It may be too little, too late, but Joe Girardi finally took a stand with Robinson Cano.
Cano’s lapses in attention and effort have been more evident this year, so much so, the second baseman was yanked from a game for the first time yesterday. Girardi wouldn’t promise that Cano would be back in the lineup tonight.
“That’s embarrassing, to be taken out of the game,” Cano said after the Yankees beat the Rays, 8-4, at the Stadium. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, I play hard.”
The play that forced Girardi’s hand came in the fourth inning, when Cliff Floyd’s grounder bounced off of a diving Jason Giambi’s glove. The ball bounded past Cano, who just stood there, looking at it. Xavier Nady had to race in from right field to field the ball.
Cano’s lack of effort allowed Floyd – who is a lot of things, but not speedy – to get to second base.
“I thought Nady was closer,” Cano said.
That reasoning wasn’t good enough for Girardi, who had previously stood up for his beleaguered second baseman.
“I wasn’t happy with the effort on that ground ball, so I took him out,” said Girardi.
Has Girardi reached his limit with Cano?
“I’m not going to comment,” Girardi said, “but I just felt that was a play he needs to make.”
In other cases, the manager has refused to criticize Cano.
“Sometimes it looks like I’m not playing hard, but I am,” Cano said. “He’s right. He’s the manager. I still like to be here. I love the team and I’ve got a passion for the game. It’s not just that I saw the ball and was lazy.”
Cano’s teammates believe he will learn from the benching.
“He will respond well,” Mariano Rivera said. “This is not to embarrass him. This is to make him better and he will be here for many years and he’ll be fine.”
Derek Jeter summed up what all the Yankees hope to be true: “I’m sure it won’t happen again.”