ROBINSON CANO CAN DO
Rookie second baseman continues to impress Yankees




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
July 28, 2005

Looking at him reminds you a lot of Rod Carew. He is a contact hitter, with some power, who uses the entire field to deposit hits in. Robinson Cano has not just been a pleasant surprise for the New York Yankees he has been somewhat of a mild shock.

Cano’s sojourn into the Yankees line up has been an interesting one indeed. It all started with the outfield and Bernie Williams. It is no secret that over the past three seasons injuries have plagued Bernie to the point where many, in baseball circles, felt he could no longer patrol centerfield like the Bernie Williams of old. That Bernie Williams didn’t run to balls he glided. That Bernie Williams could hit for average as well as flash the power when needed. The Bernie Williams of this season has become increasingly slow of bat speed as well as afoot. So much so the Yankees brain trust decided to bench Bernie and/or DH him, move left fielder Hideki Matsui to center and put struggling Tony Womack in left. The question was who would the Yankees replace Womack with at second base. The answer was at Triple A Columbus in the name of Robinson Cano.

Cano, along with Eric Duncan, Chien Ming Wang and Dioneer Navarro were continually being mentioned as possible trade bait in order for the Yankees to obtain more veteran help if the need arose.

Cano, along with Wang, was promoted to the Yankees on May 3rd. He joined the Yankees after playing 24 games for the Clippers where he hit .333 with 24 RBI and 4 home runs. Cano played his first game for the Yankees that night at Tropicana Field, where he went 0-3 in his major league debut and the Yankees were pounded by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 11-4.

Cano’s next night wasn’t very good either as the Devil Rays took advantage of a throwing error by Cano and scored two runs from it. The Yankees never recovered from the error and fell 11-8 to the Rays. The error erased a good offensive night for Cano as he went 2-4 with an RBI. What it did do was show the Yankees a glimpse of things to come.

Robinson Cano put his first two games behind him and started taking off like a rocket. The kid from the Dominican Republic didn’t let himself get down. He has continued to improve in both the field and at the plate. Eventually, the Yankees realized they had a diamond in the rough. Cano began meshing well with the rest of the infield and his play improved. At the plate, Cano looked like a guy who had seen major league pitching for years. By the end of May Cano had 83 at bats and an average of .253.

Cano’s bat has done nothing, but get better and better. In June Cano added another 100 at bats and hit .310 for the month. This included 4 home runs, 15 RBI, a SLG% of .520 and an OBP of .343. July has been just about as spectacular for the rookie second baseman. So far this month Cano has hit 2 home runs, driven in 11 and has hit .354. Cano’s SLG% is .521 and his OBP has risen to .367. In nearly three months of play Robinson Cano is hitting .313, with 8 home runs and 39 RBI. For the season Cano’s estimated numbers would be .313, with 13 home runs and 63 RBI. Not bad for someone who was, at best, thought to be a temporary replacement and was probably going to be penciled into a trade for a more veteran player. Not now though. Cano’s offensive input has moved him from batting 9th in the order to 2nd behind Derek Jeter. His play has caused Tony Womack to be benched as an occasional pinch-runner and utility infielder Rey Sanchez not to play at all.

Cano’s still learning to play second base at the major league level. He will still make an occasional error or bad throw, but his approach to the game overshadows any flaws he may have defensively. There is no doubt that as Cano plays more and more at second he will continue to improve. So far he has 11 errors in 368 chances for a fielding percentage of .970. Compare that with the stats of Alex Rodriguez (254 total chances, 10 errors, .961 FPCT) and Derek Jeter (443 total chances, 10 errors, .977 FPCT) and one can see Cano can play with the best of them.

What you have to like about Cano is how he approaches his at bats. He seems to be able to hit any pitch and not do too much with it. He’ll go with the pitch, flare a hit, hit a line drive or occasionally smack it over the fence. Cano has calmness about him and doesn’t appear to panic in key situations. This may be due in part to Ruben Sierra taking him under his wing. Big Ruben has been giving the young infielder his veteran insights. Cano must be listening to the right people, because he is playing well beyond his limited major league experience.

Although it’s early, Robinson Cano may be lining himself up for a Rookie of the Year nomination. His numbers, if they continue in the direction they’re presently headed, are good enough for serious consideration. There’s a lot of baseball left to play, but there seems to be no reason to believe Robinson Cano isn’t the real deal. It is going to be a pleasure to watch Cano’s career continue to unfold. He looks as if he is ready for a long calling in pinstripes. A calling that two months ago seemed to be a short one in New York.


PLAY BALL!



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