Robinson Cano is a grown man who didn't want to continue playing for the Yankees.

"Robinson Cano was little more than a casual observer in the Mariners’ 10-2 victory in the Bronx on Monday night, and yet, two months into the season, it feels like the right time to wonder: What if the Yankees could get a do-over on letting their former second baseman walk?

Would they take it? Stubbornness would prevent them from admitting to any such notion, and it’s fair to argue that two months has minimal impact on a decision that was about refusing to make a 10-year commitment.

Yet considering the state of this offensively challenged team, the Yankees surely miss Cano more than they expected. Suffice it to say their huge offseason spending spree designed to make up for his absence hasn’t exactly paid dividends."

"Let him walk" is an odd description for a man whose car left screech marks.

The Yankees didn't want to pay $240 million over 10 years. Even if they did, there is no particular reason to think Cano would have accepted.


"The point of all this is that Cano’s presence, offensively and defensively, would have given them an MVP-caliber player to make a difference right now and stabilize whatever uncertainty lies ahead."

I don't think Cano's production is disputed by anybody. The Yankees knew this when they offered him a ton of money. A ton of money which was dwarfed by the Mariners offer.


"Of course, the Yankees can still change the narrative dramatically by getting healthy over the coming months and playing their way into October."

Gee, I haven't pondered "Yankees" and "October" in a while, but I appreciate the rare show of optimism. I think the narrative may change in 4 or 5 years when a whole bunch of Diminishing Returns contracts are cleared from the books.


"The Yankees will always argue that, regarding Cano, they learned from their mistake on redoing A-Rod’s contract, but it’s also fair to ask if they would have won a championship in 2009 had they let A-Rod walk."

My goodness. Am I reading this correctly? What have you done with the New York Daily News?

A more relevant question might be whether or not anyone is watching this boring team.

Love him or hate him, ARod was an attraction.


"How much is that worth to the franchise that sells itself on its championship history?

After all, considering that the Yankees print money, cost should never be a determining factor in retaining their best player. And had they pushed more aggressively to sign Cano to an eight-, nine-, 10-year contract, any diminished returns on the back end could easily be chalked up to the price of chasing greatness."

Yeah, but ...

OK, I think the Yankees are worse than they were last year ... and it's obvious that Cano was their best player last year.

But Harper is putting all the onus on the Yankees. The Yankees made their offer. The Mariners blew that offer away. Cano didn't want to stay in New York.