Is it time for a Robinson Cano/Yankees reunion? I say yes!

Two years ago around this time, the Yankees were backing up the Brinks' truck to Jacoby Ellsbury's house, while they were pleading poverty to Robinson Cano. So how has that decision worked out so far? Horribly, I say.

Since the Yankees let Cano walk, something I was furious about at the time and am still peeved over, second base has been a disaster for the Yankees, most notably with Brian Cashman's and Joe Girardi's dogged insistence on playing Stephen Drew day in and day out. It took Drew suffering a vestibular concussion for him to finally get benched towards the end of the season last year. (Speaking of which, I think something might be wrong with Cashman's brain after all that bicycling without a helmet he does that he brags about, but I digress!)

Anyhow, there's been a lot of talk about Cano lately in this town. First, there were rumors that he might be traded for Ellsbury, rumors that have heated up again recently. Then Andy Van Slyke, former first-base coach for the Seattle Mariners, gave the worst exit interview ever after getting fired. Not only did he tell the world that Clayton Kershaw wants the Dodgers to dump Yasiel Puig (that gossip apparently courtesy of his son Scott, who is on LA.) But Van Slyke also claimed that Cano was "the single worst third-place, everyday player I’ve ever seen – I’ve ever seen for the first half of a baseball season," that he "couldn’t drive home Miss Daisy if he tried," and that he "played the worst defense I’ve ever seen at second base." Hyperbole much, dude?

Van Slyke also placed the blame for the mass firing of Seattle's manager and coaches at the feet of Cano's 2015 performance. Hmmmm. I think having a new general manager might have had a little something to do with it, but what do I know?

Granted, Cano's first half numbers for last year were putrid: .251/.290/.330, with only 6 homers and 30 RBI. But his second half numbers were very good, and that's *with* playing with a double hernia: .331/.387/.540 with 15 HR and 49 RBI. His total numbers were .287/.334/.446, with 21 homers and 79 RBI.

Not a great year for Cano, true, but a heck of a lot better than Stephen Drew's 2015 .201/.381/.652 slash line, and it's also better than Ellsbury's .257/.318/.345 numbers. Plus, Ellsbury missed over 50 games with injuries.  Incidentally, Cano had a variety of health woes in 2015, yet only missed 6 games. But, but, I thought he was a slacker?

At any rate, what does it say about what the Yankees think of Ellsbury, when they benched him in this year's Wild Card game? Not very much, it appears!

The other day, John Harper of the New York Daily News wrote about Cano, and interviewed Rich Donnelly, former Mariners' third-base coach, who also lost his job this fall. He said he would defend Cano "until the end of time" and talked about how Cano played when he was sick:

“I used to get upset when I’d hear people say Robbie didn’t hustle. I’d say, ‘Hell, he shouldn’t even be in the lineup.’ Robbie would always tell everybody, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine.’

In that same article, Harper says that "one long-time friend who spoke to [Cano] recently says the second baseman is not happy in Seattle, especially with a new regime in charge there now, and that he’d love to somehow find his way back to New York."

I would love for Cano to find his way back to New York, too. Even if it means taking on that massive contract. And you know it will happen someday. I'd rather have it happen now, when Cano still has some productive years in him, as opposed to the end of his contract, when he is past his prime.

My friend Sully has said all along that Cano would be back one day. And he recently did a podcast talking about it, and going through the list of how many Yankees have been reunited with the team after leaving. Roger Clemens. Andy Pettitte. Alfonso Soriano. Ramiro Mendoza. Mike Stanton, etc., etc. (He even mentioned names I forgot had two tours with the Yanks, like Charlie Hayes, Homer Bush, and Brian Boehringer!) I think Sully will be proven right, but the question is when.

ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand writes today about the rumors, and gives five reasons why Cano won't be back in the Bronx. Here's No. 2:

"The Bombers have moved on. The Yankees do need a second baseman, but while they very well might add someone this winter, right now their second basemen are Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley."

Oh, please. They were both better than Drew, but Cano is world's better than either of them. And last time I checked, this Yankee team needs some hitting. Do you think A-Rod and Teixeria are going to repeat what they did in 2015 in 2016? I sure don't!

Anyhow, I asked Yankee fan Facebook friends whether they wanted to see Cano back in pinstripes. Most didn't. But I do. And here's something that the Yankees may be considering: marketing purposes. This team is so devoid of stars as of late that they used A-Rod, the player they wanted to dump last winter, in their email marketing pitch for 2016 sales!

Not to mention that the Yanks now have a pennant-winning team in town to compete for ticket sales with. The Yankees drew 3.1 million last year, while the Mets drew 2.5 million. Do you think those numbers are going to change in 2016? I sure do, with the Mets going higher, and the Yanks going lower. Wouldn't putting Cano back in town not only immediately improve the Yankees, but improve ticket sales? And wouldn't that ease the financial hit of bringing him back? Just saying.

Time to bring back Robbie Cano, don't you know! Besides, it would make John Sterling happy! Doesn't that count for something?

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Shocker! I am actually feeling a little confident about the 2015 Yankees' chances!

I know I can be a bit of an Eeyore when it comes to how I think the Yankees will do. (Although Squawker Jon was the one who recently got called that by one of our readers!)

After all, in my preseason predictions, I figured the Yanks would finish in fourth place in the AL East, not win more than 80 games, and have a worse record than the Mets. And even though the Yankees have exceeded everyone's expectations, and are in first place, albeit in a pretty weak division, I still keep on waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Masahiro Tanaka's arm to finally get that Tommy John surgery. For other teams in the division to get hot.

But after Sunday, I am about as positive on this team as I have been all year. Two things impressed me. The first, of course, is that the Yankees got a series win against Seattle, winning a game that King Felix started, with CC Sabathia pitching like the CC of old. CC even roared and pumped his fist after striking out Robinson Cano! Also, Mark (Gluten-Free) Teixeira continued his phenomenal year with the game-winning homer.

The second was that Carlos Beltran did a fundraiser for his baseball academy Sunday night with an "80s Strike Back" theme, and many members of the team showed up, wearing goofy 1980s-style outfits. Although I don't remember some of these styles, and I lived through the 80s!

However, I did so many fashion and hair monstrosities back then, it's not even funny! I do think somebody should have worn a skinny leather tie with parachute pants -- that was a popular guys' style when I was in high school.

My favorite looks from the photo above are from Michael Pineda (the man in the yellow hat), CC Sabathia rocking the overalls, Garrett Jones as Bruce Springsteen and Chris Young with the Run-DMC look. The worst is A-Rod -- he should have gone for a Miami Vice look instead of the generic blazer and shirt!

Anyhow, one of the reasons for the team's success in 2009 seemed to be that they really liked each other. They had the walkoff pies and the kangaroo court and all sorts of silliness. I get the feeling that this 2015 team really likes each other as well. These sorts of bonding events are great for team chemistry.

So I don't know if this team has what it takes to win it all. But Sunday is the best I have felt about their chances all season!

One sour note about Sunday -- was sad to see Rob Refsnyder sent down to the minors. The incriminating picks Stephen Drew must have on Brian Cashman must be really something!

"I'm never pain-free," Yankee golden oldie Carlos Beltran sez:

Longtime Squawker readers know that I was against the Carlos Beltran signing. The fact that the St. Louis Cardinals, arguably the smartest franchise in baseball, let him go was a huge warning sign. Another warning sign was Beltran's propensity for injury. That, combined with his age -- he will be 39 at the end of his deal with the Yankees -- made me wonder, and not for the first time, what the heck Brian Cashman was thinking in signing him.

Cashman, you may remember, famously turned down signing Beltran after the 2004 season, even though Carlos was willing to take less money to be a Yankee. So instead of signing Beltran for the prime years of his career, seasons in which he would slug over 30 homers a year and drive in over 100 runs, Cashman decided to spend $15M a year for an aging outfielder who really should be a DH. And to give him a three-year deal to boot. How did that ever make any sense?

ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews interviewed Beltran the other day, and the aging slugger, while saying he was feeling better these days, also had this to say about his health:

"I'm a gamer, what can I say? I love to play," he said. "But I'm never pain-free, let's put it that way. It's been seven or eight years that I'm not pain-free. Some people tolerate pain better than others. I would say I can tolerate a bit of pain." 

Oy. Again, the Yankees missed out on the healthy years, but they have him for the injury-riddled seasons, the ones where he is never pain-free. Oh, joy.

For all the talk about how the Yankees are paying for players on the decline, at least the team got some great years -- and won a World Series -- thanks to the other members of what an ESPN reader called the "Sore Four." (Love that line!) A-Rod won two MVPs, and CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira had some dominating seasons as Yankees. Meanwhile, the Yankees cut to the chase with Beltran and are paying big bucks for the years in decline, without getting any of the good years!

Why the Yankees chose to spend the money on Beltran instead of Robinson Cano made zero sense at the time, and even less sense now. (Beltran's contract, plus the $5M each wasted on Chris Capuano and Stephen Drew, would have paid for Cano.)  Sure, they would have been paying for Cano's declining years, although I still contend they could have gotten him for less than 10 years if they had offered him more per season. But at least they would have had some great years out of him. The Yanks are only getting Beltran's declining seasons!

Do the New York Yankees now have a home-field disadvantage?

Something struck me last night when watching the Yankees-Astros game -- how quiet the ballpark was (other than the booing of David Robertson, of course!) The crowd wasn't very loud, even when the Yankees were scoring runs. And after Robertson blew the save, and after the crowd was done booing, you could have heard a pin drop for the rest of the game, it was so quiet. It was if everybody knew in their hearts that this offense wouldn't be able to make up that three-run deficit, so there was no point in vocalizing anything, let alone cheers to rouse the team in the bottom of the ninth inning.

It wasn't that long ago that playing at home was considered a big advantage for the Bronx Bombers. Yet this year, the Yankees' won-loss record is actually below .500 at home!

Here are the Yankee Stadium III wins/losses breakdowns and winning percentages since 2009, when the Stadium opened:

2009 
Overall Record: 103-59, .636
Home Record:  57-24, .704
Away Record:     46-35, .568

2010
Overall Record:   95-67, .568
Home Record:  52-29, .642
Away Record:     43-38, .531


2011
Overall Record:    97-65, .599
Home Record:   52-29, .642
Away Record:      45-36, .556

2012
Overall Record:   95-67, .586
Home Record:   51-30, .630
Away Record:     44-37, .543

2013
Overall Record:   85-77, .525
Home Record:  46-35, .568
Away Record:     39-42, .481

2014
Overall Record:   63-60, .512
Home Record:  29-30, .492
Away Record:     34-30, .531 

Look at those numbers. Even when the Yankees only won 85 games last year, their winning percentage at home was still significantly better than their away record. This year, not so much.

If the Yankees are going to have any smidgen of a chance to make the playoffs (and I don't think they will -- they have the toughest schedule of any MLB team going into the last quarter of the year, and they don't have good hitters), they need to win at home. They have 21 games left in their own ballpark, as opposed to 17 away games. 

Michael Kay criticized the fans for booing Robertson last night, and in turn, he got criticized by Yankee fans for doing so. But I agree with Kay on this (and was on his radio show a few months ago when I called in on this very subject of fans booing their own players; my point was just because you can do something like booing, doesn't mean you should!) Not only have I been consistent against Yankee fans doing this, but David Robertson has been terrific all year, and last night was a rare misstep. If you really expected him to be this good, raise your hand, because I sure didn't. And what does he get in return for being great? Some Yankee fans turning on him like that.

Look, I get the frustration in Yankeeland. I am just as frustrated as anyone. But I think that the boos and the lack of support and the other stupid things some Yankee fans have done this year (the worst: the way Robinson Cano was tricked and then booed) may have a little something to do with the Yankees having an even worse record at home than they do in away games this year.

I also think it's odd that a fan base who puts so much stock in jinxes and superstitions and ghosts would tempt the baseball gods that way. (Not to mention my strong suspicion that the house mikes were turned at full blast to amplify the already loud anti-Cano boos even further on the broadcast!)

There is no home field advantage anymore at Yankee Stadium this year; it is more like a home field disadvantage. It is generally commonly accepted conventional wisdom that the new Yankee Stadium is just not as loud as the old ballpark. But there just doesn't seem to be much of a good vibe anymore in the ballpark, something that was evident even in the new Stadium. And other than the good vibes in the house when players like Derek Jeter are going to be feted on their special days, I don't know what is going to change that in the near future.

This is not a good team, but I don't think the booing is helping.

Could Brian (Supergenius) Cashman be on his way out? Please, Hal (Rip Van Winkle) Steinbrenner, make it happen!

Believe it or not, I actually have a smidgen of hope this week for the Yankees. Not for this season, of course. I have never had any expectations that the Yankees would actually go anywhere in 2014, other than to the bottom of the AL East. But that Hal (Rip Van Winkle) Steinbrenner may actually have stirred from the slumber he has been in over the past five seasons and is finally realizing that the Yanks need new leadership in the GM spot. 

When Hal was in Baltimore the other day to select a new MLB Commissioner, he was asked about the state of the Yankees. Steinbrenner said that the hitters need to "step it up" and that A-Rod would be back in 2015. These tidbits were the focus of the initial stories on what he said. Buried in these articles was the most important thing of all -- that Hal did not say that Brian Cashman would definitely be re-signed to a new contract. Instead, he said:

"We’re so busy right now, trying to figure out who’s going to be playing in any given game, much less that,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ll be talking about that soon enough. But you know me. We’ve got enough things to worry about during the season. That’s where our focus needs to be.

“Let me get to October — hopefully the end of October, beginning of November — and we’ll go from there.” 

Funny thing was that the New York media initially did their best to pooh-pooh that assertion: for example, New York Post columnst Ken Davidoff insisted that Steinbrenner's "comments Wednesday felt less like a non-endorsement and more like a sense he had too many other current items on his plate."

And John Harper of the New York Daily News said on "Daily News Live" that "I don't think Cashman is in any danger" because "I don't think the Steinbrenners really have the stomach for a big GM search."

Keep in mind, though, that the NYC media is in the tank for Cashman. Any other GM, for any other team (or sport) would be on the hot seat now. But Teflon Cashman, who puts Teflon Torre to shame, gets a pass from the press. The fact that none of them have the guts to even question whether he should return is pretty telling. To my knowledge, until Hal's comments, there hasn't even been a single story written in the New York papers about whether it is time to consider a new Yankee GM, at the same time New York Mets' GM Sandy Alderson's status has been questioned multiple times.

Is Rip Van Winkle finally stirring?

But at a certain point, doesn't Steinbrenner have to be looking at getting a new GM to deal with MLB right now, and in the future? Not keeping on a has-been like Cashman who is still acting like it's 2003, when the financial realities of baseball gave the Yankees such an overwhelming advantage? Most teams have their own regional networks now, with all the extra money that entails. And they are signing their good players to long-term contracts early. So that means that free agency, which used to be like shopping at Neiman-Marcus, is now often more like rummaging through Goodwill for old things.

Unlike the NYC media, I would have to be like Dory from "Finding Nemo," with the inability to remember anything that happened longer than five minutes ago, to think Cashman is doing a good job. And so would Hal. Two weeks ago, the press was falling all over themselves to praise Cash's smooth trade moves. Now, it is nothing but crickets when reality has set in. The Yankees have lost five in a row and are such an inept opponent that the Tampa Bay Rays aren't even doing standard pre-game practice for this weekend's series.

Cashman's smooth moves are pathetic

Oh, and here are the current Yankee slash lines for those great hitters Cashman traded for:

Stephen Drew: .170/.204/.259 (even worse than his numbers as a Red Sox!)
Chase Headley: .250/.345/.368 (slightly better than at San Diego, but pathetic for a power position)
Martin Prado: .163.217/.256 (and the Yanks now owe him $10M a year for the next two seasons)

Robinson Cano: Miss him yet?

Still think Cashman is doing a good job, folks? Let's look at what Robinson Cano is doing with the Seattle Mariners. His slash line is .330/.398/.476. His Mariners just overtook the Detroit Tigers for the second AL Wild Card spot. His team is going somewhere this year. But hey, the Yankees won't have to pay him eight years from now. Of course, they seemed to have forgotten that before Year 8, they might have actually had a great player.

And where are all the New York media's articles about Seattle's great play this year, thanks in no small part to Cano? The media narrative in December was that Cano was going to a nowhere team. Yet a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity -- he is leading his team on a playoff run! Imagine that! (An aside: I expect over the next few weeks, when Seattle's drive for October finally gets noticed by the NYC media, for Cashman to plant some stories in the press about how he really wanted Cano back, but was overruled by Hal. Remember, you heard it here first!)

Maybe John Harper is right, that Hal doesn't have the stomach for a GM search. If that is true, then the kids need to just sell the team already. Would they rather just see their money wasted, year after year, than to show some intestinal fortitude?

Is Brian Cashman finally going to be given the old heave-ho?

Or maybe Hal is finally fed up. The dirty little secret about the Yankees' decent attendance this year is how many of those tickets are sold at discount sites like Groupon and Living Social, with people paying much less than full price. And that is with this being Derek Jeter's last season, and with having Masahiro Tanaka in the first half. What are things going to be like after Jeter retires and if Tanaka gets Tommy John surgery?

Hal is supposedly a numbers guy. He has to know that the ticket sales and the ratings are going to plummet even more next year. The Yankees' farm system is so bad that Cashman keeps on trading and signing for has-beens as position players, instead of promoting from within. And even signing the likes of Jon Lester will not keep this team afloat, not if the idiot GM stays in charge.

As Dr. Phil always says, if you keep on doing what you've been doing, you're gonna keep on getting what you've been getting. Is Hal Steinbrenner going to finally change things up, stop being afraid that he will be compared to his father if he actually has the nerve to fire someone, and clean house, starting with his idiot GM? I don't know for sure, but I am more hopeful today that it actually could happen than I have been in years.

Subway Series Game 1: Enough with the Met fans crowing and celebrating

Squawker Jon, I hope you haven't gotten carpal tunnel syndrome from writing two blog posts in a row. Funny how you have so much to say when it comes to the Subway Series, especially when your Mets won. Good thing you managed to roust yourself and write once in a while, or I would have to start calling you Subway Snoozer!

Anyhow, your brethren sounded very loud at Yankee Stadium last night, especially from the section that the 7 Line Army occupies. (And what's up with that, anyway -- how does Yankee Stadium allow literally an entire section to be sold to the opposition's fans? Can you imagine Fenway Park selling a section just to Yankee fans for them to make noise in? Are the Yankees that desperate to get fannies in the seats?)

On the other hand, my Yankee brethren sounded positively quiet when Curtis Granderson came up to the plate. Using their (dopey) logic that was exhibited with their shameful booing of Robinson Cano, the same people should have booed Granderson for not just going to the Mets and getting more money there, but for referring to Mets fans as "true New Yorkers." It just goes to show that the booing of Cano is really because Yankee fans wish he were still with the team. Speaking of Robbie Cano, don't you know, are you aware that the Mariners now have a better record than the Yankees?

An aside: I thought about signing your team's dumb petition on true New Yorkerdom so that if I won, I could show that I was a Yankee fan and mock you all. But I didn't want to take a chance of anybody thinking I was a Mets fan -- it would be like having cooties.

It struck me as strange, too, that I heard more cheers than boos in Yankee Stadium when Granderson hit a homer. (It did not strike me as strange, though, that John Sterling reportedly exclaimed "the Grandy Man can" when he hit the homer; Sterling loves his catchphrases!)

As for the flashbacks to the Castillo game, the Yankee radio pre-game featured both Sterling's "Oh Wow" call for that, as well as the call when Mariano Rivera got his 500th save (which was against the Mets, of course, at Citi Field.) And we were at both games! Two of my very favorite Yankee-watching moments. Are you still fuming, Jon?

How about that Kerosene Kyle? This is what happens when your team loses a gazillion dollars in a Ponzi scheme -- they have him as the closer. Even the Yankees never did that! Unfortunately for me, Farnsworth got out of the jam and got the save. But don't reward him by putting Farnsworth back on your fantasy team, Jon!

And yes, the Yankees have a lot of injuries, but 1) that is not an excuse, and 2) that is what happens when you sign old, injury-prone players -- they get injured! 

I will give your Mets credit for one thing -- their contrasting brims (the orange with the blue hat) look a heck of a lot better than the white brims on the Yankees caps! Good grief.

Say it ain't so, Mo: Why Mariano Rivera would have been better off being "The Closer" of his mouth

Mariano Rivera, arguably the most respected player in MLB in recent years, with the most saintly reputation (he's like Tim Tebow but with Hall of Fame talent), is one of the few things Squawker Jon and I agree on. Not only is Mo my favorite player of the 1990s dynasty years, but I have gone to see him speak on Staten Island, and Jon and I went to eat at his restaurant in New Rochelle a few years ago. Squawker Jon also gave him a standing ovation when he saw him pitch at CitiField and at Yankee Stadium in Mo's last season. Rivera is the rare -- make that pretty much the only -- Yankee that Jon can stand.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, in addition for rooting for different teams, Squawker Jon and I have very different personalities. Where I am brash and impulsive, Jon is quiet and methodical. But one of the things we do do for each other is try to bring out the best, and stop the worst. When I have an opinion or impulse or idea that Jon thinks is too much, he will simply say, "What does that get you?" -- meaning, is it really worth the aggravation in saying or doing what I want to? Sometimes Jon is right, and sometimes he is wrong in asking that, but it is a good question to ponder before saying or writing something controversial.

All this is to say that I wonder why apparently nobody asked Mariano Rivera "What does that get you?" when it comes to his new book, The Closer. Because it seems bizarre to me that he would tarnish his saintly image with some of the things he said in his book, written with Wayne Coffey.

For example, there is this, courtesy of the News' article on the tome, on how he throws Robinson Cano under the bus:

In his new autobiography, “The Closer,” Rivera writes about how much affection he has for his former teammate, but adds, “This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start... There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best... You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players.”

As for his favorite second baseman, Rivera says Red Sox Dustin Pedroia is “at the top of the list” of players he admires, adding: “Nobody plays harder, gives more, wants to win more. He comes at you hard for twenty-seven outs. It’s a special thing to see.” He later writes, “If I have to win one game, I’d have a hard time taking anybody over Dustin Pedroia as my second baseman.”

Ask yourself this: would Mo have written that if Cano hadn't gone to the Mariners? The answer is that he wouldn't have. And what does writing this get Mo, anyway? It seems more than a little unseemly for him to question somebody else's drive this way, especially when Rivera himself never showed any "red-hot passion" on the field himself. How would he have liked it if people had said the same about him?

And since when did Cano become some underachieving schlub, anyway? He not only was the best player on the Yankees for the last half-decade, but he played nearly every game and showed up to the park early nearly every day to work on his game. But the moment he leaves the Yankees, he becomes some bum?

To top it off, comparing Cano to Red Sox Pedroia, and finding Cano wanting, is a bit much. Sorry, folks, but Cano IS better than Pedroia. C'mon, Mo, you're better than this.

The other thing that really bothered me from the article about the book is this:

Rivera writes that neither the 2003 team nor the one that lost four straight to the Red Sox in the ALCS a year later was close to having the same championship-quality fiber as the Yankees’ previous championship teams.

“Those teams of ours that won four World Series in five years would’ve hammered (the Marlins),” Rivera writes. “They would’ve found a way and will their way through as a team.”

He isn't the first Yankee to raise that whole "it's not the same team" argument, but it makes me wonder: if the heart of the dynasty team were the players who were no longer on it in the next decade, then what does that say about Rivera and the so-called Core Four? That they weren't really so core?

At any rate, I will still be a fan of Mo, but I am very disappointed that he chose to make such comments. In answer to the question "What does that get you?", I guess it will get him some book sales, but at a cost to his pristine reputation. Not an even trade.

Did the Yankee brass turn up the field microphones to amplify the Robinson Cano boos?

One of the things that struck me the other night about Robinson Cano's return to Yankee Stadium, besides the fact that Yankee fans were stupid to boo and chant "you sold out" at Cano, was how loud the boos were. There were maybe 10,000 people at the game, tops, yet I literally have never heard such a loud crowd reaction at the new stadium. I thought it was just liquored-up, angry hypocrites losing their minds that made them so loud, but my friend Steve at Yankee blog WasWatching.com has a different theory:

The Yankees threw some gasoline on this one. No one was there at the game. And, they threw the field mics up to full throttle. When the M’s manager came out to argue with the third base ump late in the game, you could hear every word out of their mouth – until someone starting cursing and then YES lowered the volume on the feed. If YES had their field mic on normal levels, you wouldn’t have heard the Cano reaction in quite the same way.

I think Steve's theory is absolutely correct, and I would like to see somebody in the New York media ask the Yankees about this. I was wondering why we could hear the words in Lloyd McClendon's argument so clearly! I am kicking myself for not realizing this earlier. Not that there weren't boos -- I am quite sure that the boos outweighed the cheers by a large margin -- but that the Yankee brass would want to emphasis the anti-Cano boos as much as possible. Good thing this is such a classy organization.

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!

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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!


 

Why Robinson Cano did the right thing in going to Seattle (and the Yankees have no plan and no clue)

Earth to Yankee fans: our fanbase never has the right to complain about a player going for the money, least of all Robinson Cano, who actually was paid below market value as a Yankee (he never made more than $15 million a year). As if all the free agents over the years who got big salaries in the Bronx only did it for a chance to play in pinstripes, and money wasn't a consideration.

One blogger even wrote a list of the many reasons that Cano wasn't a "true Yankee," and listed No. 1 as him going for the money! (Oh, and please, stop with the crazy notion that Carlos Beltran took a pay cut to be a Yankee -- he got a three-year deal worth $45 million, after the Yanks initially insisted he wouldn't get more than two years, which means we will have him stumbling around the outfield when he is almost 40. That's the "financial flexibility" not signing Cano got the Yankees -- the ability to give Beltran a third year!)

Newsflash: this "love of the game" and "love of the pinstripes" stuff is a fantasy. And don't give the Core Four argument, as one deluded Yankee fan did with me this weekend. (She blocked me on Facebook when I pointed out that contrary to her assertion that the Core Four never left the team for more money, Andy Pettitte actually did just that!) And the other three members of the Core Four all were the highest-paid at the time at their positions. Besides, last time I checked, Derek Jeter got a new $12 million deal for 2014 after having all of 12 hits in 2013, when his contract option only entitled him to make $9.5 million. Does that make him not a "true Yankee"?

Unlike the sizeable contingent of ungrateful Yankee fans out there, who are now acting like Robinson Cano is some bum who wasn't even as good as Chuck Knoblauch (yes, I actually heard a Yankee fan say that the other day!) I realize what a talent Cano is, and I will miss him very much. But it is best for him that he went to Seattle, especially with the way some Yankee fans are falling over themselves to make him baseball's greatest monster now.

Let's face it -- if Cano had stayed in pinstripes, he would have become the designated Yankee scapegoat once this team tanks -- as it inevitably will. Especially given that A-Rod may not be playing next year. Cano, despite being homegrown, will never be as beloved as Jeter.

As for his skills, is Cano Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout? No. But who is? Cano is a top-five player, though.


Helpful hint to Brian Cashman: If you had really wanted to sign Cano, you would have 1) not offered him only  10 to 15% more than you did Jacoby Ellsbury, who had exactly one elite season, and 2) not told the media last month about how Cano "loves the money." (And you don't, Bri?)

But Cano is supposed to leave $65 million on the table for the love of the pinstripes. Why? So the very fans decrying him now could boo him next year when the team stinks?

We never hear Cashman challenge the Ichiros or the Beltrans of the world that if they really want to be Yankees, they can forgot about those extra contract years. No, only Cano is supposed to do that.

Look, I actually would think that not signing Cano would make perfect sense, if the Yankees 1) had new, competent leadership at the helm, and had  gotten rid of Brian Cashman, Randy Levine, Damon Oppenheimer, and Mark Newman, 2) were willing to be mediocre to bad for the next few years while they replenished their farm system and rebuilt the team slowly, and 3) stopped signing old and injury-ridden players.

But instead, we have the worst of all worlds. Not including A-Rod's salary, which could be off the books in 2014, the Yanks are already very close to that $189 million Hal mandate. And they are still missing at least one starter, a second baseman, and maybe a third baseman.

Plus, in burning the furniture by signing Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran (I am fine with the McCann deal, although they probably did overpay), the Yanks are losing draft picks for the future.

And , you know, other teams fill holes by bringing up guys from the minors. The Yankees don't really have any major-league players to bring up. And things are likely to get even worse, the way they are going.

Of course, you could say that the Yankees are going to ignore that $189 million cap and just spend, spend, spend. Well, if that is the case, then why not sign Cano as well? Why have all these machinations to get rid of A-Rod?  

Run, Robinson, run! You made the right move leaving the Bronx. Good luck in Seattle!

It's Ivan Nova and Robbie Cano, Don'tcha Know? Thoughts on ALDS Game 1

So much for all the media hand-wringing about the unproven rookie Ivan Nova starting Game 2 (which turned into pitching in what was left of Game 1.) He was awesome! Watching Nova grow as a pitcher into a budding young star this year was one of the great stories of the Yankee season. (Although I'm still a little ticked he got sent down to the minors for three weeks this year when Phil Hughes came back.)

And seeing Robinson Cano become a superstar was one of the better stories of the last few years. Last night was a little bit of the "changing of the guard," seeing him be The Man on the Yanks, and driving in six runs (including hitting a grand slam.) To paraphrase Jack Curry from the post-game, Cano ought to be hitting third in the lineup for the next game, and the next game, and the next game....

Anyhow, what struck me today about both of their great games was that these players were not really heavily hyped in the farm system, or as rookies. There were no equivalents of the "Joba Rules" or slogans for either of them. And I think that helped them be able to make mistakes and learn without all the hype. Is it coincidental that the least promoted "Generation Tre" member, Ian Kennedy, is the first to win twenty games in a season?

Anyhow, it was a great win last night. Here's to the Yankees winning Game 2.

* * *

These are the conversations that Squawker Jon and I have -- noting that Al Alburquerque, the pitcher who gave up the grand slam to Cano, has a name that is not spelled like the city!

Speaking of Jon, we got together in Manhattan to meet up with our South Florida sports radio show host friends Larry Milian and Phil (Dizz) Domanic. It was great to see Larry again and to meet Dizz. Glad it stopped raining so they were able to see more than an inning and a half on their trip to NYC!

While we were killing time before seeing them, I dragged Jon into the Yankees Cluhbouse store. Jon got so freaked out over all the Yankee stuff he fled the store after two minutes. The thing that triggered the flee? A "Don'tcha Ya Know, Robbie Cano" t-shirt!
What do you think? Tell us about it!

Sorry, But I'm Okay With Joe Girardi Going to Mariano Rivera

I went to sleep around the 12th inning or so last night (I tried to stay up, but I was exhausted from a long day), so I missed the Yankees four-run 15th inning, Robinson Cano's big hit, and the Bombers' eventual victory. At least I got to see Bartolo Colon's great night, and I saw Hector Noesi finally make it into a Yankee game after 16 days sitting around the bullpen. It's cool the Yankees gave him the lineup card for the win.

And best wishes to Chris Dickerson, who had to go to the hospital last night after getting hit in the head by Michael Gonzales.

I was looking at the CBS Sports recap of the game. Looks like every position player made it into the game except for Jorge Posada. And A.J. Burnett (!) pinch ran for Dickerson!

Anyhow, I missed the last few innings. But prior to that, I did see Yankee fans online flipping out over Joe Girardi taking out Colon after eight innings to bring in Mariano Rivera to pitch the ninth.. Twitter and Facebook and Yankee message boards practically blew up with outrage over it, with a lot of fans furious that Colon didn't get to finish the game. And when Mo coughed up the save, fans were ever more unhappy.

I didn't second-guess Girardi on this, for several reasons. First of all, it is not like he went to Boone Logan here. Girardi went to The Greatest Closer of All Time to protect a one-run lead. Are Yankee fans now suggesting that they don't trust in Rivera anymore? If the Yankees can't count on Mo in such situations, then this team is in big, big trouble.

Second, if Colon had given up a run or two in the ninth, you know that Yankee fans would be griping about Girardi not going to The Greatest Closer of All Time instead. 

Third, Colon is no spring chicken -- he's going to be 38 years old this month, and is coming off surgery from last year. Yes, he only threw 87 pitches, but I am okay with Girardi taking him out there. 

* * *

Is it just me who did a double-take seeing the headlines about how A-Rod was going to get his hip examined, and thought he was getting his head examined? Just saying.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Is it too early to start talking about Robinson Cano as an MVP candidate?

I'm going to answer my own question in the headline and say, yes, it's way too early to start talking about Robinson Cano as a candidate to win the 2010 AL MVP award. That being said, it's perfectly fine to say that he ought to be getting the AL Player of the Month honors, especially after a game like last night's win, where he hit two homers and made a nifty - make that amazing - defensive play.

If Cano were on most other teams, he would be the face of the franchise. But with the Yankees, he's just one of many great players (and one of the poorest paid, especially in the infield!)

John Sterling must have been going nuts on the radio during yesterday's game. Did he roll out any other calls for the second homer besides "Robbie Cano...Don'tcha know?"

Speaking of Sterling, Phil Mushnick slammed his ubiquity in all the White House photos:

Looking like a wax figure, Sterling was posed and positioned so perfectly and prominently in the Yankees/President photos and videos you'd have recalled that he made the catch on Bill Mazeroski to end the 1960 World Series, then, in 1996, sold his playoff seats to Jeffrey Maier's dad.

Even a fellow local team radioman couldn't resist comment about Sterling's intrusive presence. During Tuesday's Dodgers-Mets game, Howie Rose said he's going to take another look at his "Sgt. Peppers" album cover because Sterling, perhaps next to Marilyn Monroe, must be in there, somewhere.

Ha!

In other news, how about A.J. Burnett last night? Frankie Cervelli does a great job of getting the best out of Yankee starters, doesn't he?

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Squawker Dilemma: What to watch - and tape - last night during Yankees-Red Sox

I had a very busy evening last night, with some tough television choices. And I didn't even get to see the first half of Yankees-Red Sox live.

Here's the story - I was in Manhattan for a computer software training class that I needed to attend, so I didn't even get home to Staten Island until 9:45 p.m. And if that weren't bad enough, two of my favorite shows were on TV at the very same time as the Yankee game - "Dancing With the Stars" and "The Biggest Loser"!

As my DVR will only let my TV tape two shows at once, I had to have a mini-elimination round at home. Sorry, "Dancing With the Stars," I will have to watch (Spoiler Alert!) Buzz Aldrin get thrown off the show on my computer screen later today. "The Biggest Loser" and the Yankee game made the cut instead (although my DVR taping the game inexplicably cut off at 9:28 p.m., for some bizarre reason!) And that doesn't even get into that I also missed "V" last night, which I taped to watch today.

Anyhow, I got home when the game was tied, 4-4, and watched the rest of it live. Fortunately, I got to see Nick Johnson walk in the go-ahead run, Joba Chamberlain go back to being the Joba of old (as Vinny from "Jersey Shore" would say, Joba was fist-pumping like a champ!), Robinson Cano's homer, and Mariano Rivera's save. Good times!

About Johnson's crucial walk: Joel Sherman has a piece in the New York Post today, called Rivalry now more about patience than passion, in which he complained about the walk:

Not long ago The Rivalry was about Manny and Papi. Jeter and Mo. It was about bloody socks, Pedro tossing Zimmer and everyone hating A-Rod on both sides of the field.

Now the symbol of Yankees-Red Sox is Nick Johnson looking at pitches.....

Johnson saw five pitches in his final at-bat. That is all he did. He never swung. In the current condition of The Rivalry that made him a hero.

Yes, because somebody getting a crucial walk has NEVER become a hero (cough, cough, Kevin Millar) in the Rivalry. Next thing you know, somebody will become a Rivalry hero by stealing a base or something!

Oh, and Sherman can never resist the A-Rod snipes, can he? Even in an article that has absolutely nothing to do with Rodriguez, he's still got to cut the knife. Classy!

Anyhow, back to the game. A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada seem to have peace in the valley for now, although Burnett said it's going to be the last time he's going to talk about it. Somehow, I don't think that's a promise he's going to keep!

And how about Posada saying that Joba was back where he belonged? That's one thing about Jorge - he always speaks his mind!

On a superficial note, does Mark Teixeira have a new hairstyle this year? And is Jeter's high-top fade finally gone? Talk about the end of an era!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Imagine! John Lannan shuts down Yankee bats

So much for my partner in blogging being the good luck charm for Yankee walkoff wins.

Squawker Jon and I have seen two of the most exciting Yankee thrillers of the year in person together - the Melky walkoff/Brett Gardner inside-the-parker against the Twins, and the Luis Castillo dropped ball game on Friday.

And for a while there it looked like we were going to see our third walkoff win together this year. But Robinson Cano hit into a double play, and there was the end to that dream.

I had a whole vision in my mind of what would have happened if the Yankees had somehow hung on and won the game. What if the Yanks had gotten wind of it, and decided having Squawker Jon watch their games in person was their good luck charm? What if the Yankees had decided to have Jon attend all their games until his streak ended? Is that a good movie idea or what - a diehard Yankee hater ends up inadvertently being the good luck charm for the team he despises! Alas, it didn't happen.

Squawker Jon has already covered much of our experiences yesterday. We met "Confessions of a She-Fan" author Jane Heller, Rebecca of This Blogger Bleeds Pinstripes, and Squawker reader Peggy at a very loud Stan's Bar for Jane's book signing. We also were excited to meet LoHud's Peter Abraham on the main concourse before the game.

In addition to those blogging names, there were many members of the New York Giants in the house, including Tom Coughlin, Justin Tuck, and Eli Manning. Eli's big brother Peyton was also spotted. You know, he's really got a great personality. Maybe he should do some commercials or something!

A few other observations:

It's getting old to see the Yankees struggle against a starter they've never seen before. I know John Lannan actually is a good young pitcher, but he's not that good!

Chien-Ming Wang was pretty decent, all things considered. Even though he got the loss, he can look back on this as a successful start, and hopefully build upon this.

Why is it that Alex Rodriguez is getting criticized for walking last night? I don't get it. And the booing of him by so-called "fans" is getting really old. Do they really think it's going to help him?

Jeanne, one of our readers, asked why Joe Girardi didn't have Alex try to steal second, or have Angel Berroa pinch-run for him. I don't know the answer to that. If Berroa is going to serve as a part of this team, that should have been the place to have him in. (Then again, he literally hasn't stolen a base since 2006, which makes me wonder - again - why he is on this roster if he's not even going to get A-Rod a day off once in a while.)

It stunk that Robinson Cano hit into a double play, but 1) at least he did a gutty at-bat, and 2) he also hit a homer earlier in the game, so I can't get on him too much. The Yanks shouldn't have had to need ninth-inning heroics again to win this game.

Speaking of which, as soon as Derek Jeter gets back in the lineup, can Girardi please, please give A-Rod a game or two off already? Thanks!

Oh well. At least I still have this memory, from the Subway Series game Squawker Jon and I attended. (I saw this video on New York Sports Jerk):

Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte: Ain't that peculiar?

My Squawker partner made all sorts of references to Marvin Gaye in his last post. I'm going to have to make one of my own now. "Ain't That Peculiar" that Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte are now saying they're injured, after playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic?

According to mlb.com:

Cano said that he had felt some discomfort before reporting to the Classic club, but did not mention it to the Yankees.

"It was a little bit tight and it never went away," Cano said. "I can throw. It just feels tight. ... I was hoping that it was something that if I stretched, it'd be all right."

Why didn't Cano say anything about this before going to the WBC? And what's the story with the Yankees? Is management too hard to talk to about this?

Then there's his WBC teammate Damaso Marte, who is also hurting for certain. Here's the story from today's Newsday:

Marte's injury is more curious. He said he was bench-pressing weights - his own idea - before the Dominicans' final game, in which he pitched.

"I don't completely understand what he was doing lifting," [Joe] Girardi said.

I don't either.

Let's hope Cano and Marte recover quickly, or this is going to be a very long season.

But what do you think? Leave us a comment!