Melky Cabrera is having a better offseason than you

Melky Cabrera could be on his way to the finest offseason ever for a guy caught doping.

First off, Bartolo Colon proved there is life - a lucrative life, at that - after a positive test for testosterone, as he got a nice $1 million raise from the Oakland Athletics to pitch for them in 2013, even as his 2012 ended in shame. So there's a road map to a new gig for Melky - perhaps even at a raise over the $6 million he made in 2012.

Second, though Cabrera's club wanted nothing to do with him in the final two rounds of the playoffs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports he will receive a full playoff share thanks to an obscure union rule tied to the amount of playoff games the Giants played after Cabrera was eligible to return. Last year, a full share was worth $323,000 for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

And finally, the MVP of the All-Star Game may yet walk away with some postseason hardware honoring his fine character.

See, the MLB Players' Alumni Association's "Heart and Hustle" award will be bestowed upon the winner of online balloting, with a representative from all 30 teams.

And guess who the Giants' nominee is?

Yup.

Cabrera was designated the Giants' representative in July, a month before his positive test was revealed. The award is to go to the player who "demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game."

Whoops.

Voting closes at 4 p.m. ET on Monday. And in this heated election season, while we're not at all in favor of voter fraud in any way, shape or form, we certainly would understand if the MLBPAA, you know, feels the need to tweak the results a bit.

H/T: Big League Stew