As second basemen go, Robinson Cano’s offensive numbers look great. Last year the 27-year old Cano hit .320 with 25 HR, 85 RBI, 48 doubles, and 103 runs scored. Impressive stuff. So impressive in fact that going into last year’s World Series Yankee fans were actually calling WFAN to argue Cano was better than Chase Utley. Ha! Well, Utley showed them. In fact, Cano is one of the softest .320, 25 HR hitters you’ll ever see. It has everything to do with the strange at bats he has in the clutch–situations where he seems to go up to the plate without a plate, swinging without discipline (and seemingly without even looking) and bad pitches, and going quietly, 3 pitches and out, back to the dugout.
Yeah, he hit .320 last year with 25 HR and 85 RBIs. But with runners in scoring position he barely breached the Mendoza line hitting .207. His post season batting average is .217 in six series including a .136 BA in last year’s World Series.
Cano’s failure to produce in big spots has made it hard for the Yanks to figure out what to do with Cano. As Joel Sherman noted in yesterday’s NY Post Cano, with his production (including .309 v. LH compared with Curtis Granderson’s anemic numbers v. LHers), should be perfectly suited to the 5-hole in the line up, protecting A-rod. But over the years the Yank have been forced to, rather than having chosen to, bat Cano well down in the order because of his weak clutch ABs.
Making Cano a clutch producer seems to be a major project for the Yanks this season. Daily News reporter Mark Feinsand, in his Cano story quoted Brian Cashman’s carrot to Kevin Long’s stick in the Sherman story: “If he can be more selective at the plate,” Cashman said of Cano, “he could have a Hall of Fame type career.”
Could be. But at 27 Cano may be too set in his ways to turn into a selective hitter like Johnny Damon. It will be interesting to see this year.
