Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
"... an exemplary sports book..." Kirkus Reviews

Thursday, September 18, 2014

"He's had a significant influence in the clubhouse. There is no statistical documentation, no advanced metric, no WAR number to document that impact, but it exists. Players can have positive (and negative) effects on teammates, the same way co-workers can make other employees more productive or leave them grumbling, miserable and staring at the clock. People on and around the Mariners have noticed the Cano effect."

As Seattle chases that magical, mythical, mirthful, away-field, one-game Wild Card, the beloved superhero known as Robbie Cano has enraptured the glistening-haired Gammonites of Bristol. 

Mike Trout almost certainly will win the American League MVP award -- and deservedly so... But there is another player in the AL who might mean more to his team than Trout does to the Angels. 

9 comments:

KD said...

"... but he's great with the youngsters and a positive presence in the clubhouse."

Isn't that what they say when a big signing is a general disappointment? I mean, look at his stats for this year. He peaked in NYC and he has only begun an A-Rodesque contract.

el duque said...

I can't figure out whether we should be rooting for Robbie - or against him?

Ken of Brooklyn said...

El Duque, we may never figure that out, LOL!

KD said...

That is a tough one for you, Duque. You're a nice man but I have no such hindrances. I say to Hell with him, his team, and his smug new hyper-caffeinated city. I'd sooner root for the Mets.

Mitt Romney said...

You can be for him before you were against him as well as the opposite. Feel free to contact me and I will allay any ethical concerns. By the way what is the Canoe ffect?

Not Anonymous said...

I'm a robbie fan and will continue to be, though I perfectly understand the Yankee fans that refuse to be. Its just not in my nature.

So I hope he does well everywhere except against the yankees.

If he makes the hall of fame in say, 2030, do you think he wears a Yankees hat? I'd give him probably at least 50-60% chance of finishing out to a hall of fame career, which is pretty good.

Buhner's Ghost said...

The point is that the Yankees had one candidate to be the team leader after Jeter and they let him walk. Who will the next Yankee captain be...McCann? A-Rod? Somebody from the farm system? Let's see who wins more games and more playoff games over the length of Cano's 10-year contract, the Yankees or the Mariners. One of those teams is emerging from its dark decade, in large part due to Cano's presence. The other is just entering the abyss. Cano wins year one, and his lead will only grow.

KD said...

I admit it. I have (misdirected) anger issues.

el duque said...

I don't hate Cano, but I'll go my grave saying he got bad advice from Jay-Z when he bit at the big hook.

If Seattle makes the 2014 playoffs - the REAL post-season, not the one-game BudFest- the city will claim victory, and Robbie can have made his bones.

But if the Mariners fall short, well, good luck, Robbie. This was your shot. One of these days, he'll start to suck, and that town will blame its #250 million jogger for the financial death of its franchise.

Say what you want about the dumb, cheap, stupid Yankees, but they honored Jete all the way to the rotten, stinking end. Nothing he could have sold to another team can come close to what he'll receive by having stayed a Yankee all his life. Jay-Z should have known that. Baseball is not the music industry.

Between now and Cano's retirement, Robbie is going to encounter some really tough times, much closer to A-Rod than Jeter, in popularity. He's going to have an avalanche of critics - and they won't be just Yankee fans.