MLB

CANO BENCHED FOR LACK OF HUSTLE

It may be too little, too late, but Joe Girardi finally took a stand with Robinson Cano.

In a year in which Cano’s lapses in attention and effort have been more evident, the second baseman was benched for the first time and Girardi wouldn’t promise that Cano would be back in the lineup tomorrow night.

“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, 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 the ball, as Xavier Nady had to race in from right field.

Cano’s lack of effort allowed Floyd – who is lots of things, but speedy isn’t one of them – to get to second.

“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, who was asked whether he had reached his limit with Cano. “I’m not going to comment, 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 today’s turn of events.

“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.”

Jeter summed up what everyone with the Yankees hopes to be true: “I’m sure it won’t happen again.”