Rivera on Cano: "I don’t think Robby burns to be the best..."

[cezero]

In his new book, Mariano Rivera said he'd take Dustin Pedroia over Robinson Cano. Why? Here you go:

“This guy has so much talent I don’t know where to start… There is no doubt that he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber (player). It’s just a question of whether he finds the drive you need to get there. I don’t think Robby burns to be the best… You don’t see that red-hot passion in him that you see in most elite players,”

Sounds like Cano and the M's front office are peas in a pod. A match made in heaven.

Mariano Rivera: I?d take Dustin Pedroia over Robinson Cano | SI Wire

 

[TDs3nOut]

What Rivera wrote or said makes sense to me, since both second baseman are great players, though Pedroria is the "grittier" of the two. Athletes -- and fans -- have to love a guy who seemingly overachieves like Pedroria.

 

[cezero]

I agree completely.

Marchand on ESPN wrote a counter to Rivera, saying he would still take Cano, but he concedes that Rivera is probably right about Cano's commitment to being the best player he can be:

As a reporter we get to see a fair amount, but Rivera had a much better seat to judge Cano's commitment. While I saw the jogs to first and the seeming nonchalance at times, I also witnessed Cano taking extra BP more than any of the Yankee stars.

Still, I have to defer to Rivera's view on Cano's desire. Rivera has climbed to join the all-time elites in baseball, and he watched Cano nearly every day of Cano's major league career. So it tells you a lot that Rivera thought Cano could have tried harder.

Mo wrong on Cano vs. Pedroia - Yankees Blog - ESPN New York

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I agree with Mo too... Just a little disappointed in him for saying it... Calling out someone after him leaving is kind of a low blow... and even though as a yankee fan I love Mo, I must say he doesn't look good saying it...

 

[Podunkparte]

Who cares? I personally think Cano is the best 2B in the game so how exactly does one not strive to be the best if they already are?

Here's the bottom line. Robinson Cano is a great baseball player and he's helping the Mariners win games right now. That's all I care about. He hasn't had any moments as a Mariner where anyone accused him of not hustling, hell there was the game early on where he stretched a single into shallow right center into a double by hustling.

This is a non-story

 

[Logicallylethal]

I don't think Cano is someone who is lazy and doesn't care about his craft and his game. I think he's just someone that doesn't display raw passion and intensity. Is that certainly a bad thing? Everyone's personality is different. Some people are just silent assassins. Others wear their emotions on their sleeves.

At the end of the day what matters is their production on the field. And Cano produces and has always produced like an elite player.

Now if his production drops to like a .240 hitter and his work ethic comes into question then that raises some red flags. But from what we've seen so far, this guy works hard, takes a lot of bps, and produces on the field.

Can we fault him for being so smooth and graceful when he bats? Can we fault him for not being overly passionate?

I think the criticism is a bit unfair

 

[obxyankeefan]

Robbie took a lot of undue criticism in New York for being lazy. It is the way he plays. at the end of teh day Cano will put up numbers that other 2nd basemen can only dream about. In the field he will get to ball without diving that other players don't even get close to.

 

[cezero]

Who cares? I personally think Cano is the best 2B in the game so how exactly does one not strive to be the best if they already are?

Baseball fans care.

I don't care about the Mariners anymore, but as a baseball fan, it's an interesting story.

I agree completely that Cano is the best 2B in the game.

I also appreciate people who do everything possible to maximize their gifts, whether athletic or intellectual or anything else. A hall of fame player and teammate of Cano's for a decade acknowledged his talent, but questioned his drive, and many others have done the same over the years.

 

[HammerDown]

Mariano in a cheap publicity stunt for attention?

I don't believe it!

 

[cezero]

I don't think Cano is someone who is lazy and doesn't care about his craft and his game. I think he's just someone that doesn't display raw passion and intensity. Is that certainly a bad thing? Everyone's personality is different. Some people are just silent assassins. Others wear their emotions on their sleeves.

At the end of the day what matters is their production on the field. And Cano produces and has always produced like an elite player.

Now if his production drops to like a .240 hitter and his work ethic comes into question then that raises some red flags. But from what we've seen so far, this guy works hard, takes a lot of bps, and produces on the field.

Can we fault him for being so smooth and graceful when he bats? Can we fault him for not being overly passionate?

I think the criticism is a bit unfair

Great athletes all share drive and intensity. Of course, not all athletes demonstrate it overtly. But nobody ever questions the commitment of the truly great ones. It's what makes them truly great. Cano gets this kind of criticism a lot.

Maybe Rivera is just saying this to sell books, but I find it hard to dismiss the thoughts of a future hall of famer who played alongside Cano for a decade.

 

[SeattleCoug]

I think when comparing Cano Vs Pedroia, you have two all-star second baseman but one clearly has more talent and the other has to work harder to be great.
I guess you just have to ask yourself would Mo make these comments if Cano was still a Yankee. Or how about that coach from the Yanks who called out Cano in spring training for not running out ground balls, would he make that comment as well.

I think there is some truth to it but at the end of the day not a huge deal.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Robbie took a lot of undue criticism in New York for being lazy. It is the way he plays. at the end of teh day Cano will put up numbers that other 2nd basemen can only dream about. In the field he will get to ball without diving that other players don't even get close to.

But that is the thing, he might be the best around... and his stats might show it... But when you watch him everyday, like us yankee fans have, we have an expectation of more... You look at the way he hits and you say there is no reason he should ever hit below .315, but he does... You would think he should always get 100+ RBIs, but he has only than that 3 times in his career... There is just something about him that you always feel like he should be better... Maybe that's not fair, and no Yankees fan would be dumb enough to say that we didn't want him to sign back here... But even with our love of cano, there was just something that felt missing...

 

[mcnabb7542]

As long as he keep's up his teachings to these younger guys on the roster who gives a shit what Mo thinks...

No offense to Rivera but the culture of this team has changed, ( better then what Ich had here)...

 

[cezero]

I think when comparing Cano Vs Pedroia, you have two all-star second baseman but one clearly has more talent and the other has to work harder to be great.
I guess you just have to ask yourself would Mo make these comments if Cano was still a Yankee. Or how about that coach from the Yanks who called out Cano in spring training for not running out ground balls, would he make that comment as well.

I think there is some truth to it but at the end of the day not a huge deal.

Yeah, I agree, really.

 

[Podunkparte]

Baseball fans care.

I don't care about the Mariners anymore, but as a baseball fan, it's an interesting story.

I agree completely that Cano is the best 2B in the game.

I also appreciate people who do everything possible to maximize their gifts, whether athletic or intellectual or anything else. A hall of fame player and teammate of Cano's for a decade acknowledged his talent, but questioned his drive, and many others have done the same over the years.

Only the ones who give 2 shits about gossip. There was a time when players didn't talk shit about other players in the media. I think this actually makes Rivera look worse than Cano.

Baseball fans should care about production and Cano produces. I'd rather leave the tabloids to the soccer moms and enjoy watching the guy hit a ball to the right center wall effortlessly.

 

[cezero]

After years of watching Cano play prior to arriving in Seattle, the criticism we see about him from multiple sources isn't completely unfounded gossip. Dismissing it entirely is just as stupid as agreeing with it entirely.

Baseball fans can have a reasonable discussion about it, which is nice.

But yeah, I agree that Rivera does look pretty bad. Even Yanks fans seem to be agreeing that while the criticism of Cano may be at least partially true, it's bad form for Rivera to be trashing him now.

 

[Sportsguy9695]

I personally think this was just a way for Rivera to sell more books

 

[dude82]

I tend not to take comments like this and the one made by one of the Yankees coaches too seriously. These are the types of comments that, if the person they're directed towards was still with the team they were with instead of somewhere else, would never be made publicly and maybe not even privately. It just comes across as sour grapes that the player in question would ever leave "The Family" and go somewhere else. I say that because I don't remember anyone in the Yankees organization making comments like that about Cano before he left. Maybe some of the fans did, but I don't remember anyone in the organization doing it.

In terms of the "... doesn't burn to be the best" comment specifically, that type of comment seems to usually be directed towards supremely talented players who make the game look easier than it is and thus don't look like they're trying as hard as they can. That isn't to say that a supremely gifted athlete won't coast on his or her natural abilities and talent for as long as they can get away with it, because that does happen and it may even be true about Cano. It just seems like questioning effort is the go-to response people have when they're trying to convince themselves that their team is better off without the superstar that just left.

Besides, less physically gifted players have always had to make up for that deficit by trying to outwork or outsmart everybody else and often trying to make it look like they care more than the superstars that are more physically gifted. That's what makes those scrappy players more lovable sometimes than the players who look like they're putting little to no effort in due to their natural abilities.

 

[NWinAZ]

If you disagree with the article, bash it. Love it! What does the no-talent Rivera know anyways?

Superstars who rarely show passion for their craft and don't seem to go the extra mile to make them even better are poor leaders and usually don't carry a team to championships. They can win one with the right surroundings, but won't carry a team to one. Two players that remind me of this: Jr. and Ichiro. You can never question their respective talents, but when their careers run down they leave you asking, 'What if?' What if Jr. put in the extra work in the gym to prolong his career and move up even to a higher level. What if Ichiro became a leader to his teammates before and after games building a team chemistry. What if he allowed managers to put him in the 3 hole where he could have made himself and his team better instead of just getting himself extra AB's to pad his numbers.

Cano's effort to 1B will affect his younger teammates especially as he begins to decline. He seems like a good guy and a good teammate, but he has to show he is willing to give even more especially now that he isn't one of the stars...he is the star.

 

[HammerDown]

I personally think this was just a way for Rivera to sell more books

Of course it is.

Therefore, can we please stop calling this cheap gloryhound "classy"? If T.O., Tyson or Canseco did it, we'd demonize them. Why does Mariano get away with it?