Hi! My Name Is: Robinson Cano (2B)

Each day, "Piss and Wynegar" will present Yankees "player previews" for the coming 2008 season. In what can only be referred to as a "revelatory" strategy, we will use statistics, as well as opinion, to further our analysis.

Hip-hip, Cano! This veritable Lou Gehrig (What? He lead the team in games played with 160. Duh.) truly is an exciting young man to watch; “exciting,” in this instance, carrying a multitude of positive connotations and a smidgen of negative meaning. It’s hard not to love Robbie at the plate, as no one seems to go on a tear quite like him and, like a Major Leaguer with genuine staying power, he’s improving each year. The only possible caveat to his development is the hefty contract he signed in the off-season, which could lead to world domination or frustrating complacency. Hopefully, it’s the former.

Robinson saw career numbers in HR, RBI, and runs scored in ‘07. He even demonstrated burgeoning patience, improving his BB/AB ratio from 1/27 in ’06, to 1/16 last season. Not bad, especially when one considers that, at times, Cano enjoys swinging at balls that are simply being thrown out of play in-between pitches.

On the flipside, Cano still has some maturing to do. His .353 OBP last season placed him sixth amongst starters, and plate discipline might very well be the culprit. Moreover, Robbie took some heat from game analysts for a weak batting average with bases loaded (.250), and with runners in scoring position and 2-outs (.250). A discipline issue as well? Probably too early to tell, and too small a sample size, but we’ll keep watching nonetheless.

In the field, Cano posted a .984 fielding percentage, but did illicit criticism for occasional lackadaisical defense. If he has an Achilles’ heel, it may be a tendency to non-chalant some grounders. Ideally, this trait will recede with age and a new manager. Like his buddy, Melky, Robinson does some awesome dances in the dugout but, thankfully, his real talent lies in playing the game of baseball.

To read previous "Hi! My Name Is" entries, click here.