Part of this season was about ghosts for the Yankees, and how much the departures of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui would impact the results.
And though Damon remains a haunting figure for a Yankees team still trying to determine a No. 2 hitter, Robinson Cano has removed any lingering issues involving Matsui.
“[Cano] is better than [Matsui],” Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said.
But actually we might be verging toward a big issue than whether Cano is better than a fading designated hitter who was dropped from cleanup to fifth, and briefly to sixth and seventh in the Angels’ order. Now, maybe we should ask if Cano is the best hitter on the Yankees. Now maybe we should ask if Cano is the best hitter in the league.
This is no longer a hot start or a strong April. The Yankees reached the one-third mark of the season yesterday with a 6-3 victory over a punching bag known as the Orioles. And this version of the Yankees (34-20) is two games better at the 54-game mark than last year’s version that went on to win a World Series.
A lot of that has to do with a rotation doing so well that, by results, CC Sabathia is the No. 4 starter. But also give credit to Cano for maturing in every way in becoming a monster more fearsome than Godzilla.
“He’s been spectacular,” Alex Rodriguez said. “He’s been fun to watch. You always expect one step of improvement, not three steps. And we have gotten three steps.”
Cano leads the AL in hitting (.373) and the Yankees in homers (13) and RBIs (43, tied with Rodriguez). His RBI double in the first inning gave him a 17-game hitting streak, the longest in the AL this season. It marked yet another hit with runners in scoring position, which helps slay another doubt.
No one would suggest Matsui had a quicker bat or better hand-eye coordination or even more power than Cano. But Matsui had a sense of calm in big spots, an ability to turn the 60-foot, 6-inch confrontation into pressure on the pitcher. Matsui hit .301 with runners in scoring position as a Yankee and exited with a big-moment defining MVP in the World Series.
Cano began this year as a .256 hitter with runners in scoring position after hitting just .207 in such situations last year.
But those around the Yankees say a seriousness switch flipped to an even higher level for Cano this year, as if the combination of being 27 years old and being surrounded by so many serious professionals and being handed the keys to the No. 5 spot in the lineup formed a motivational surge that has swooped up the second baseman. That is reflected in how early he arrives to hit and how diligently he does his weight training. He has a more steely focus that even had Derek Jeter joking with Cano about his seriousness in the dugout yesterday.
“He is on a mission to succeed in a big way,” Long said.
It’s there in the numbers, and not just the .356 he is hitting with runners in scoring position. All his numbers reject weaknesses: .369 vs. righties, .380 against lefties; .371 at home, .374 away. His patience has improved a bit. He is seeing a career-high 3.51 pitches per plate appearances and his 14 walks are nearly halfway to the 30 he had all of last year.
It’s there in how opponents are challenging Rodriguez more rather than pitching around him to get to Cano. It is in the company Cano is keeping — no one-third AL MVP discussion could be complete without Cano joining Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera and Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria.
“I was recently marveling at how [Twins catcher Joe Mauer] has a great swing, hardly ever swings and misses, and always puts the barrel on the ball,” Long said. “And then I thought, ‘Wait, we have one of those guys, too.’ ”
One-third of the way through the 2010 season, Cano has graduated, Matsui behind him, Mauer ahead of him.
