Why didn't the "classy" Yankee brass show a Robinson Cano tribute video?

Not only were too many Yankee fans classless and petty and ungrateful when they booed Robinson Cano so vociferiously last night, but the Yankee front office didn't exactly cover themselves in glory either. Unlike when Jacoby Ellsbury returned to Boston and received a nice video tribute, the Yankees chose not to do the same last night for Cano.

According to David Lennon of Newsday, "a team spokesman declined to say why that decision was made." And Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York said that according to a team official, "The Yankees feel they have not done video tributes in the past when players like David Cone, Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi or David Wells have returned," so they decided not to do one here as well.

However, the Yankee brass had to realize that 1) none of those players were ever the caliber of Cano, and 2) there is the fact that Ellsbury just got that nice Red Sox tribute, which did get help him some cheers at Fenway. At any rate, for a franchise that prides itself on class, and tradition, and doing the right things, not doing a Cano video comes across as pretty small-minded and petty. And it only makes Boston, a franchise which has a sordid history of trashing players on their way out the door, look good in comparison. Sheesh.

And I am not the only one to notice this. CC Sabathia was asked last night why Cano got so many more boos than Ellsbury did. He said, regarding the Red Sox, "They showed a video." Yep.

Not that Cano would have gotten 100% cheers during that, but it would have at least showed that the team, which talks so much about pride, and tradition, and Yankee history, would have some sense to acknowledge their best player over the last half-decade, and arguably their best second baseman ever. And it would have given the non-knuckleheaded Yankee fans an opportunity to cheer, too.

I saw this picture of fans holding up this idiotic sign at the game on the Daily News' website. Sorry, Yankee fans, but we should be better than the pathetic taping of dollar bills to signs -- leave that to the fans of the smaller-market franchises, not to those of  the one with the $200+ million payroll. And last time I checked, Cano did actually help the Yankees to both the playoffs, and to a World Series ring. Also, for those who throw out words like "tradition" and "loyalty" and "pinstripe pride," they ought to at least acknowledge Cano for his great play as a Yankee. Finally, look at all of those empty seats!

* * *

Joel Sherman, a frequent target of this blog, actually had a terrific column in today's New York Post slamming the boobirds. He writes: "I almost never comment on fan behavior, unless it is dangerous. But this reaction was so particularly mob-mentality dumb it is hard to ignore."

Sherman points out that the Stadium has been so quiet over the years, but finally erupted loudly over booing Cano.

The 10,000 or so folks who endured the bad weather sounded like four or five times that much with their animus drowning out the few who were trying to offer applause and thanks for the memories. It was as loud as the Stadium has been all year, louder than some playoff games of the recent past.

He also sarcastically notes:

You know [Cano] had committed the unpardonable sin of being the Yankees’ best player (by far) for about the past half decade, never was involved in off-field trouble and was well-regarded by his teammates. That horrible, horrible man. I really can’t separate who is the bigger public nuisance, Cano or Donald Sterling.

Anyhow, the article is definitely worth reading in full. I agree with pretty much every word Sherman writes here!

Sorry, Bleacher Creatures, your "you sold out" Robinson Cano chant is just embarrassing

As it turns out, I am glad I chose not to brave the cold at Yankee Stadium tonight, as I would have gotten into multiple arguments with some of the many morons at the game. You know, the kind of people who booed Robinson Cano in his return (in the loudest crowd noise I have heard from the Stadium all year!), and who had the gall to chant "you sold out" about a player signing for more money. Yes, they went there.

As I said on Twitter tonight, that's like Lindsay Lohan calling Charlie Sheen a hot mess. Exactly 
how lacking in self-awareness do you have to be as a YANKEE fan to complain about a player "selling out"? If you root for the Houston Astros, you get to make that complaint. The New York Yankees, not so much. 

Let's review, folks. The game tonight was in a billion-plus-dollar stadium, where fans sat in seats costing as much as $1600 a ticket for just one game, and paid up to $40 just to park their car for three hours. The ballpark keeps out the riff-raff (those who "only" paid in double digits or the low triple digits for tickets) with a moat from being able to even look at the game at field level during batting practice. CC Sabathia, who signed the highest free agent pitcher contract ever at the time to become a Yankee, was on the mound. Brian McCann, who left his hometown Atlanta Braves to make more money as a Yankee, was catching. Mark Teixeira, who signed with the Yankees over the Red Sox for more money, was at first base. Masahiro Tanaka, who left his country to make more money with the Yankees, was watching the game in the dugout. Carlos Beltran, who signed as free agent with the Yanks for more money, was in right field. Oh, and Jacoby Ellsbury, who left the Red Sox for the Yankees' money, was also watching the game in the dugout after getting hurt. You get the picture.

So given that background, why are we, according to some knuckleheaded fellow Yankee fans out there, supposed to be soooo angry with Cano for expecting to actually be paid his market value, after he was paid below market value by the team for his entire career? Why, exactly, was he supposed to take $75 million or so less than he was worth? So Hal Steinbrenner could buy another private plane? So Lonn Trost can upgrade his limo ride? So Randy Levine can get a raise? So Brian Cashman can engage in even more reckless hobbies?

Newsflash, folks. Baseball is a business. Cano is the best second baseman in baseball, and one of the top players in the game. He had his chance at a big payday, and he took it. Nothing wrong with that. He made a business decision, and so did the Yankees. They decided that Cano was worth only slightly more than what they paid Ellsbury. In fact, one could argue that the Yankees were greedy in not wanting to pay Cano what he was worth. But let's suppose you think Cano wasn't worth the money. That's fine. Then why the bleep are you so ticked off that he went elsewhere?

Sorry, folks, but here's the thing: Yankee fans don't really have the right to complain about free agency, or about players choosing the highest bidder over the team that originally signed them, or to complain that a player taking a big free agent contract is a sellout. That ship sailed nearly 40 years ago when Catfish Hunter, and then Reggie Jackson, put on pinstripes, the first of many, many free agent signings over the years. The Yankees have benefited from having the ability to spend. That is fine. But let's stop pretending that every player to put on the pinstripes did it just because he wanted to play ball in the Bronx. Money played a huge part in their decisions, too. And to complain about Cano being a sellout just makes our fanbase look hypocritical and just plain dumb.

Not to mention that you have to wonder how many Yankee fans became Yankee fans precisely because of the team spending money on free agents, and winning with them. If these Bleacher Creatures and the other purists booing Cano for going after money are such purists, one wonders why they don't root for, say, the New York Mets. The Mets, after all, have spent much of their money on ill-fated Ponzi schemes, and not on actual players. Most of their players are homegrown and their ticket prices are extremely reasonable, too -- Squawker Jon, my brother, and I had field-level box seats at a Sunday Mets game last week for under $20 each!

Anyhow, the Bleacher Creatures, self-appointed arbiters of Yankee fandom, didn't speak for all Yankee fans when they engaged in their homophobic chants in the ballpark for so many years. And they, and the other Yankee fans who chose to boo Cano tonight, certainly don't speak for me now. Grow up already.

Why Yankee fans should cheer, not boo, Robinson Cano tonight, and why that Jimmy Fallon skit had it right

I am still debating whether I should go to see Robinson Cano return to Yankee Stadium tonight, but I am worried I will get into arguments with booing Yankee fans!

Sorry, folks, there is no reason to hate Cano. Depending upon whatever final Yankee salary offer you believe, Cano was offered at least $70+ million more by the Mariners -- not exactly chump change.  If Yankee fans are going to complain about players going for the money, then they must have to hate  pretty much every free agent the Yankees have signed, because nearly all of them got their best contract offer from the Bombers. The Yanks would literally have a last-place team if it weren't for this "greed"!

Anyhow, I cannot blame Cano one bit for taking the Mariners' offer. And I never get why fans who didn't want Cano to go are not more ticked off at the Yankees. Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman spent over $500 million this offseason, but they pled poverty when it came to paying Cano market rate? Puh-lease. If they had $153 million for Jacoby Ellsbury, who had exactly one elite year, they could have ponied up the money to keep Cano, who not only had over a half-dozen elite years, but he stayed healthy and played nearly every game. If you want to boo anybody, boo the Yankee brass for not keeping Cano.

But instead, I expect that there will be a majority of boos tonight for Cano for his first at-bat in the Bronx as a Mariner. Of course, the two most notorious examples in recent years of fans booing their former stars was in 2006, when Johnny Damon returned to Fenway Park, and 2012, when Jose Reyes returned to Citi Field. Both times, the fans were out of line, IMHO. (Squawker Jon and I went to Reyes' return, and in retrospect, the boos were even dumber than at the time. Fans were mad that Reyes benched himself in his last game to win the batting title? You know who he kept from winning the title that year -- Ryan Braun!)

At any rate, I think for at least the first at-bat, you should cheer a former star for what they did for your old team (only exception for this would be for a Carl Pavano, who did nothing but collect a paycheck for the Yankees!) And I think Cano absolutely should be cheered tonight, which he will be, by some sensible Yankee fans. However, I am fairly sure that the booers griping about "greed" will outnumber the cheerers.

The thing is, though, is that if any of these vociferious booers actually met Cano in person, they would probably be all excited and shake his hand. Which is exactly what happened in a stunt on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. Hilarious!


 

On Michael Pineda and his strange addiction to pine tar

As longtime Squawker readers know, I opposed trading for Michael Pineda from Day One. And even though, two years later, it turns out that Jesus Montero hasn't turned out as planned, I still have some real doubts about Pineda.

Sure, he has pitched well this season. But he also has some strange addiction to pine tar, something that maybe could be featured on that TLC show. How self-destructive do you have to be to 1) lie the first time you are caught with pine tar, claiming it was "dirt," and 2) when you have to know the Red Sox are watching your every move, go put the pine tar on again in the second inning against your team's toughest rivals. And 3) do it so blatantly, too -- how is it I could see from watching the TV at the gym that he had pine tar on his neck, but apparently Joe Girardi didn't (or didn't care)?

After all, baseball isn't just about having strong skills; it is about being mentally strong. And about keeping your team in the game. And while I did actually feel a little sorry for Pineda after the game, when he seemed overwhelmed by the crush of reporters, I don't ultimately have a heck of a lot of sympathy for him.

Nor do I have much sympathy for the Yankees organization as a whole. Either they didn't know Pineda has the pine tar on his neck, which shows that they are not paying attention, or they did know, and they didn't care. Or perhaps they were dumb enough to think that John Farrell wouldn't do anything this time, even though he didn't have a pine tar using pitcher on the mound this time. (It is hard to swallow, though, that Farrell is so concerned about this issue, given how some of his own pitchers cheat the same way. Not to mention David Ortiz. But I digress.)

Here's the thing that most concerns me. I have no idea whether the pine tar somehow actually does something to make Pineda pitch better this year. But I think he thinks it does. So after he got rocked in the first inning, he went back to it. And that addiction to it should be very concerning to those in Yankeeland.

Mets no-hitter DVD contest winners

In conjunction with the digital download sale on iTunes of nearly 100 great programs from Major League Baseball, Subway Squawkers is giving away three copies of Baseball's Greatest Games: New York Mets First No-Hitter DVD.

Our winners are:

Lucille - New York,  NY
Peg - Boonton, NJ
Harold - Port Jervis, NY

Congratulations!

TO HELP CELEBRATE THE NEW 2014 BASEBALL SEASON, TAKE YOURSELF OUT TO THE BALLGAME WITH SPECIALLY-PRICED WORLD SERIES FILMS, BLOOPERS, TV SERIES AND DOCS –

ALL UNDER $10, AVAILABLE NOW ON iTUNES!

Allowing fans to watch everything from their favorite teams and players to some of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history anywhere a smartphone or tablet can go, MLB’s digital downloads have never been easier to attain!  Until April 15, simply visit www.iTunes.com/MLB to purchase any of the specially-priced programs, including:

• 100 Years of Wrigley Field
• All-Time Bloopers
• Angels Memories
• Astros Memories: The Greatest Moments in Astros Baseball History
• Baseball Seasons: 2004
• Bloopers: Baseball’s Best Blunders
• Bryce Begins
• Detroit Tigers: Hometown Heroics
• Fenway Park Centennial – 100 Years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation
• Game 162
• Letters from Jackie: The Private Thoughts of Jackie Robinson
• Major League Baseball Official World Series Films, 1943-2013
• Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team
• MLB 25: Greatest Postseason Home Runs
• New York Mets: 50 Greatest Players
• Pride and Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues
• Prime 9 Vol. 1 (TV Episodes 9 x .5 hr)
• Sudden Death Baseball
• Superstars: Impact Players
• Superstars: World Powers
• The Best of the Home Run Derby
• This Week in Baseball, Season. 1 (TV Episodes 17 x .5 hr)
• World Series: History of the Fall Classic

Review: Using ScoreBig to score tickets

Squawker Jon and I are going to see the Mets take on the Los Angeles Dodgers next month, and we'll hopefully see Yasiel Puig at CitiField (as long as he hasn't gotten benched for being a knucklehead, that is!) We have pretty good seats -- field level silver box tickets along the left field side, not just with a good view of the action, but a close proximity to Shake Shack!

We got the tickets courtesy of a new ticket company called ScoreBig, who asked us to test out their services. If you have ever used Priceline, you may have a sense of how ScoreBig works. The company offers sporting events, concerts, and theater seats with its service. Seats for an event are ranked by starred levels -- one-star seats will be the cheapest, and with the fewest amenities, while five-star seats will be the top seats. Depending upon the event, there may also be specific listings for suites and other specific areas. While you do not get to pick the actual seats or section you are in, you get to see a map for each starred level which lets you know where your seats may be located.

And much like Priceline, you make a bid on how much you are willing to spend, and learn instantly whether your bid will be accepted or not. You don't want to bid too high, or too low, on your tickets. Think about what you are willing to spend on the tickets, and what you think would be a good deal for the type of seats.

Needless to say, the more popular the events, the more you might potentially have to pay -- Subway Series tickets are at a premium. But there are plenty of tickets available for those on a budget as well.

Jon and I put in a bid for $50 a ticket for 3-star seats at CitiField, and got the field level seats. What's more, we instantly got a rebate on the tickets after our offer was accepted, which means that the tickets actually cost under $45! Sweet!

Anyhow, if you want to check out ScoreBig for yourself, click here.

Is John Sterling's Dean Anna home run call his worst ever?

I was traveling home from Manhattan last night during part of the Yankees-Red Sox game, so when Dean Anna hit his first home run as a Yankee (also his first MLB homer ever), I missed John Sterling's home run call. I half-expected Sterling to do a "Banana Fana Fo" call from the "Name Game" song. Instead, as I discovered from Facebook friends, Sterling's call was this: "Anna Is on the Dean's List!" Good grief.

I called Squawker Jon after I heard the news, and asked him to guess the call. Jon correctly did, without cheating, on his very first guess. We don't know whether to be impressed or horrified over him correctly getting into the mind of Sterling! (Jon did not guess the "Un Correazo" call for Beltran, though, so there is that.)

With all the new Yankees on the team this year, Sterling has much to come up with -- although all Kelly Johnson got was a perfunctory "Kelly killed it" call. As I have said before, I imagine Sterling sitting up in a smoking jacket late at night, looking like Cookie Monster in "Monsterpiece Theater," sipping a glass of cognac, pen and paper in hand while he comes up with his home run calls.

And it's fun to try to predict them, too. (Squawker Jon guesses that Ellsbury will get a "Ellzapoppin" call!)

But the "It Is High, It Is Far, It Is Caught" Sterliing "tribute" website, located at johnsterling.blogspot.com, is alarmed that Sterling had the Dean Anna call ready to go:

Well, it's finally happening. After more than twenty years of "BERN, BABY, BERN," and "GEORGIE JUICES ONE" - lines that once seemed to roll off John's tongue in the warm ecstasy of a Yankee home run - the Melkman has finally delivered a downside to the business. John is now spending hours in advance, attempting to compose poetry. You can say that's the mark of the true professional that he is. But as a poet, John Sterling is channeling Jewel. And I'm starting to wonder if it's going to bring him down.

For starters, John is no longer parceling out home run calls for the home run hitters, which he did at the beginning. (Anyone remember a call for Luis Sojo? Scott Brosius? Mariano Duncan?) The fact that last night Dean Anna - who might have gone this season without a home run - received a ready-made Sterling yelp could be a sign of the final bugaboo of John Sterling's long career: His ego may be spawning terminal self-awareness.

I actually like the idea that Sterling has these calls planned out ahead of time. I think it shows a master's dedication to his craft, even when they are thoroughly ridiculous. I was just hoping he would have used the "Name Game" song for Dean Anna. Banana fana fo indeed.

Jon is outraged, though, over the headline of this article. He says I am wrong to even suggest that the Anna call is the worst ever. "What about 'Something Sort of Grandish?'" he points out. He's got me there!

Win a DVD of the first Mets' no-hitter

In conjunction with the digital download sale on iTunes of nearly 100 great programs from Major League Baseball, Subway Squawkers is giving away three copies of Baseball's Greatest Games: New York Mets First No-Hitter DVD.

To win a copy, please send an email with your name and mailing address and METS DVD CONTEST in the subject line to subwaysquawkers@gmail.com. Three winners will be chosen at random. Contest is open to residents of the continental United States. Contest runs until Tuesday, April 15 at 11 p.m Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

TO HELP CELEBRATE THE NEW 2014 BASEBALL SEASON, TAKE YOURSELF OUT TO THE BALLGAME WITH SPECIALLY-PRICED WORLD SERIES FILMS, BLOOPERS, TV SERIES AND DOCS –

ALL UNDER $10, AVAILABLE NOW ON iTUNES!

Allowing fans to watch everything from their favorite teams and players to some of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history anywhere a smartphone or tablet can go, MLB’s digital downloads have never been easier to attain!  Until April 15, simply visit www.iTunes.com/MLB to purchase any of the specially-priced programs, including:

• 100 Years of Wrigley Field
• All-Time Bloopers
• Angels Memories
• Astros Memories: The Greatest Moments in Astros Baseball History
• Baseball Seasons: 2004
• Bloopers: Baseball’s Best Blunders
• Bryce Begins
• Detroit Tigers: Hometown Heroics
• Fenway Park Centennial – 100 Years as the Heart of Red Sox Nation
• Game 162
• Letters from Jackie: The Private Thoughts of Jackie Robinson
• Major League Baseball Official World Series Films, 1943-2013
• Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team
• MLB 25: Greatest Postseason Home Runs
• New York Mets: 50 Greatest Players
• Pride and Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues
• Prime 9 Vol. 1 (TV Episodes 9 x .5 hr)
• Sudden Death Baseball
• Superstars: Impact Players
• Superstars: World Powers
• The Best of the Home Run Derby
• This Week in Baseball, Season. 1 (TV Episodes 17 x .5 hr)
• World Series: History of the Fall Classic

Check out Subway Squawkers' predictions for the Yankees and Mets for this year

Recently, Squawker Jon and I got to make our 2014 predictions for the Yankees and Mets as part of the Playing Pepper feature at the Cardinals Conclave site. The articles feature a roundup of team bloggers weighing in on the season. Here are my Yankee predictions, and Jon's Mets predictions. Funny thing -- I gave the Yankees' offseason a C+, a pretty low grade as compared to my fellow Yankee bloggers. Yet my overall prediction for the season's Yankee wins was higher than most of my fellow bloggers. Go figure!