Real Talk On Robbie Cano

(The king of smoove.  Courtesy of the NY Times)

Is he worthy of a 10-year contract?  Absolutely not.  Would I be happy if the Yankees re-signed him for that many years?  Absolutely not.

But is Robinson Cano worth top-of-the-market dollars?  Abso-fucking-lutely.  Check out what this guy has been doing:

• 6 straight seasons of 159+ games played
• 3 straight All Star Game appearances
• 2 Gold Gloves in the last 3 seasons
• 3 Top 10 batting average finishes in the last 4 seasons
• 4 straight Top 4 total bases finishes
• 3rd in total fWAR in the last 3 seasons
• 3 straight Silver Slugger Awards
• 3 straight Top 6 MVP finishes

There aren't many out there doing shit like this, and that's a fact.  Robinson Cano is one of the 4-6 best position players in all of baseball.  He's having a historically impressive run of production and success for his position, he could end up one of the best of all time at his position when he's done, and he's still in his prime.  Robbie Cano is going to get paid in a big way after the 2013 season because he SHOULD get paid in a big way.  If the Yankees signed him to a 5-year/$135 million deal, I'd throw a party because I'd feel very confident that at least 3 of those years are going to be more of this elite-level production.  It's those 5 years after the next 5 that scare me, just like they scare everybody in the front office.

It's not that Robbie Cano isn't a fucking boss, because he is.  It's that we're already watching what happens when players start to un-boss in their mid-30s with too many years left on their deals and don't want to watch it again.

Eric Chavez- Clubhouse Leader

There's no denying that Eric Chavez is nowhere near the player he used to be.  When your back has been through more wear and tear than Batman's after he got done getting his shit wrecked by Bane (spoiler alert), that's to be expected.  He looked about as washed up as a mid-30s player could in his first season with the Yankees in 2011, and I wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea of bringing him back again this season.

I'm very happy to say that I was dead wrong about Chavez and I'm even happier to eat any crow I deserve for my lack of faith.  Chavez has been both healthy (212 PA already, almost 40 more than last season) and incredibly productive (.284/.344/.511, .359) for the Yankees this season, and has been a key cog in helping overcome issues with injuries and underperformance around the corner infield spots.  And now he's added a new wrinkle to his resurgence in the form of being a clubhouse spokesperson.  Earlier in the week, Chavez spoke very candidly about the Yankees' recent struggles and his thoughts on the matter:

“There should be a high level of concern.  Anybody who says that there isn’t is lying. You’ve just got to win ballgames, and we’re not finding a way to do that, and it should be a concern. It’s that time of the year when, yeah, it’s a concern. We need to start playing good and winning games.”

And yesterday, after receiving a bit of backlash for his previous comment:

“We’ve been losing.  So if anybody’s comfortable with that — I know I wasn’t. We had a nine-game lead two weeks ago, and that’s gone. I just want to win. I just want to get back to the postseason, and I’d like to have the biggest lead we possibly can have to do it.”

While I don't necessarily agree with his comments about A-Rod's absence, I'm totally on board with everything Chavez said there and applaud him for speaking his mind.