Royalty witnesses the return of Robinson Cano to the Bronx!‏

In the off season, business decisions are made. This past winter the Yankees had to make some moves that forced them to part with one of their home grown players. The Yankees decided that paying Robinson Cano a ridiculous amount of money wasn't worth it for them in the long run. As a result, they let him go. Cano wound up getting 240 million dollars on the open market from the Seattle Mariners. He & his representatives initially told the Yankees he wanted 305 million dollars. Apparently that starting point turned them off. They decided to go in a different direction. As a result, they wound up getting Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann & Masahiro Tanaka instead. I personally thought they did the right thing. I would have liked Cano to have stayed with the Yankees because he came up through their farm system starting out in Staten Island. Unfortunately in this day & age, players rarely play their whole career with one team. He could have been an exception to that rule. However, last summer he hired Roc Nation who's lead by Jay Z to represent him as his new agent. That was the first step towards his ultimate departure. For his sake, I hope he's enjoying life in the Northwest. 

On Tuesday night April 29th, Robinson Cano returned to the Bronx as a member of the Seattle Mariners. After work that night I met the King at Yankee Stadium. I didn't know what to expect when he came up to bat for the first time. I figured it would be a mixed reaction. I was a bit surprised how the fans reacted. They for the most part serenaded him with a chorus of boos. That's New York fans for you. They're known for their fickleness & front running not their knowledge & class. When the Yankees make a splash & over pay for a top free agent on the market it's fine & dandy. Now that the Yankees let Cano go, the fans revolted against him. ‎He did what any other proud American would have done, he capitalized on his opportunity  on the open market. In fairness to the Yankees, they can't keep everyone. They made a business decision & they have to live with it. 

Robinson Cano

As for the game we saw, Robinson Cano wound up going one for five in his return. On the positive side, he did drive in a run with a ground out & he got an infield single. On the other hand, he grounded out another time & he struck out twice. He heard the boos all night long. The Yankees lead 2-0 early but the Mariners wound up getting to Yankee starter CC Sabathia who gave up four runs in five innings of work. ‎The Mariners got a two run double from Corey Hart & a run scoring single from Justin Smoak as they knocked out CC by scoring the four runs in the fifth inning. In addition, catcher Mike Zunino got four hits before he struck out his last time at bat as Robinson Cano & the Mariners got the last laugh on this night as they went on to beat the Yankees, 6-3. 

Wednesday night the game was rained out. With a horrible forecast that called for rain all day & night, they wisely decided to call the game off shortly after 1PM in the afternoon. They didn't reschedule the game the next day. They waited until both teams had a compatible open day which turned out to be June 2nd to make up the game. 

Thursday night May 1st they played ‎game two of their abbreviated series. Since the Baltimore Orioles also got rained out & they decided to play a straight single admission doubleheader the King decided to take a Greyhound bus down there instead. As a result, he skipped the Yankee game. Our friend Frank Anichiarico aka Duck took his place. 

As for me, I went there after work. When I got to me seat in section 420B row 7 I was greeted by my pal Greg Venuto who came down from Connecticut with a friend of his to see the game. While he was waiting for his friend to arrive, he stopped by to say hello to me. As always, it was nice to see him again. 

Greg Venuto & I at Yankee Stadium

Shortly thereafter, I got a visit from a fellow ballpark chaser named Roy Spierer who's a big Yankee fan as well. He came up special to meet & greet me. He was all dressed up in his Yankee gear that included quite a collection of pins which he likes to collect. He lives in New Jersey & has a half season ticket package for the Trenton Thunder which is the Yankees Double A affiliate in the Eastern League he said. He mentioned to me that he may take a road trip to Chicago ‎& Milwaukee in late July. I told him to let me know if he needs any advice. I want to personally thank him for coming by. I hope to see him again in the future. 

Roy Spierer & I at Yankee Stadium

As for the game we saw, the Mariners jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a double by Robinson Cano who once again heard it from the Yankee faithful who were on hand. The Yankees got even fast as Jacoby Ellsbury lead off the bottom of the first inning with a home run to tie the game at one. The Mariners regained the lead, 2-1 in the top of the third inning when Robinson Cano hit into a fielder's choice. In the fourth inning, the Mariners extended their lead to 4-1 on a pair of two out clutch run scoring singles by shortstop Brad Miller & center fielder Michael Saunders. The Yankees got a run in the sixth inning when Brian McCann delivered a run scoring single to make it a 4-2 game but that's the way it ended as Robinson Cano who finished one for four at the plate got the last laugh as the Mariners won again. The Yankees wasted a quality start by Hiroki Kuroda who gave up all four runs but one was unearned. As for the Mariners, they got a better performance from their starter Roenis Elias who went seven strong innings allowing two runs while walking two & striking out ten. 

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap a special day I had at Yankee Stadium on the first Saturday in May.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman