WHY CANO KNOWS MVP

ESPN did an interview with Robinson Cano and asked him about the MVP award. Sure, he could have sat there and named names and took the spotlight off himself, but he didn’t. He instead, talked about himself. Check it out:

“MVP is tough right now, you have a lot of good guys, but I would give my vote to myself. You can see the numbers. I’m batting 5^th in the lineup and I’ve been there the whole year and why not me? “

Read the full interview HERE. Now, after that, he came out with another statement and wanted to "clarify". Cano said:

“I never said that I am, or that I want to be... It’s like if you ask my mom, ‘Who is the prettiest man in the world?’ She’s going to say me.”

Read his backtrack HERE. I guess he felt as though he came off as arrogant. There was some suggestion after he made the MVP statement that he got some backlash from it. I didn't really think about it to tell you the truth. In fact, his quote was out there for the world to see and no one really hammered him, not that I could tell.

Cano's having a terrific season and each year he continues to get better, at the plate and in the field. When Robinson Cano entered the Home run derby with his biggest fan, his father Jose Cano pitching to him, I didn’t really think he’d pull it off and win the Home Run crown, but he did. While the Home Run Derby is just a glorified contest for TV ratings, it was significant, the guys developing into a damn good hitter, and power hitter at that.

But back to that quote, "... I would give my vote to myself..." I sat there and thought about it and I thought about Robinson Cano and I compared him to someone like Alex Rodriguez.

(Photo: New York Times / Alex Rodriguez)

Why is it, that if Alex Rodriguez said that quote, it would be top headline news? Robinson Cano gave that quote to ESPN and it was in print from Matt Ehalt on September 22^nd. I didn’t see it until September 23rd. If Alex Rodriguez said it, it would probably overtake the Russell Martin headlines about him hating the Red Sox. People see Alex Rodriguez as arrogant, but Robinson Cano, who’s equally talented as confident. It’s interesting, isn’t it?

I’m in no way taking a swipe at Alex Rodriguez. Alex is a terrific ballplayer and maybe because it comes easier to him, maybe his appreciation for awards seems different. Maybe it’s perceived like it’s no big deal to Alex and he comes off as a player who just expects it. Who knows. I don’t see Alex that way at all. Many do. I find the Alex talented and someone that was in the spotlight too early in his career and given too much money too early. I think he’s learning and maturing now. Robinson Cano on the other hand clearly has that focus and appreciation of everything that’s given to him. He, no doubt gets that from his father, Jose Cano who also went through the baseball system but only played 1 major league season. He knows how easy it is for baseball to disappear and how you need to work to keep it. Clearly he instilled that in Robinson and hence, Robinson doesn’t come off arrogant at all. To me, he’s just a squeaky wheel in that ESPN interview. He instead comes off as a voice to confidence, in my opinion of course.

Look, whatever it is, Robinson is deserving of the MVP. Yes, there are a lot of factors involved and last year, when he was competing against Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera, we knew it would be hard to win the MVP. That’s why Bleeding Yankee Blue gave him our own award. Read WHY CANO SHOULD WIN MVP, BUT WON'T.

At the end of the day, I do hope Robinson or Curtis Granderson snag the MVP. Both have had great seasons and both deserve some credit for really helping this Yankee team get to the playoffs...and that's not arrogance telling you that, that's confidence.

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WHY CANO EMERGES AS YANKEE HERO

(Photo: Getty)

Years from now, when I'm an old man and my grand kids ask me about the legends of the New York Yankees, Robinson Cano's name will be among those names. I've never seen a sweeter swing in baseball and he does it with such ease, you really have to credit his father Jose Cano for some hard work with his son since he was a kid. Cano won the game for the Yankees yesterday...again. How about that?



With 2 outs in the 7th inning and Casey Janssen now on the mound in place of Ricky Romero, Cano was on a mission. What was that mission? drilling 2 runs. His double was a beautiful shot that went to the center field wall allowing Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez to score. Next came up Nick Swisher, who's been on fire would nailed a single.(Photo: Getty)

We've all stated how important the conversation of Curtis Granderson is in the MVP discussion these days, but no one should forget Robinson Cano. He's now batting .307, has 23 homers and 101 RBI's. Curtis Graderson, who's done everything right this year, is batting .273, has 38 home runs and 107 RBIs. 2 big time players, both Yankees and plenty of discussion.Bartolo Colon does not look durable any more, he looked tired. Cause for concern? I'd say so. Yesterday he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings. Boone Logan was the guy who got the win in this one, not Colon. David Robertson was in yesterday as well and did not let up a run. What can you say about DRob, he is quickly emerging as a true Yankee stopper.



Final Score: Yankees 6 - Blue Jays 4



I love my Yankees right now. how about you?



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WHY CANO CAN DO ANYTHING

(Photo: Getty)
When Robinson Cano agreed to enter the Home Run Derby, I didn't know what to make of it. Should I be happy, should I be worried that the derby could screw up his swing like it did for players like Bobby Abreu? I decided to watch it anyway, after all, I wanted to root for the guys who represent the Yankees and Cano was in there representing.

Man oh man was I surprised. A great highlight of the night for was seeing Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson and David Robertson watching Cano in awe and then later in the final round getting the whole round involved to cheer on Cano. These are teammates of Cano and they see him every day. They looked at his homers and just were blown away. I was blown away too. Cano is the future of the Yankees and this night was just great.The final round of course featured the Yankees verses the Red Sox... Cano verses Adrian Gonzalez. Talk about a matchup, it was just brilliant. The only thing better would be if Chris Berman's mic didn't work. I didn't mind hearing the other guys, but Berman's days are over. Hang it up pal.

In the final round Adrian Gonzalez had 11 home runs. Cano came out of the tunnel looking like he was in the zone. My 8 year old stayed up tonight to see Robbie in action. He said "It's like a Yankees, Red Sox game." Wow, they start early don't they? He was right... it kind of was.

Once he tied Gonzalez at 11, Jose Cano, Robinson's father walked out from the pitcher's mound and put 1 finger up. "One more," he said. "I love you Dad" Robbie said on the opened mic. Robbie went back, took a drink of Gatorade, stood into the box and lit the next pitch up. My 8 year old quickly said "Yankees win... Thhhheeeeee Yaaaaannkkkeeees Wiiiinnnn." Cano is a superstar and yes, it's only the Home Run Derby, but for us, that was more touching than any moment in sports; A father who believed in his son, and a son who believed in himself.

Congrats Robbie, you deserve everything good that comes your way.

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