THE YANKEES NEED TO GET SPITEFUL NOW

Jacoby Ellsbury needs to wear number 24.

Now, I know it’s beneath the New York Yankees to do this, but hear me out, because I think it’s brilliant.

When a player makes a mad dash from New York and signs with a team like the Seattle Mariners, like Robinson Cano just did, it’s a big F U to the team that “raised” him.  After all, he was talented and it’s no secret that the Yankees loved him at second base, the fans did too, despite the lack of hustle. But let’s be clear… the fans made him a superhero in the Bronx and now that Seattle officially signed him, we know that he’s thumbed his nose at us all. He never cared about the pinstripes and he sure as hell didn’t care about us.  He cared about money.  I was right… he’s selfish, greedy and pathetic.

I’ve stated here that reputation is a valuable thing and Cano’s is now tarnished in the Bronx.  There is no going back. He’ll now have his group of Seattle fans that love him. He’ll have Felix Hernandez, a tainted Jesus Montero and not much else.  In other words, the bill of goods that Mariner brass sold him on being a "baseball legend" sucked him in… all because the price tag was over the $200 million mark.  He signed with the Mariners for the money, not for the team.  He wants to be a legend… in Seattle of all places, with the likes of Starbucks and Kurt Cobain… OK… whatever… good for him.

Oh and let me be clear, this is in no way a knock on the Mariners fans. You have your team and you just got a terrific piece.  My beef is not with you... mine is with that money hungry second baseman we used to have. 

So now the Yankees need to market wisely.  They need to be smug, snarky, spiteful.  They need to stick it to Cano, almost like he never existed in the Bronx.  Much like the Red Sox did when Daisuke Matsuzaka signed with them, trotting him out in Johnny Damon’s old number 18 after Damon darted to the Bronx. The Yankees should announce Jacoby Ellsbury next week, in Cano’s old #24. They should do it because Cano never cared about being a Yankees, so why should we try and preserve it for him?

In other words, Hey Junior, Right here. 

If there is 1 player that can make the memory of Cano in the Bronx disappear, it’s Jacoby Ellsbury, trust me. For 1, he hustles and plays the game hard. Plus, it will also bring a smile to my face, not to mention it will be a big F U right back at greedy Robbie boy.

I don’t like selfishness. I makes me mad.  I don’t like it when my own kids do it and I sure as hell don’t like it when it happens with my team and our players.  I keep hearing stupid statements about Cano, like, “He did the right thing to secure his future with that deal in Seattle.”  Really? If he signed a 7 year deal with the Yankees for $180 million it would have been plenty, not to mention the endorsements, the fan base and the history he would have long after he retired in New York.  He’d be on a list of Yankee greats with guys like Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter.

(In Photo: Ken Phelps)
Instead, he’s aiming to be placed in Seattle as an "artificial" captain and will go into the history books as one of the richest ballplayers ever and will be in the Mariners record books with guys like Ken Phelps, Mark Langston and Edgar Martinez.  OK then… I guess it works for him.

Finally... I wanted to share this with you because to be honest, the Cano saga is over now for me and I'm pretty much done with it.  He's been exposed... he's money hungry, case closed.  Check this out: Paul O'Neill tweeted this to Robbie late yesterday... It's genius:

Oh Robby.... There's no place like New York and no team like the Yankees!
— Paul O'Neill (@PaulONeillYES) December 6, 2013

Say no more... I love the Warrior and that puts everything in perspective, doesn't it? Players want to come to New York... not leave it Robbie... sorry you didn't realize that until now.

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