Cano And Mariners Ready For A Do-Over

Photo Courtesy of USAToday.com

When Robinson Cano left the Yankees for the Mariners after the 2013 season, I felt that maybe it wasn’t the best decision, and my reasoning behind it was that after Derek Jeter would retired, Cano could be the face of the Yankees, maybe the new Yankee captain, and another home grown talent to take over the city.

Now I know that he felt disrespected by the Yankees, but with endorsements and the exposure that the city would provide,  he could be a bigger star than he would ever be in Seattle.

But Cano took the bait and his talents to the West Coast and was rewarded with a $24 million dollar annual salary and after nearly making the playoffs in 2014, he is ready for another opportunity in 2015.

In his last season with the Bronx Bombers, the perennial all-star hit .314, with 27 home runs and 107 RBI’s, and with the Mariners last season, he nearly matched those stats, only thing missing was his home run power as he would only hit 14 dingers.

But the Mariners worked hard this off-season to give Cano the players they felt would help the team get over the hump and reach the post season, and even Cano knows that the winning has to start from the beginning.

He recently sat down with mlb.com and shared how he told his teammates last season that to focus on winning the key games early on during the season, not to allow the games to get away, because those same games would be needed at the end when it really counted. And it may have been different as the Mariners finished one game out of the Wild Card and barely missed the playoffs.

Now with the acquisitions that the Mariners have made this winter, especially adding Nelson Cruz and Rickie Weeks to the lineup, it can be said that the organization has given Cano and the Mariners the opportunity to win, so if last year was a lesson learned, 2015 should be the year that the Mariners get over the hump.

You can’t fault the guy for going where he felt wanted, but at the end of it all, it’s winning that keeps ball players happy and if Cano gets his way and his team follows his lead, he may indeed feel the joy of winning again.

You can view Cano’s interview with MLB.com below.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.