Robinson Cano will be making his first trip to the Bronx since signing his ten-year, $240MM contract when the Mariners open a series against the Yankees on Tuesday. Cano explained the differences between Seattle and New York to Newsday’s Anthony Rieber. “Here it’s more relaxed. It’s not as intense as New York,” Cano said. “In New York, when the game is over, everyone is looking at what’s wrong. Here we don’t have that.” Cano is hopeful there won’t be many Bronx cheers from the Yankee faithful upon his return. “They understand that this is a business and I don’t have anything against the fans, the team, anybody. I can tell you I’m excited to go back and be able to see guys that I played with for a long time. Be able to see [Derek] Jeter play in his last year. Just looking forward to going back.”
In other news and notes from the American League:
- The Tigers may start to see additional dividends from the Doug Fister trade, reports Chris Iott of mlive.com. Left-hander Robbie Ray, acquired from the Nationals in that December deal, is a leading candidate to replace the injured Anibal Sanchez in the rotation. Ray has posted a 1.93 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 in his four starts for Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers have yet to decide who will fill in for Sanchez; but, if Ray is their choice, they will need to create roster space since the 22-year-old isn’t on the 40-man roster.
- The A’s bullpen has had mixed result this season and the coaching staff is trying to navigate the fine line between a closer-by-committee and the comfort provided by having well-defined roles, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
- The Twins were called this weekend about the prospects of signing right-hander Scott Baker, but have no interest, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Baker is currently pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate (2.77 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9 in 26 innings covering four starts), but has a May 1st opt-out date.
“Cano is hopeful there won’t be many Bronx cheers from the Yankee faithful upon his return.” do you mean “Cano is hopeful there WILL be many Bronx cheers?”
A bronx cheer is a boo.
That’s true.
The other difference between Seattle and NY is that Seattle has never won anything.
New York Yankees have won more than any sports organization, ever.
I think everyone, especially those who hate the Yankees, know that because of the “27 rings” comments I usually see.
That annoys me more than anything, and I’m a Yankees fan.
Sing, it brother!
One of the aspects about being a real winner is having the class to let your accomplishments speak for themselves – which they do. Grandstanding just detracts from that and creates ill will.
That and the fact that most of those 27 rings came in completely incomparable baseball climates to the current one. Stuff that happened in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s has little real relevance to the current state of the franchise.
There you go!
There YOU go. Yankees purchase titles, the whole nation knows it, but those inside New York have amnesia. It’s rather tiring that the Yankees exist.
I think what really gets me the most is the attitude of the fans; the incredulous, dismissive looks they give when I explain that I am not a Yanks fan. They react as if that’s some kind of crime against humanity. Now that is what I call tiresome!
The only Yankees fans I know who give me the “27 rings!” line either do it intentionally to be obnoxious or just know nothing about baseball
And 20 of those were there was only a single round determining a “champion”.
This comment by Cano is comical: In New York, when the game is over, everyone is looking at what’s wrong. Here we don’t have that.
If the Mariners spent time after every game discussion what went wrong they wouldn’t have time for batting practice the next day.
“In New York, when the game is over, everyone is looking at what’s wrong. Here we don’t have that.”
Perhaps dear Robinson, thats why the Mariners havent been relevant in Baseball for a long time and havent had a winning season since 2009.
Cano was great in NY. Actually kind of happy that they don’t have that contract on the book for the next 10 years. I wouldn’t boo him, he took $70MM more than the highest the Yankees were offering. That’s the fact of business, aside from Long’s comments there wasn’t really any ill feelings on either side made public.
Cano may be very unhappy after tonight, I hope my fellow fans make him feel very “welcome” after this line of tripe.
If there are boos, they will be a smattering at best. Who amongst us wouldn’t be seriously tempted by $75M more? He’d probably be advised the enjoy his new city without spending too much time dwelling on how harsh the life here was, but that’s entirely up to him.
Truthfully, whats $75m more when he would have earned over $200m in his career with the Yanks if he’d taken their offer?
Just how much money do you need in life, really?
Honestly, give me the chance to win every year and take $200m or pretty much be a non-contender for most of my 10 year contract and $300m, and its the former every time.
Yeah we all love money, but as i say, when you have hundreds of millions, putting more $ ahead of the greater chance to win to me says a lot about the person.
Tiger, I think Cano is a great player, and I would have like to see him stay. Some players can sign extensions at values that make sense for their existing teams, and some can’t. Cano, for whatever reasons, felt he needed more. He did at some point indicate that he didn’t feel get got sufficient respect. But your point about playing in a contending environment is a good one. Maybe it just wasn’t important enough for him.
It’s possible that Cano simply wasn’t as concerned with winning because he’d already gotten his WS ring in 2009.
Or maybe he feels he can revitalize the Mariners the way Pudge revitalized your Tigers. Some players enjoy the challenge over taking the safe route.
Maybe…but judging by his previous comments and behaviour, and the fact his remaining peak years will be spent with a rebuilding team…im going for the fact it was all about the $$$$.
Maybe…but judging by his previous comments and behaviour, and the fact his remaining peak years will be spent with a rebuilding team…im going for the fact it was all about the $$$$.
It’s shocking that Cano would think that players in New York are under a microscope because of the huge payroll and it is more relaxed elsewhere. Shocking.
Also, hasn’t he heard, relaxed players can’t win.
Yeah it’s more relaxed…..they never win.Hope he thought it was relaxing when they lost 8 in a row.
By additional dividends from the Doug Fister trade, do they mean some dividends? They got 3 players back in the deal and the other two haven’t been worth the plane tickets.
Yeah, I also found the use of the word “additional” to be a bit suspect.
Dig deeper. They saved enough money to sign Joe Nathan. They are much better with Nathan, Krol, Romine and Ray than they would be with Fister, Alvarez and Santiago for the same money. In two years when Fister is a free agent they will still have Ray, Romine and Krol.
So far, Krol has been very productive. The Nationals haven’t gotten anything out of the deal.
Romine for Alvarez trade is completely separate and has no relevance to the Fister deal. Krol being “very productive” is quite the overstatement.
All these moves are related if you are the GM trying to build a 40 man roster. Lombo made Santiago and his 2M a year expendable. Ray made Alvarez expendable. Krol allowed Smyly to get to the starting rotation where he belongs. The money they saved in the trade enabled them to sign Nathan. You are cherry picking the part you don’t like and missing the big picture.
False. Santiago was already gone. Alvarez was not intended to be traded. That move was made after the Tigers lost Iglesias. It was necessitated when the Tiger scouts you proclaim to believe in FAILED in their assessment of Alex Gonzalez and also FAILED in their original assessment of Lombardozzi being able to handle shortstop. You are cherry picking and missing the big picture.
If you wanted to trade Fister then a better package of players more suited to the actual value of Fister would have been better. You can’t assume a better package wasn’t available when numerous other execs complained to Olney that they would have easily beaten the Nationals package.
I really cannot understand how you and bobblehead fail to understand asset management. The Tigers undersold Fister badly. I am sorry that experts from all over baseball including other GMs, scouts and baseball execs are not enough for you to believe this fact.
Romine for Alvarez trade is completely separate and has no relevance to the Fister deal. Krol being “very productive” is quite the overstatement.
So far, what has been the “dividends” the Nationals got for this deal? One month lost. There are only 11 months of regular season left until he becomes a free agent (5 months this year and 6 months next year).
Meanwhile Porcello is well on his way to exceeding Fister in 2014 and 2015. Ray will have 4 years near the league minimum when he does come up potentially saving the Tigers $60,000,000.
Wow, I am a Tiger fan yet I am still shocked at how some seem to have embraced this abysmal trade. Fister was oddly undervalued by some fans and Dombrowski clearly undersold him. Absolutely no one thought this trade was a win for the Tigers. Terrible asset management since at the very least they should have gotten more in return. It should have been Ray and more of value.
The other amazing aspect is you somehow managed to pretend 11 months of a top 20 WAR pitcher means the Nationals got nothing. Remind me again what the Cubs received for 2 months of the inferior Matt Garza…
Not sure how you can call it an “absymal trade” without seeing Ray pitch in a regular season game.
“Absolutely no one thought this trade was a win for the Tigers.”
Other than myself, Mr Pike (poster below), Dombrowski, the Nationals thought it was… at least for several days, when they did NOT jump on the offer when initially proposed.
Instead, they initially said NO. If it was so one sided, why did they not immediately say yes, before Dombrowski would change his mind?
It was an even trade NOT because of the talent, but because of the math:
Ray will cost near league minimum salary for four full years, saving the Tigers over $60MM v. Porcello, Fister or Scherzer over those years.
If the deal were simply the rights to Fister for $60MM (or even $40MM) would it be worth it?
Two internet posters and Dave Dombrowski is the best you can come up with to defend this trade?
Look at it this way in terms of value. Simply terrible asset management. Numerous GMs from other teams stated they would have easily beat the Nationals offer if given the chance. Many analysts dubbed the trade the single worst move of the offseason. Several MLBTR writers questioned the trade. I have more people than I can name to back up the point of view that this trade was abysmal.
Simple asset management is to get at least near market value for your asset. The reaction around baseball is very convincing that Dave Dombrowski did not accomplish that. Even if Ray is held in such high regard by the Tigers, there was no need to overpay as badly as they did. If you can’t see that then I can’t help you.
One other way to look at it. Doug Fister is better than Matt Garza. Two months of Garza brought back CJ Edwards (more highly regarded than Ray) and Neil Ramirez (more highly regarded than Krol). Plus they pulled in Olt and Grimm as a bonus. So it’s a win when 2 years of control of the superior pitcher plus the ability to offer the QO nets you FAR less in a trade?
Just because “bobblehead gurus” said it was bad, does not make it bad.
And if you see my post I am including Mike Rizzo on the list of those who thought it was a fair trade. Otherwise, why would he hesitate for several days when DD could have been taken the deal off the table at any moment?
DD was looking for Ray specifically. That is obvious. Irrelevant that others thought other pitchers were better.
I remember lots of critique for the Scherzer/ Austin Jackson for Granderson/ Edwin Jackson deal. What if DD did not make that deal, but instead made a different “better” deal for a different starting pitcher, rated higher than Scherzer at that time?
He is a great GM because he projected Scherzer properly, despite what the bobbleheads said. Just like we hope he is doing with Ray… .who by the way is now the #1 prospect in the entire Tigers system.
I also remember the Red Sox getting criticized by everyone for their horrible trade with the Dodgers and their weird deals for overpaying mid-level free agents. How many thought they would would win the World Series last April?
Fortunately DD does not make deals for short term public opinion.
Last attempt. If DD is correct and Ray is so much better than everyone else thinks he still failed in this trade. You don’t undersell an asset. DD did that with Fister. Should have been Ray plus more value. The reaction of baseball shows clearly he should have gotten more.
At the time, the Granderson deal was perceived to benefit all three teams. Irrelevant in this discussion.
While some of the free agent signings by the Sox were questioned, the large deal with the Dodgers was not universally panned by any means. Again, terrible comparison.
DD has made many nice moves including moving Fielder. This particular move was awful.
By the way, with Castellanos graduating, being the number one prospect in the Tiger system is faint praise indeed.
Fister or Porcello were available for two years. Everyone knew it. If other GM’s were really willing to give more, why didn’t they speak up?
They may have been willing to trade a higher rated player, but nobody we needed. The Tigers did not need a top 50 first, third or second baseman. Nor a SS or CF. What they wanted was a top 15 MLB near ML pitcher. They got the only one they could for Fister.
Tiger scouts have a great, but imperfect track record in judging talent. Have you ever checked to see how accurate those minor league ratings are? I trust the Tiger scouts more. We’ll see. In any case, it is way too early to judge.
The Tigers would not have Joe Nathan without the trade. It was not a coincidence that Nathan was signed immediately after the trade. Once again, they are better off with Nathan, Krol, Ray and Romine than with Fister, Alvarez and Santiago. That’s the end result and that is all that ever mattered.
It was reported by Olney and others that many GMs wished they had a chance to beat the package by the Nationals since they felt it badly undervalued Fister. I will believe Olney and not your spin.
Your end result argument is faulty. Santiago was already gone. Krol is a fungible reliever. Lombo was a failure of Tiger scouting. Alex Gonzalez was a failure of Tiger scouting. The Tigers may or may not have signed a reliever the cost of Nathan if they kept Fister. However, your “result” pretends they wouldn’t have signed a reliever. Perhaps it would have been a less expensive closer such as Balfour or Benoit. They most certainly would have made a move.
The Rangers GM called the Garza trade the biggest mistake of his career. Are we really going to use that as the yardstick? GM’s aren’t going to make mistakes like that or Wil Myers for two years of Shields anymore. Two years ago, yes. Now, never. That’s why a Price and Samardzija didn’t get moved.
My yardstick is to do better than what was generally universally dubbed the worst move of the offseason.
Why would Yankee fans boo Cano? I must be missing something, because it can’t be because he left for more money. That would be incredibly hypocritical.
Because he’s a SELLOUT. There’s nothing a Yankees fan hates more than when a player sell outs to the team offering more money.
That’s precious.
As a fan, I care about winning. Cano’s actions and comments in the article are the antithesis of wanting to win. Sure players come to NY because they get a big contract but they also get a chance to be in the playoff hunt year in and year out. Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that at least some players don’t share the same passion as fans and consider aspects like pressure to win as a negative. If Cano had left for someplace like Boston or Texas, I wouldn’t have liked it but at least I could appreciate it.
I always liked Baker and wish the Twins at least considered bringing him back. I know there is a bit of a logjam in the rotation right now – Nolasco, Pelfrey, and Hughes are locked in due to contracts, Correia still is somewhat locked in, and they still have to figure out what they have in Gibson. Then they have Deduno pitching in long relief but probably better suited to the rotation, and Meyer in AAA looking ready or close to it after two straight 11 K starts. I’m not sure where Baker would fit.
It was not a coincidence that Nathan signed the day after the Fister trade. They most assuredly would have gotten a reliever, they just didn’t have any budget for one until they traded Fister. Where would the money come from to sign Benoit or Balfour without the trade?
DD addressed the Olney report. Those GM’s didn’t have what he wanted. They did not need a top 25 player to back up Cabrera, Kinsler, Iglesias, Castellanos, Jackson, Hunter, Avila/McCann.
They needed a near major league ready starter who they considered top 15 at the position.
Santiago was a free agent. There were no replacements in the organization. Getting Lombo made resigning Santiago or signing another free agent unnecessary.
Plus, who didn’t know Fister or Porcello was available in trade? Dombrowski said so in several press conferences. It was reported nationally. Those GM’s are embarrassing themselves.
Just because Santiago was a free agent doesn’t mean he couldn’t or wouldn’t have been resigned if they can’t find anyone better or the asking price falls. The Tigers have signed lots of their own free agents and so do other teams.
Alvarez wasn’t meant to be traded -true. But because they had Ray meant they could if they wanted to upgrade elsewhere. Alvarez was never in their long range plans.
bobblehead and I look at Dombrowski’s long trading history and realize that any claim that he was offered better players, but for some reason turned them down, or, didn’t inquire about players he needed who were better than those he tried to trade for, is simply ridiculous.