THE MOST HATED MAN IN THE BRONX

Respect goes both ways in life... remember that.

There is a major difference for me personally, when I hear 2 former Yankees put on different uniforms and say their spiel to their new teams.  For Curtis Granderson to say that the best fans in New York are Mets fans... well, that doesn't bother me.  Why? Well, because when the off-season ended, we, the Yankees, knew we weren't bringing Curtis Granderson back.  Curtis knew it too.  It was a friendly break up.

So Curtis made a new home in Flushing and became a Met and pandered to his new fans.  I have no problem with that. We'll have a great commentary about that this weekend by Mike O'Hara. Look for it.

I do have a problem with Robinson Cano though.  People will disagree with me and that's fine.  In fact, I can't believe I'm writing about this right now. The truth of the matter is, I was over it.  I don't care anymore about the fact that Robinson Cano went to Seattle.  Good for him, I guess. It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee for life and he went for the money and to be "top dog" in Seattle.  Whatever man, you do what floats your boat.  At this point, almost a week later, I don't care.

I do care however about respect.  I do care about what he said in his press conference.  Not because he made a statement like Granderson did when he stated that the Mets fans are better than Yankee fans.  They're not and we know that.

No, I was annoyed with Cano for trying to use the word "respect" in his press conference, like he's some type of Mob boss, or a "holier than thou" figure or something.

Let me break this down for you... my way.   Respect is a valuable thing and so is a reputation.  I stated very clearly here on BYB that it was my opinion that the day Cano chose to shoot for $300 million, he lost me and he lost many Yankee fans.  I stated that it was greed.  I stated that it was selfish. I stated his reputation would be shot and may never recover in New York. Hey, I could be wrong for all I know, but I said it because I am not so sure, knowing how I grew up, learning about loyalty and pride, that I would have dove into the money. I believe I would have been a Yankee for life if I was him.

Now we all know that Cano was crying because he didn't want to play for Joe Girardi and I found that to be ridiculous.  We have a motto here at BYB... "You don't have to like your coach or manager,  you do however need to respect him."  If you can't, I guess you move on and Cano did.  But let's get back to my point... Respect.

Yesterday in the Cano press conference, Cano said this when asked about the Yankees and whether or not they really wanted him back:

"I didn't feel respect. We never got that close commitment about anything."

OK, let me explain just how immature that statement is.  Corporations are big business. The Yankees are as well.  But, out of "respect" for Cano, the Yankees stated very early on that they were hitting a ceiling as to what they would offer Cano. They did that early on and were pretty upfront about it. They had a top for Robbie.  To me, that's being pretty respectful to a potential re-signing and a guy they loved at 2nd base.  Disrespect would mean they'd ignore Cano's ridiculous asking price and simply sign a second baseman during the negotiation period to say F U!  In other words, who the f**k does Robinson Cano think he is?  Does he realize what a negotiation is?  It's hard ball! What type of balls do you have to have to think that you are superior to anyone?  1 player is NOT bigger than any team, or any one. 

Respect goes both ways.  It was clear to me that in 2013 Robbie Cano wasn't happy playing for Joe Girardi and I made an accusation based on observing him... Cano was "padding his numbers." I was unfairly critiqued by Peter Keating of ESPN the Magazine who did his best "Cano butt-kissing", saying that not only was I wrong, but I was silly, (read HUSTLE TO BE NUMBER 1... NOT 2.)

Well, now we know I was right and Peter Keating is nowhere to be found.  And Cano's lack of hustle for the New York Yankees and Joe Girardi, a team he's supposed to play hard for, was not only considered "lazy" by some, it's considered DISRESPECTFUL, to the team, to Joe, to us fans.  So, in fairness to everyone in New York who loves the Yankees... figure out what respect means Robbie, before you try and "drop knowledge" on us bro.

One thing I noticed about Cano this off-season... he's not a good negotiator and he's not too bright when it comes to anyone else involved in the scenario.  It's about him and only him. I guess he learned that from Jay-Z.

Finally.... I leave you with my favorite quote of the press conference. Cano said this:  "Am I going to keep working hard? Yes... Even harder? Yes. I'm going to do my best. I'll play the same way I played in New York."  

Note to Seattle fans; Yes it's true, you have a talented player, but after the fanfare wears off and he realizes that he can't win games by himself... he'll play just like he did in New York... padding numbers, jogging to first and counting his money.  That's Robbie and that's what your guys signed up for.

Good luck, sincerely. You're gonna need it with Robbie Cano, trust me.



Oh, and Robbie, one more thing. As Paulie told Henry Hill in Goodfellas, "Now I gotta to turn my back on you." 

Respect goes both ways.... Bye, Bye Robbie.

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