In another universe - a happier universe - he should be Robbie, a Yankee, and nine years from now, his uniform would hang in Monument Park. But everybody got a little crazy. The Yankee brain trust refused to negotiate with Cano early on, then Robbie drank Jay-Z's Kool-Aid, and - of course - the biggest blame has to fall on his own greedy shoulders. He turned his back on the Yankees and ran to Seattle because when it came to money, infinity wasn't enough, and he wanted infinity plus one. Good riddance. If there is any Primary Rule in the Yankiverse, it should be that Cano never returns as a Yankee, no matter how hard Seattle tries to trade him. He's already done as much damage to the Mariners as Charlie Sheen has done to the porn industry.
In five years, he will be Seattle's biggest pariah since the Asian bark beetle.
Which brings me to yesterday's interview with Andy Van Slyke (from New Hartford, NY, not far from Syracuse!) on CBS Radio. (I've actually ripped this from the Yankee website Bleeding Yankee Blue.) Van Slyke somehow got on the subject of Joggie, and here's what he said.
"You would have thought Cano would have had a terrific year, but he had the worst, single year of an every day player in 20 years in the big league level... he was just the most awful player I have ever seen...
"... Your highest paid, supposedly best player... I mean, Robinson's not a bad guy. Let me just say that, before I say anything bad about how he plays. But Robinson Cano was the single worst third place every day player I've ever seen. I've ever seen, for the first half of a baseball season. He could drive home Miss Daisy if he tried. He couldn't do it. He couldn't get a hit when it mattered...
"... He played the worst defense I've ever seen... I'm talking the worst defensive second baseman I've ever seen...
"... I'm telling you... Robinson Cano cost the GM his job. The hitting coach got fired because of Cano. And then the manager and coaches got fired because of Cano, because that's how much of an impact he has on the organization. He was the worst player and it cost people their jobs in the process."
It's fun to snicker at Joggie's troubles. But the Yankees have never really recovered from his loss. We signed Jacoby Ellsbury to lessen the blow, and he's starting to look like a guy who could cost somebody his job. We've suffered a black hole at 2B since Joggie left. And if we sign Howie Kendrick... (Dear God, I know I don't worship you enough, but if you can just keep us from Howie Kendrick...)
I am of the belief that we have one real hope, and it's name is Rob Refsnyder. If Refsnyder is for real - if he can become a fielding 2B - in three years, he'll be out-hitting Joggie, the Widow Maker of Mariner Managers. It would be a happy universe, no?
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17 comments:
HERE, HERE!.....I SECOND THE NOTION!.....LET "THE REF" PLAY, AND WE WILL PUT UP WITH THE "BUMPS AND BRUISES" WE MAY GO THROUGH WITH HIS FIELDING.....I REALLY BELIEVE HE IS THE "KEY" IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A REAL YOUTH MOVEMENT (WHICH WE NEED).....I JUST DON'T THINK CASHMAN HAS IT IN HIS DNA TO TRUST USING HIM.....AND THAT IS ENRAGING.
Amen, I third the motion. Play the kid already, WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laid back Robbie combined with laid back Seattle. Not a good combination.
Years from now when Mr. Cano is reflecting on his life, when the money no longer matters, he will curse his decision to abandon the Yankees. He may have had a plaque in Monument Park. He may have had a retired number and joined greats like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, and Jeter. He may have made the Hall. He held the potential for greatness and he allowed it to slip away.
Instead he chose to have a few extra nickels to rub together. A few extra meaningless coins heaped upon an already obscene amount of money. Instead he chose to go to a forlorn and gloomy corner of the country where his skills atrophied and his celebrity waned. What a forlorn and pitiful man he will become.
He has probably had a lot more feasts of Alaskan King Crab than we have. I mean, there are compensations. Oh, and did I mention the coffee? Seattle has a coffee bar on every corner.
My great regret; As Robbie has become a GM and coach killing player, if he had remained a Yankee, might he have forced the firing of Cashman?
That would have been his greatest contribution.
That is our real loss. To still have Cashman……is the end.
From out here in the west ...... I'll second the emotion for growing your own and Refsnyder at 2B. My SF Giants again came up aces over the last two seasons by letting infielders Joe Panik; Kelby Tomlinson and Matt Duffy grow out of triple A and add to our successes of recent homegrowns - Posey; Bumgarner; Belt; Romo; Lincecum and Cain. And I am sure that Brian Sabean watched how your Yankees did it back in the day with Williams; Rivera; Posada; Jeter and Pettitte.
But this KD guy .... hello! Seattle and the Pacific Northwest - "Forlorn and gloomy corner of the country?" Yeah that's the ticket. Come on out from under your rock. I get it that Cano is Cano ... and don't totally disagree with Van Slyke's over the top blame game - as I wasted too many hours watching Cano hit into inning ending DPs this last season ... but let's stay on planet earth with the forlorn and lonely references.
Mr KD ..... Can I assume you hail from a sunny, bright and hopeful community around New York?
As always your collective IHH myopia is so fun to check in on at this time in the history of mankind and sports. Twisting so purposelessly in the wind brings out the drama-queens in all you Yankee fans - keep it coming while the rest of the planet gets the last laugh from their gloomy corners of world.
Used to live in Idaho and knocked all around the PNW. I'll stick with my gloomy assessment. Much preferred east of the Cascades but I do love the region. just busting on Robbie a bit. sorry for the offense.
KD - No offense taken ... figured you were a Metropolitan NYer or a hayseed like Seely and who hasn't ever left Batavia .....
Yeah the eastern dry side is more magical .... but we all live west of the cascades so we can make a living.
Here is the Seattle beat writer's take on the Van Slyke vomit-fest. He evidently thru tons of other folks under the bus in LA and elsewhere. Fun read.
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/former-mariners-coach-andy-van-slyke-has-some-critical-things-to-say-about-robinson-cano-edgar-martinez/
Vilifying Edgar Martinez and players on your own son's team .... good luck getting work Andy. Although the Yankees need some coaching fodder to go thru from what I am reading. Andy - get in line in the Bronx.
I can understand the bloodless calculation that Robbie was not worth the money. But the flip side of that thinking is that we'll spend that saved money somewhere else. Instead, they just put up their blue-blood, estate-tax-free asses. Didn't even spend just a little bit of it on Juan Moncada.
Van Slyke went way, way over the top to single out Cano for the Mariners' failures, but it gave Duque and his followers a perfect platform for piling on. Cano started spring training with a broken toe suffered on MLB trip to Japan, suffered from an intestinal bug all spring that caused difficulty eating and sleeping, then an abdominal strain in the second half that required surgery a week after the season...and yet put up great numbers after June 1 and never let on to the media that anything was wrong with him. Yes, he was bad for April and May, but not to the historically bad level Van Slyke claims. The bullpen collapse, poor defense, lousy roster construction, many baserunning errors and failure of catchers to hit .175 were all more influential in the Mariners' season, and many of these can be attributed to bad managing/coaching, which is why the GM, manager and coaching staff are gone. We'll see where a healthy Cano, acknowledged team leader, can take the Mariners over the next few seasons while the Yankees continue to grasp at straws.
Alibis only satisfy those who make them.
Have some fun...keep piling on. Here's more fodder:
http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2015/11/19/9766520/other-things-that-are-robinson-canos-fault
I don't care how terrible second base has been since he left, I never liked Cano and seeing him play 10 more years at 24 million while he gives no effort is far worse than a lifetime of Stephen Drew.
Enjoy Robbie World. You should draw a circle on the year 2024? That will be the next time you see a Mariners second-baseman leg out a grounder.
Here's some expert analysis of Van Slyke's assessment of Cano:
http://www.ussmariner.com/2015/11/20/andy-van-slyke-and-baseball-reference/
What is wrong with Batavia? Isn't there an emerging Knick star from the neighboring town, Latvia?
There is ice, beer, alcohol and great bars in both places.
So WTF?
Batavia is nice but you have to admit, it's no Middleport.
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