got you there. Too great of a risk. Cabrera hasn't seen a major-league pitch since Aug. 14.

After five games in the postseason, he'll be reinstated, per MLB rules, and the Giants can activate him. Or not. We know which way management is leaning.

Cabrera admitted a batting title would be "tainted" and knew he'd look worse if old mate Buster Posey is runner-up in the race, a percentage point or two behind.

So Cabrera decided to bow out and got the establishment to back him.

No matter what baseball officials say, by traditional standards, the batting crown will be Cabrera's if no one hits higher than .346. Commissioner Bud Selig should know that. "You can't change records," he said two days before trying to change records.

Baseball tried to pardon a cheater, but you can't wipe out .346, like you can't wipe out 70 (Mark McGwire, 1998) or 73 (Barry Bonds, 2001) or 40-40 (Jose Canseco, 1988). Those are the numbers. Those are the facts.