You've probably seen the video by now. It aired last night on The Tonight Show, hosted by "Fever Pitch" Fallon. It's goes this way. A lackey (not John) grabs Yankee fans on the street and coaxes them into booing a phone-booth sized picture of Robbie Cano. They comply, as courteous and warm-hearted Yankee fans are known to always do. Then Cano emerges. They shake his hand and welcome him back to New York, as nurturing and caring Yankee fans are known to always do. In Fever Pitch's demented Redsock worldview, we are supposed to look hypocritical and weak in our united Hudson River of bile for Cano, the money merchant. Well, it didn't work.Fallon grew up in Saugerties, near Albany. He has said "I was born and raised in New York, so I've got to be a New York fan." At first, he rooted for the Mets, which explains a lot. While on Saturday Night Live, he sniffed the coffee and switched to the Yankees. Then came his Hollywood payout, his stint with Drew Barrymore, and he turned Redsock all the way. When Boston won in 2004, he said: “It couldn’t have been more exciting, to me anyway. It’s also a perfect ending to my movie. It’s a Hollywood ending from the gods. I was in shock I was so happy. It was amazing."
Yeah, amazing if you're Benedict Arnold. If Fallon made a movie about Fascism, he's be hanging photos of Benito Musolini behind his desk. Let's hope the Koch brothers don't cast him for a love story based on the Keystone Pipeline, or guests on his show will be receiving ceremonial doorstops made of tar sand.
Tonight, Robbie Cano does not deserve to be booed. What he deserves is a golden sombrero, a throwing error and a three-game sweep.
We need to send him back to Starbucks City knowing that New York has moved on, and that he's just another mercenary - we have new ones now - and we might make the efforr to boo him, if we remembered him. But there was never a great moment that Robbie Cano brought to the Yankees. No great home run. No great nothing. Maybe someday, we'll attend Old Timers Day - in Seattle, of course - where he can roam the field with other Seattle legends - like, oh, if we google it, we'll come up with a few - and then we'll give him a genuine cheer, because everybody jogs in old-timers day, right?
He went for the money. There's a view out there that nobody ever makes a bad decision by chasing the money. Maybe it's true. But I dunno. I think Cano will be remembered as the guy who could have been a great Yankee, but chose to be a super-wealthy fish in a perennial also-ran team. In a few years, they're going to resent how much money he makes, and how little they have to show for us. When that happens, good luck, pal. Buy a new boat.
What Robbie needs to see tonight is that Yankee fans appreciate loyalty and hustle, and Yangervis Solarte - even if the guy is gone in a month - should get raise as much crowd reaction as Cano did, over the last three years. They both have one HR, you know? Wouldn't it be nice if Yangervis is the first to hit two?
I really hope Robbie hits about 10HRs these 3 games just to shut up all of the irrational haters (of course Seattle must still lose).
ReplyDeleteIts beyond absurd to blame Robbie just because the Steinbrenners weren't anywhere near the highest bidders for once. By all indications Jeter's given about the subject there's no way he would have stayed in NY if he was leaving $70 million on the table, and he certainly complained about disrespect himself during his last contract negotiations. Even Mo flirted with going to the Red Sox in his final years until the Yankees matched his offer. You think he would stayed for $70 million less?
The reason this has never happened is that usually the Yankees are the ones offering $50mil+ over a guys market value. The team are the idiots didn't negotiate the cheaper long term extension they should have in 2010 or 2011 like every single other club has done with their stars. To put any of that on Robbie just pisses me off. There is absolutely no world in which any baseball player takes $70 million less to play anywhere.
Instead of Booing, how about the entire stadium break into the taunt that drove Seattle fans crazy in 2001?
ReplyDeleteO-ver ra-ted!!!
http://seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/extra2001/commemorative/fans1.html
Cano-haters, suck on this: Seattle might lose 900+ games over the life of his contract, but durable Robbie will be playing in every one of them.
ReplyDeleteCano has been nothing but respectful about his time in pinstripes. In Seattle, he is (with Felix) the acknowledged team leader, and he seems to be taking this role seriously. He widely acknowledges how Jeter and other Yankees were important to making him the player he has become. Now he has the opportunity to do that for others. Sure, he took the money; who wouldn't? But let's not judge him until we see what he accomplishes in a decade in Seattle, as a player and as a mentor. Booing him is for small-minded fans.
ReplyDeleteI don't advocate booing. I much prefer yelling hurtful and personal insults - heckles, if you will - which might bring about a long-term lowering of psychological self-worth. (We can't touch his financial self-worth.)
ReplyDeleteHurtful insults often bring unintended consequences to the hurlers. Ask Donald Sterling. BTW, would love nothing better than Cano and Jay-Z being part of the ownership group bringing the Clippers to Seattle.
ReplyDelete