Robinson Cano Not Starting On 4/12
Posted by Steve L. on April 12th, 2006 · Comments (6)
I wonder if this is only because the Royals are throwing a lefty today – or if it’s because Cano is only averaging 3.4 pitches per PA so far this year? Maybe it’s both?
The 3.4 figure is not great – but, it’s acceptable, to some, if you’re hitting well at the same time. In fact, if Cano had a 3.8 that would be very nice for him. So, he’s not that far off from doing better in this department.
Perhaps he’s just sitting because there’s a LHP on the mound? I wonder, if Cairo does well, will this lead to a platoon at 2B? It might – Cano did have a 160 point drop in OPS vs. LHP last year (compared to facing RHP).
Torre wants to put Cairo in at 2nd, once a week. I have nothing printable to add to that.
Torre makes me so miserable. I mean, to the point where I don’t even want to follow the team anymore. His decisions are so frustrating. How is it that he was such a successful baseball PLAYER but he’s such a dope when it comes to MANAGING?
He said he’s going to start Cairo at least once a week — to “keep him fresh.” KEEP HIM FRESH? FOR WHAT?! To come off the bench? Why does Torre have such a distaste for young players? Why take 100 at-bats away from the ROY runner-up and give them to a bench player? It’s unbelievable. Cano is a better player than Cairo ever will be. Cairo is a role player and Cano can be a star. These are the types of things that make you bang your head into a wall. No manager is as infuriating as Torre.
I don’t know. At first, I was infuriated with this move. But now (with the benefit of hindsight, of course) it doesn’t irk me nearly as much. I think Cano obviously needs to play every day, but he also has a couple of big holes in his game at this point.
If Cairo is considered a better fielder at 2B than Cano (I don’t see too much difference but I’m not too perceptive) then I have no problem with the start against a weaker team as KC is. I hope it doesn’t happen too often, though.
Cano is no Maz at 2B, but let’s put Cairo’s offense in perspective. He leads Neifi Perez, who is well on the road to becoming the worst hitter EVER, by .002 career OPS. He is a late-inning defensive replacement only.
In the same vein, I’d really like to see Andy Phillips get a chance to play on a somewhat consistent basis. I don’t get it – is he just keeping a roster spot warm until Eric Duncan is ready in a year or two? It kills me to see Cairo starting at 1B on days when Giambi is the DH instead of Phillips.
Maybe Phillips can hit in the bigs, maybe he can’t. It might be a good idea to find out, though, and that’s not going to happen if he’s only going to be used as a late-inning defensive replacement.