Robbie Cano, screwed again

OK, picture a Gold Glove 2B with power, speed, average, outlook and abilities in the clutch: Yep, a Joe Morgan, a Ryne Sandberg or - oysters of Hercules! dammit, OK, I'll say it: - a Dustin Pedroia.

Obviously, the MVP.

Well, here's the catch: He's a Yankee. Hence, the chorus...

Mic check. "MIC CHECK." Everybody knows... "EVERYBODY KNOWS!" The Yankees win... "THE YANKEES WIN..." Too many awards. "DO MAN WARS."

Nope. He cannot be MVP. No way. Elect the pitcher. Whatever it takes.

Listen: Justin Verlander had a great year. Cy Young? Hands down. MVP? Get real. It's just a political campaign that starts in August. Verlander was not Sandy Koufax. He was not Roger Clemens. He was not Ron Guidry.

OK, I know what you're thinking: Dammit, cut your losses. If not Verlander, the award could have gone to Jacoby Ellsbury.

Sure, Ellsbury had a great year. But without him, the Redsocks would still have finished third.

This is the second year Robbie Cano has been Yankee MVP, so critical that you can't see the team in the playoffs without him, regardless of payroll. Grandy Man? He slid. Bautista? Just a pile of numbers.

Consider this: Cano's hitting lines come from 2B - not the outfield. And he played Gold Glove second base.

Not only that, but he batted fifth. What if, instead of protecting Arod and Tex, he was protected by them? You could add 15-20 RBIs and a few more HRs and hits -- his numbers could have beaten Josh Hamilton, Bautista, anybody. 

Mic check. "MIC CHECK." Everybody knows... "EVERYBODY KNOWS!" The Yankees win... "THE YANKEES WIN..." Too many awards. "DO MAN WARS."

Cano is a great player, pure and simple. He is better than Pedroia. He is better than Sandberg. He is on a keel with Joe Morgan (whom I consider to be the greatest 2B ever.)

Screwed again.