I played with Robbie for how many years, eight years, nine years, so anytime you play with someone for that period of time its always a little odd to see them in another uniform, Jeter said. We have a lot of memories together, we were very close, its good to see him, but yeah, its a little awkward. .................................. The New King of the Mariners, Minus the Power By Daniel Barbarisi 12 June 2014 The Wall Street Journal (Copyright (c) 2014, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) SEATTLE -- To see the show that the Seattle Mariners put on around Robinson Cano on a nightly basis is to understand why he came to this town -- one never known for its passion for baseball. On the first night of the Mariners three-game series against the visiting Yankees, there were more jerseys bearing Canos name than that of the Mariners longtime ace, Felix Hernandez, by a factor of three. Canos name is on signs, on placards, on shirts that read Hello Cano! When he comes to the plate, he is introduced with all the noise and menace of a professional wrestler, powerful and intimidating as Cano raises his head to show his newly bearded face. It all underscores why Cano rushed to sign with Seattle, where he is the Man in a way he wasnt in New York, and never would have been. Even if he had signed a seven-, or eight-year deal with the Yankees, he would have been just one star in the sky. Yes, there are the obvious 240 million reasons, paid over 10 years, that helped Cano make his decision. But ask him why he came to Seattle, and his explanation offers a window into what motivates him. I got to meet with the front office and I told them, maybe not this year, but we wanted to build a team to win a championship. Thats what you want. If youre going to go somewhere else, you want to go to a team -- especially coming from a team like New York -- you want to go somewhere that theyre going to build a team to win a championship. The wording matters there -- its not go to a team that can win a championship. To Cano, the point was to go to a team that would build to one. And that means to build around him, as a foundation rather than another excellent piece. So far, he has provided value. Cano is playing well, with a .333 batting average. But as predicted, he is having trouble hitting balls out of massive Safeco Field. Entering Wednesdays game, he had hit only two home runs, making him easy fodder for critics of his move to Seattle. Cano waves off the criticism, saying he does damage in other ways, and hes still providing similar value with line-drive hits. Im the kind of guy that I dont put pressure on myself, he said. I know Im not a home run guy. I just took advantage that I was playing on a short field. We know what kind of field it is. I was able to hit homers early, but if you look at my numbers when I first came up, I would hit the ball the other way. Now Cano is the unquestioned king of Safeco Field, Felix Hernandezs royal nickname (King Felix) notwithstanding. And he might someday win with this Mariners team, which is, at least, competitive this year. Its clear that Cano made a different decision than his mentor, Derek Jeter, would have made. Jeter was always happy in New York because he was always winning in New York. He also had the luxury of being the top dog almost his entire career, something Cano had never really experienced. Jeter is still jarred by the fact that Cano left, that he took the money and the chance at his own kingdom in Seattle. I played with Robbie for how many years, eight years, nine years, so anytime you play with someone for that period of time its always a little odd to see them in another uniform, Jeter said. We have a lot of memories together, we were very close, its good to see him, but yeah, its a little awkward. On Tuesday, Cano presented Jeter with a watch, a personalized gift expressing his appreciation for the time they spent together. Cano also said that his greatest hope is that the two can play side by side once again in this years All-Star Game. He enumerated the lessons Jeter taught him about work ethic, and never being satisfied, which Cano clearly took to heart. Hes a guy I played next to for nine years, the guy that every time I had a question Id ask and he was there, Cano said. Sometimes hed see something and he was the first one to come and talk to me. Thats something I really appreciated. For all the lessons he learned from his mentor, though, Cano has never seemed to want to be Jeter. He can be the face of a franchise, and its best player, yes. But he has never appeared eager to seize a team and be its undisputed leader. In New York, he likely never would have. In Seattle, he doesnt have to -- he can just hit doubles and look intimidating for the cameras, and hope enough pieces are added around him.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:18:15 +0000
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