Robinson Cano

New York Mets: First Time No April Baseball in MLB History

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New York Mets, Edwin Diaz

Throughout baseball’s history, Major League Baseball has dealt with stoppages ranging from union disputes to worldwide conflict. The COVID-19 pandemic achieved something no other conflict ever accomplished, preventing baseball games from being played in April.

The thought of Jacob deGrom trotting out to the mound on his quest for a third straight Cy Young award is simply a dream. New York Mets fans have grown accustomed to their Opening Day success, followed by a solid April to reel in the hope that they will bring home a championship again. All the uncertainty surrounding the country leaves an idea of baseball in jeopardy.

Life Without Baseball

Case numbers vary from state to state, and each state has its ways of moving forward. States like Georgia opened for good, Maryland, and Texas slightly reopened while New York remains wholly shut down. Another key factoid is Canada requires a 14-day quarantine when coming in from another country.

Other teams will not be able to play the Toronto Blue Jays, and even some players are unable to play until laws change. Also, if they returned 14 days before the season, they either risk being unready for baseball after a two-week layoff or risk the consequences of leaving quarantine to stay sharp.

The Mets 40-man roster contains 11 players from countries outside the U.S., but most of them live in the country. Yoenis Cespedes, Wilson Ramos, and Robinson Cano lead the pack. Edwin Diaz went back to Puerto Rico but is still pitching to live batters whenever he has the opportunity.

Getting players is going to be a tough task to run smoothly. The Utah Jazz was a prime example of what can happen once one player gets the virus. It set a precedent for shutting down sports and made the rest of the leagues realize the dangers the virus poses.

As May is a few days in, it seems more likely that games will resume at some point during 2020. MLB is putting together all the plans they have to make it work, but each different state’s timeline will be a significant hurdle to overcome.

New York Mets: Short Season Helps Robinson Cano and Yoenis Cespedes

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New York Mets, Robinson Cano

As Major League Baseball continues to move towards the season resuming, the more likely the divisions will be realigned. The designated hitter will likely become universal and implemented past the 2020 season. The New York Mets have with “pitchers who rake,” but their everyday DH is a major weapon.

The aging Robinson Cano is in prime position to assume the DH duty when baseball returns. Cano is in his age-37 season and coming off of his worst season in the big leagues. Even when Cano started to pick things up down the stretch run, it quickly ended when he injured his hamstring.

Squeeze the Last Good Years Out

There is no longer an expectation for Cano to put up MVP caliber numbers as a position player. If the Mets use Cano more as a DH than in his usual position of second base, the production should increase. Much like Nelson Cruz and Jim Thome, the increased focus on offense will bring back his Hall of Fame-caliber production.

Does it make the Mets defense better? Realistically, it does not make a difference. Cano is not the same defender he was during his prime. Even if the defense gets better at second base with Jeff McNeil moving there, the third base defense then takes a hit.

The other DH option would be Yoenis Cespedes, which would allow the Mets to keep Cano in the field. At this point in their careers, a healthy Cespedes is better than Cano. The keyword for him is always “health.” Cespedes was ready to hit in Spring Training games, but his rehab did not allow him to field yet. Moving him to a permanent DH role also allows the Mets to organize their outfield easily.

The Odd Man Out

Dominic Smith would ideally be the best for the role since he is going to lose the most playing time. Pete Alonso started 152 games in 2019 and will likely do the same. Smith is not an upgrade in the outfield either, which suits him perfectly to DH. This is why the Mets have not traded him since 2021 is a likely possibility for the universal DH.

Smith also provides more power as the left-handed DH over Cano. Smith only hit two fewer homers in over 200 less ABs last season. Smith’s on-base percentage was almost 50 points higher than Cano’s as well.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but Luis Rojas and the Mets should be discussing all the possibilities for baseball’s return. Their assortment of riches should be a blessing, not a curse.

New York Yankees: A history of outstanding 2nd baseman, find out the top ten

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In the New York Yankees rich history of great players, are names like Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Whitey Ford, Joe DiMaggio, Derek Jeter, and dozens more.  Over the years, there have been standouts at every position.  2nd base is the one position that deciding the best ever, is the most difficult, because any one of the top four, you could call as number one for varying reasons.  For instance, Tony Lazzeri had the most hits and RBIs.  Robinson Cano had the most power.  Willie Randolph had the most plate appearances and the best WAR.  You get the idea each had something about them that could be called the best.

The following is this humble writer’s picks for the top ten New York Yankees 2nd baseman:

1. Tony Lazzeri:

Tony Lazzeri is the second longest-tenured  Yankee 2nd baseman.  Tony played 12 years for the Yankees from 1926 to 1937.  Tony’s defense at 2nd was stellar.  He had more hits than Willie Randolph and had the second-most home runs behind Robinson Cano.  Because he played so long ago, most Yankees fans never saw play.  He had 100 or more RBIs across seven years.  He scored 100 or more runs twice, and he had a batting average over .300 in five of his years.  He is my pick for number one.  It should be noted that All-Star games did not start until 1933, Lazzeri was an All-Star in the first-ever All-Star game.

2. Willie Randolph

Willie Randolph played 13 years at second base for the New York Yankees and had the most runs scored and the second-most most hits of 2nd baseman.  During his years he almost doubled the number of drawn bases on balls of other Yankees.  He drew 119 walks in 1980. Willie manned second base from 1975 to 1988. The only hole in his record that kept me from placing him first, is his low home run count.  Randolph was a six-time All-Star for the Yankees.

3. Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano could have been number one on this list if he had remained with the Yankees a few more years.  Although he wasn’t the best defender of all time, his power was greater than any other New York Yankee second baseman.  Over his nine years with the Yankees, he had 204 home runs. He also had the highest OPS of Yankee second baseman at .860.  He was a doubles hitting machine with 375 in his nine years between 2005-2013.  He was a five-time All-Star and received five Silver Slugger awards.

4. Joe Gordon

Joe Gordon is a bit controversial as he only played for the Yankees for seven years between 1938 and 1946, less two years while in the military.  The only reason that Gordon scores so highly on this list is his superlative play at 2nd and his home run power.  He managed 153, which is the highest per year of any other Yankee first baseman.

5. Bobby Richardson

Richardson was probably the second most popular Yankee second baseman behind Willie Randolph.  Bobby was an eight-time All-Star during his entire career played with the Yankees from 1955-1966.  He was also a Gold Glover five times proving his excellent defense of second base. During 1962 he had 209 hits which is amazing.  The hole in his career that puts him behind Joe Gordon is his inability to hit home runs, only 34 in twelve years.

6. Gil McDougald

McDougald would be higher on this list, but he shared duty at shortstop and at 3rd base.  He did spend a considerable amount of time at second and was a good defender.  McDougald spent all ten years of his career with the Yankees being an All-Star five of those years. Gil was Rookie of the Year in 1951.

7. Snuffy Stirnweiss

Stirnweiss was a Yankee second baseman from 1943-1949.  Stirnweiss like McDougald shared his stellar defense with short and 3rd base.  He was on three World Series-winning teams and won the batting title in 1945 with 197 hits.

8. Mark Koenig

Mark Koenig is another New York Yankee that played more than one position, he played both second and third base.  He played for the Yankees for six years from 1925.  He had a .285 batting average during those years.  Although he played for twelve years his best were with the Yankees.

9. Alfonso Soriano

Soriano had two stints with the Yankees, five years from 1999 to 2003, and from 2013 and 2014 when he retired as a Yankee.  Like so many Yankees, he was not an exclusive second baseman he spent time in the left field. While with the Yankees he batted .276 with 121 home runs

10. Billy Martin

Martin played six years at second base for the Yankees while hitting .262 with only 30 home runs.  Martin was known more for his managerial career than his playing days.

Honorable mentions

Scott Brosius (1998-2001) Brosius just missed the list due to his short playing time with the New York Yankees, Mike Pagliarulo, a good defender but had a poor batting average, he did hit 60 home runs between 1986-7.  Joe Pepitone shared his play between second and first base. He was a top first baseman. DJ LeMahieu is a one year veteran with the Yankees, but if his play continues as his 2019 Silver Slugger campaign, he will surely find himself on this list in the years to come.

 

New York Mets: Offense Finds New Life in 7-4 Against Astros

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New York Mets, Rick Porcello

Tuesday’s game between the New York Mets and Houston Astros was not typical of the Mets Spring Training. The pitching did not dominate, pitching in and out of trouble throughout the day. Their offense showed up, but it came from mostly players who are trying to make the team.

Rick Porcello scattered nine hits over 4.2 innings and only allowed two runs. He only struck out one, which shows he was not dominant by any means. Porcello had a baserunner on in every innings he pitched but managed to keep the Astros from mustering anything significant off him.

Offensive Revival

Rene Rivera had a big day going 2-for-4 with an RBI as he tries to steal the backup catcher job from Tomas Nido. Robinson Cano added a two-RBI single on the day and has hits in back to back games. The bench crew was led by Matt Winaker’s solo home run to give the Mets the lead in the eighth inning. Jake Hager also added an RBI single in the Mets three-run eighth.

Pedro Payano picked up the six-out save, despite allowing four base runners. The newly acquired reliever has a 3.52 ERA so far. Chasen Shreve struggled again, allowing a solo homer to Drew Ferguson to give up the Mets lead.

On Wednesday, Jacob deGrom makes his second start of the Spring as he takes on the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets will face a familiar foe in Carlos Martinez. The game will be at Port St. Lucie at 1:10 p.m. and is on SNY.

New York Mets: Matz Shines, Betances Struggles in 5-0 Loss

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New York Mets, New York Yankees, Steven Matz

The theme for the New York Mets throughout Spring Training has been great starting pitching and a dreadful offensive output. The trend remained the same for Steven Matz and the rest of the Mets as they lost to the Washington Nationals, 5-0.

Matz had everything working and pitched three perfect innings with three strikeouts. Out of the trio including Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha, Matz has undoubtedly been the best. The outing dropped his Spring ERA to a sparkling 1.50.

Betances, Familia Struggle

Dellin Betances made his long-awaited Mets debut. Still recovering from his Achilles injury, he only recorded one out in his appearance. He allowed two walks, struck out one and gave up a two-RBI single to Ryan Zimmerman. To go along with the bad outing he also allowed two stolen bases and uncorked a wild pitch. Betances’s velocity was way down but the one bright spot is Betances having no issues with the Achillies.

Jeurys Familia did not fair as bad as Betances. He made it through his one inning of work but allowed four hits including a home run. Familia did strike out two and his ERA only increased to 2.25 for the Spring.

Nimmo Hot, Cano Cold

Brandon Nimmo continues to make a case to be the Mets leadoff hitter. His 2-for-3 outing brought his average to .435 on the Spring. Out of the nine games Nimmo has played he has only gone hitless in two. Robinson Cano is still searching for a fraction of the success Nimmo has. His 0-for-3 dropped him to .091, but only in 11 at-bats so far. An interesting stat for Cano is that in 15 Spring Trainings, he has only hit below .300, three times.

The shutout put the Mets back as the lowest-scoring offense in Spring Training. On Sunday, they face the reigning Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros. The Mets will counter with Noah Syndergaard on the mound.

New York Mets: Porcello, Fargas the Story in 7-7 Tie

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New York Mets, Rick Porcello

The New York Mets offense is starting to come together as the starting pitching continues to dominate. Despite some bullpen struggles, the Mets finished in a 7-7 tie with the St. Louis Cardinals in a back and forth game. Their offensive output over the last two games finally moved them out of the bottom spot in the runs scored category.

Rick Porcello continued his solid start to Spring Training. Over three innings, he allowed two hits, a walk and struck out four. Porcello lowered his ERA to 1.50 and is showing why he deserves to hold a spot in the Mets rotation.

Tyler Bashlor‘s outing was a nightmare at best. He only recorded two outs and allowed seven hits, six runs, and three home runs after Porcello left the game. The home runs were the pitfall for Bashlor in 2019, and he served them up in bunches on Thursday.

Spring Training Cycle

The little known prospect Johneshwy Fargas pulled off quite a feat by hitting for the cycle. He received a non-roster invite to Spring Training after stealing 50 bases in double-A. For a team with very little speed, Fargas gives the Mets a speed threat to throw in their outfield late in the season. Jarrett Parker and Patrick Mazeika also blasted home runs on a day where most of the regulars were on the bench.

Amed Rosario finally recorded his first hit of Spring Training after going 0-for-15 to start camp. Pete Alonso recorded two hits and now has a hit in five of his last six games as his bat is starting to come around. Robinson Cano and Dominic Smith both went hitless to drop their averages to .125 and .130, respectively.

The Mets head to West Palm Beach to face the Houston Astros for a rare night game. Michael Wacha makes his third start of the Spring against Lance McCullers, fresh off Tommy John Surgery.

deGrom and Wacha Shine in Split Squad Outings

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The New York Mets starting pitching has been nothing short of elite through the first ten games of Spring Training. While the bats are still shaking the rust off, the pitching has exceeded expectations so far. In their split-squad games on Sunday, they beat the Nationals 3-1 and lost to the Marlins, 7-2.

Jacob deGrom picked up where he left off in 2019. The back to back Cy Young winner threw three scoreless innings, only allowing one hit and striking out two batters. He a majority of the Nationals everyday players and made it look easy to cruise through the lineup once.

Michael Wacha also pitched well against the Marlins. Over his three scoreless innings of work, he allowed a walk, two hits and struck out one. Wacha still firmly believes he is a starting pitcher, and his two Spring starts show he should be a starter.

Diaz Settles In

If you did not hear about Edwin Diaz’s outing, there were not any problems. He threw a scoreless fourth inning with the only blemish being a Ryan Zimmerman double. Justin Wilson followed by striking out the side in the fifth inning. He has retired all six batters he has faced, and four of them are on strikeouts.

Jeff McNeil continued to stay hot with two hits in the same amount of at-bats. His average is now .500 for the Spring. Michael Conforto homered for the first time and now has hits in three consecutive games after starting 1-for-8. Robinson Cano also added a two-run double to open up the Mets scoring in the first.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Pete Alonso lined a single to center field for his only hit in three at-bats. The concerns were only small for 2019’s home run champ, and the single took the stress off the Polar Bear. Eduardo Nunez has started the Spring hot, his two hits Sunday moved him to 5-for-15. Nunez was a non-roster invite but could easily steal a spot away from Luis Guillorme.

Amed Rosario continued his struggles at the plate. He went hitless in three at-bats and is hitless in all five of his games so far. Only two of the at-bats ended in strikeouts, which is a good sign for the young shortstop. As he settles in more, the hits should follow.

The Mets get a day off on Monday before welcoming in the Marlins to Port St. Lucie. Noah Syndergaard will make his second start of the Spring.

New York Mets: Robinson Cano to make spring debut on Friday

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The New York Mets‘ spring training continues, as the players keep preparing for the real thing to begin in late March. After Thursday’s scare involving Brandon Nimmo and cardiac screening (he’s fine, though) the team can move on knowing that they can have its starting center fielder healthy.

One of the pieces that is trying to get healthier and ready in time is Robinson Cano. The Mets’ starting second baseman had been out all week as he strengthens his legs muscles in preparation for the long, grueling season.

The New York Mets said a few days ago that the star infielder would make his spring training debut in “late February or early March.” Despite some fans understandably growing frustrated with the health status of Cano, he managed to come back right at the optimistic portion of that timetable: he will return to the lineup today, as the Mets take on the Cardinals at 1:10 ET.

Canó missed significant time in 2019 due to a variety of hamstring and quad issues. In fact, he had three different stints in the injured list because of problems on his leg muscles. However, he intends to bounce back in his age-37 season.

The Mets want him to avoid muscle injuries

He worked tirelessly in the offseason to regain the strength on his legs. He wants to avoid getting injured with so much regularity.

The Mets’ second-sacker recently said to Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News that he can return to form. “I know I can do better and that’s my goal this year – stay healthy,” he said. “If I’m healthy, I can be myself. I can be the Robbie that you guys are used to seeing play this game.”

Cano had a down 2019. For his career, he has slashed .302/.352/.490 with a 125 wRC+. Last season, those numbers came down to .256/.307/.428 and a 93 wRC+.

In today’s game, Mets’ right-hander Marcus Stroman will make his second spring training appearance after somewhat struggling in his first one.

New York Mets’ Robinson Cano won’t play until late February or early March

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New York Mets, Robinson Cano

According to the New York Mets‘ manager Luis Rojas, we may not see Robinson Cano for a few more days. The star second baseman is expected to debut on Grapefruit League games in late February or early March.

Rojas explained that Cano is currently working on strengthening his legs. In fact, the second sacker has been working on that for the entire offseason. It is a precautionary measure to make sure that when he returns, he does that at full strength.

The slugger had three separate stints in the injured list in the 2019 season. All of them had to do with muscular injuries to his legs, and that’s why it has been an area of focus for the Mets and for the player.

Even if he debuts in late February, Cano would still have enough time to get ready for the start of the New York Mets’ season. An early or mid-March debut would put his availability for the start of the season in jeopardy, though, but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now.

The Mets want a full season from Cano

Robinson Cano, now 37 years old, hasn’t played a full season since 2017, back when he was with the Seattle Mariners. That year, he belted 23 long balls and drove in 97 runs.

The Mets acquired him and relief ace Edwin Diaz before the start of the 2019 season. Neither of them had a particularly good year, but they are looking to rebound in 2020.

Cano had a 0.8 fWAR season, which has been his lowest output since 2008. He slashed .256/.307/.428 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 423 plate appearances and 107 games.

For his career, the second baseman has a .302/.352/.490 line with 324 home runs, 1272 RBI and a 125 wRC+. With a strong finish to his career, he can pad his numbers and reach certain key milestones.

New York Mets: Robinson Cano aiming to go back to his vintage version

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New York Mets, Robinson Cano

Several offensive stars showed up on the New York Mets‘ camp over the weekend. One of them was Jed Lowrie, who came with a large brace in his left knee that, according to himself, helps “alleviate his symptoms.” Also reporting was one of the star acquisitions of last year’s offseason: Robinson Cano.

The second baseman came in the trade that also brought reliever Edwin Diaz to the Mets before the 2019 season. Both had disappointing years for their standards, but in Cano’s case, he says he is ready to leave last year behind.

The Dominican spent the entire offseason strengthening his legs at home with the hope of avoiding the aches, pains and strains on major muscles that kept him on the disabled list, or limited, during much of the year.

Yes, Cano is already 37 years old and the best of his career is behind him. But he can still be a productive hitter, as evidenced by his .303/.374/.471 line with 135 wRC+ in 2018. That was with the Mariners.

A disappointing first season with the Mets

Last season, with the New York Mets, he put up a .256/.307/.428 line with a 93 wRC. He hit just 13 home runs in 423 plate appearances. However, he was plagued by leg injuries.

Cano spent time on the injured list due to left quad and hamstring injuries. In fact, he visited the IL on three separate occasions. “I don’t want to say it (the first season with the Mets) went the way I want,” Cano said to Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I can do better and that is my goal this year, to stay healthy.”

Upon reporting to the Mets’ camp, Cano said that he can get back to being “the Robbie you guys are used to seeing.”

“I just have to prevent whatever happened in the past,” Cano said. “You have got to get those parts of your body stronger so then I don’t go back again and get injured.”