Though he is, of course, getting older.  Newly acquired White Sox SS Orlando Cabrera, perhaps taking a tip from Aaliyah’s “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number”, defends himself against charges of decrepitude with the Daily Herald’s Scot Gregor (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory).

“I really believe, if we talk about numbers, every year I keep getting better and better,” said Cabrera, an 11-year veteran. “Age is not an issue. Alex Rodriguez is 32 and no one is concerned about his age. And he just got a 10-year contract.

“I’m comfortable with the way I work my body, and this is just a start. I’m going to have different years in my career, and they are all going to be good.”

“I’m really surprised, and at the same time, really happy and excited,” Cabrera said. “My wife and I really, really, really took this news with a lot of joy. This is a great challenge for me and I’m going to take it as best I can.”

Cabrera broke into the major leagues with Montreal in 1997 and played for the Expos until 2003. In 2001, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was Montreal’s third-base coach.

Cabrera said he knew Guillen before that, and he can’t wait to play for his new manager, a slick-fielding shortstop for the Sox from 1985-97.

“It can’t be better for me,” said Cabrera, a two-time Gold Glove winner. “It’s going to be a great challenge for me, playing for one of the great defensive shortstops of the 1980s and ’90s. I know he’s going to challenge me every single day, and I love that.”