"Melky Cabrera might not turn out to be Robinson Cano, but he's 21 and he's got talent and I hope the Yankees give him a full shot before they go chasing after Reggie Sanders or Bobby Abreu or somebody else."
I hate to go after Lupica on a rare occasion that he praises a Yankee player. But it's time to say something about Robinson Cano: Robinson Cano is not a very good baseball player.
Actually, I'm baffled by the degree to which Robinson Cano is overrated. I think that the logical reasoning center of Michael Kay's brain is overtaken by the orgasmic joy of watching a batter "go with the pitch" to the opposite field.
Luipca is hardly the only person who is overrating Cano. A very brief list:
- John Sterling regularly compares Cano to Hall of Famer Rod Carew.
- WFAN callers and hosts regularly claim that Cano batting ninth is like having "two leadoff hitters." Cano has one stolen base in his career.
- When the Yankees played on Fox, Buck and McCarver said that Cano would likely steal second base if he reached first base. Again, near as I can figure, Cano is lumped together with other speedy middle infielders. He's young, he's black, he's a middle infielder. Therefore, Cano must be fast. Well, he isn't.
- The sideline reporter (Peter Gammons or Ken Rosenthal?) said that the Yankees would have eight elite position players when Sheffield came off the DL. Ummm, okay, but Bernie Williams is not an elite DH and Cano is hardly an elite second baseman.
The truth?
Cano is a .300 singles hitter with little power, no speed, and no walks. His play at second base is erratic. Cano may get better, but he's hardly an elite second baeman at this stage of his career.
The Yankees certainly don't need to trade these young players. They're inexpensive and they're contributing. These guys might even develop into superstars. Cano and Cabrera might turn into Pete Rose and Bernie Williams. But they might turn into Pat Kelly and Ricky Ledee.
No comments:
Post a Comment