Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 11, 2008 
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How good can Robinson Cano be? As good as he wants to be be say the Yankees.
Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy rebounded this last night. This notebook also has word on a visit from the union, a new catcher and better health for two important players.
Jays-Yankees this afternoon. Chien-Ming Wang will be on the mound.
Pete thats a great quote from Wang, how would you pitch to me?
I would hit you. Love it!
There was a lot to like in the Cincy game and in particular the pitching.
The team is about to shift into another gear of spring training with many things falling into place.
Joe Girardi should be approaching the stage of narrowing down the 25 players to head to the Bronx with. Now is the time for certain players to make their presence felt.
Nice story on Cano, Pete. Thanks.
I have said from the first time I saw him swing that Cano was the real deal. I see him as a future batting champion if, as mentioned on the article he keeps himself motivated.
I suspect he got taken to the woodshed by his teammates last year when rumors were out there about him loving the night life a little too much. He turned it around and had a very nice second half of the season.
Sometimes it happens to young men that they get to a point in life when they realize no one is watching over them and they can do what they want. It is then that they either work at their craft to become expert, or they coast and just get by. I’ve seen it in the military, in business, and in private life. Having an older mentor is crucial to getting them past that point and it looks like in Cano’s case the older players have seen what he can do and have stepped up to help him.
When the Yankees got rid of Soriano I thought they made a hugh mistake. Robby Cano is an outstanding player and will have a couple of rings before it is all said and done. He has one of the best swings in baseball and is clutch.
http://www.recreateyourlifenow.com
I love the humor from CMW. You seem to have great repour with him Pete.
YanksAngel -
Rapport.
Peter,
I am anxiously awaiting your post discussing what a joke it is that Billy Crystal is playing with the Yankees for a day. I threw up in my mouth a bit when I heard that news….
He is wearing a Mets hat for godsake!
http://www.amazon.com/City-Sli.....B000059TFL
I am so sick of the celebrity that thinks he is a huge fan of a team solely because he has the $ and power to command tickets and accessability. And if hear that the damn story about him seeing the Mick hit a HR, I will puke again.
(sorry, just ranting!)
yanksrule57
I wont make it to Saturdays game…will you be there on Sunday???
yanksrule57
wont be there Saturday 3-15
Pete- where’s that edit button!!!!
That’s what I get for posting at midnight my time!
“That’s what I get for posting at midnight my time!”
?? Where’s that? Japan? China?
Australia?
Melbourne Australia
What quote from Wang? Where are you guys reading this, I don’t see any reference to it, is there a missing link?
“”Cano can hit anywhere,” said Chien-Ming Wang, a teammate for three years in the minor leagues and the last three with the Yankees. “He has power to right field or left field. He said one time, ‘How would you pitch to me?’ and I told him I would hit him.”"
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs...../-1/SPORTS
from the article on Cano… how did CMW’s English get this good??
the story on Cano has a great quote from Wang
Cano asked him how he’d pitch to him, and Wang said ‘I’d hit you’
Couple of observations.
I’ll be shocked if Traber doesn’t make this team. He’s been great against lefties. I know Henn is out of options but he’s been awful. Igawa still needs to work on his command. Also, I’ve been impressed with Hawkins so far. Now that he is not trying to throw the ball by everybody anymore and is becoming more of a GB pitcher, the results have been much better. The more I see of Brett Gardner, the more I like him. He has a very good eye and can really be a pest when he gets on base. He just needs to learn to use the gaps more.
from the article on Cano… how did CMW’s English get this good??
I’ve heard his English is a lot better than he lets on. I read an article that he often acts like he doesn’t understand what someone is saying although he actually does most of the time. He can avoid questions he doesn’t like and learn a lot from listening to people.
Thanks, RayBlay. I heard last year that CMW would jokingly argue with Bowa, maybe he got lessons from him. He doesn’t have a translator so I’m pretty sure he can communicate in English well enough.
could we please send igawa out to minor league camp already? preferably the mets minor league camp….
Im surprised he even said that whole quote to Pete… I’m reallllly impressed lol
I think Bowa told him some interesting quotes to use on other players that were… shall we say… not so polite
“But don’t you get tired of “celebrities†getting special treatment all the time? It’s not like their curing cancer or anything.” (from last post)
Doreen, I couldn’t agree more. Our priorities are out of whack. Though I admit, here I am spending time on this blog than on the Cancer Blog (which as it happens will soon be shut down).
http://www.thecancerblog.com/2.....ing-deals/
I’d like to think that if I were an athlete or other celebrity, that I’d recognize all the silliness, but try to use my fame for as much good as possible. Some celebrities are great at that, and I hope Crystal uses this special treatment for a greater good as well.
Agreed I’d be shocked if Traber didn’t make the team. I’d also be shocked if Igawa did. He walks way to many and I happen to think he has gotten lucky lately with the results.
I’d forgotten that Traber is 28. For a lefty specialist, there can be years and years of shelf life if he does well. He’s sure looked good so far.
Pete – that CMW quote is comic gold. Sounds like the man has an extremely dry sense of humor. Terrific reporting. Thanks.
Pete, i’m in love with the glimpses you give us into the type of guys the yankees really are. moose and his “we’re gonna be pulling planes around with our teeth tomorrow” and wang with his “cano, i’d hit you.”
lol, it’s awesome.
“I heard last year that CMW would jokingly argue with Bowa, maybe he got lessons from him. He doesn’t have a translator so I’m pretty sure he can communicate in English well enough.”
I remember reading that Wang has never had a translator, and that back when he was in the minors his neighbors (like, at his apartment building) would help him a lot. And he learns lots of dirty jokes from the other players and coaches.
A thing I thought was interesting about Robbie was that he started going without a translator as soon as he could, because he really wanted to push himself to learn English better. Hopefully, with the help of ARod, Long, Wynegar and Jeter, that sort of attitude will translate over to his ballplaying work ethic.
Robert – “When the Yankees got rid of Soriano I thought they made a hugh mistake”
———————————————————–
Are you saying you would rather have Sori then ARod? Mistake?
I did NOT like what I read on Cano. The absolute LAST thing we need is for him to think he needs to hit more HRs. And as talented a hitter as he is, he is still NOT a high OBP guy. A #3 batter MUST be selective and have a good eye. With the cleanup hitter on deck, a walk is a fine outcome for our #3 hitter. That’s why Abreu bats #3, NOT because he hits HRs, but because he gets on base. That’s why Jetes is great in the #2 hole.
When JD is gone, Jetes leading off and Cano batting #2 might be good, but again, Cano MUST have a better OBP.
The difference between Jetes BA and OBP is almost 100 points. Same for Abreu. For Giambi, it’s usually quite a bit more, often 130+ points. For Cano’s career, it’s only 30 pts.
So as good as Cano hits, his career OBP is UNDER .350. Like Jeter (was) and Posada, Cano should be looked at as a doubles hitter with some pop, who might hit 20-30 HRs a year. The first thing we want to do is get him to be more selective, and maybe even stop swinging at pitches over his head. The LAST thing we want to do is mess with his swing by ‘expecting’ him to be a HR guy.
Futhermore, while he has decent speed, he runs ‘funny’, and I don’t believe he is a particularly good base runner. If he can improve his OBP to the .370 (or better) range, and be a bit more savy on the basepaths, he might make a dynamic #2 hitter. Until then, he is a fine #5 or #6 hitter.
On top of being a good pitcher, I just really like seeing how CMW has proven to be a hard-worker, a grounded person and a good teammate time and time again. All the stories about him insisting on without a translator and improving his English on his own, not buying a house until he felt he’s earned his place on the team, teaching Joba the two-seam ball and trying to get along with everyone just really make me feel he is a special Yankee. I like him almost as much as I like Mo.
Compared to the other complainers and lazy pitchers we have…yes I’m looking at you Pavano, Igawa, Farnsy…why can’t you all take note? I was disappointed with CMW in the last PS but could never get mad at him. It’s like he’s part of the family.
Pete…
For gawdsakes, start thinking like the Yankees beat writer that we know you are!
You tell us that Robbie said: “I don’t want to spend all my money going out in New York. That’s not for me.”
Think about it. That’s a direct attack on Derek Jeter; the team spirit is ruined and with it, any hope for unity, division title, or World Series.
Now you have to do a series of articles on the Jeter-Cano feud.
Yazman,
“Some celebrities are great at that, and I hope Crystal uses this special treatment for a greater good as well.”
You are right about this, and I do applaud the many who donate their time and money to charities. (And I do know that there are many who chose to go unpublicized in their efforts, and they deserve the most applause.) And I’m chagrined to say I didn’t even know there was a cancer blog, though I imagine there must be a blog for everything!
Wow – I didn’t realize Traber was that young – he seems to have gone through an awful lot already, based on the articles I read this weekend by Pete and by Ty Kepner. Good luck to him, he seems to be making a strong case to make the team!
I am really, really happy to see Ian Kennedy doing so well. My husband’s feeling all along was that he’d be the “sleeper” of the three young guys.
I have a question, though. When they talk about innings limits, do they take into account that some guys are able to get out of innings with fewer pitches as a general rule? Or do they just take some kind of league average? Because it would seem to me that a guy who is economical with his pitches should be able to pitch more innings.
mark alan….what a joke. so the guy lives his out-of-uni life differently than jeter. people have to run everything they say through the ‘how does this affect jeter’ loop before they can say it?
arod said the other day that he’s grown so much with his family life, didn’t you see that as a slap at jeter’s bachelor ways?
the rest of the world doesnt spend every waking moment defending derek jeter against percieved slights like you to
jmo, Marc Alan’s post was a joke. Read it again.
SAHM I Am – I am not an expert on pitch count and innings but yesterday I heard Joe Girardi being interviewed on Mike and the Mad Dog. They asked him if one of the young guys who has an innings limit was leading 7-1 after 5 innings would you pull him to save innings since he would already qualify for the win? Girardi replied that it would depend on the number of pitches thrown at that point. So it seems to me that it must be a combination. They probably look at innings and pitch count.
good piece about kennedy’s pitching last night in the daily news:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....eir_t.html
talking about kennedy last night :It was an inning that made one American League scout at the game last night nod in admiration and say: “That was a Greg Maddux inning.”
I wonder if Cashman’s reluctance to trade any of the three is due to the fact that they each have a different style of pitching.
Thanks for the link to the Kennedy article, Y’s Guy. I like the term “thinking man’s pitcher.” That’s probably why my husband likes him!
This is a response to Old Yanks Fan comment on Cano and his pitch selection.
While I wholeheartedly agree with you that Cano would be improved by better pitch selection I see him as a great choice for the #3 slot.
They always talk about how many more fastballs David Ortiz sees because he bats in front of Manny. Cano is the 2nd best fast ball hitter on the team (to Arod). I would love to see the kind of numbers he could put up in the 3 slot. Maybe move Bobby to the 5 slot.