Robbie and Grandy: So Long to Two Heroes

by: Ben Embry

For those who haven't heard, the Yankees lost two of their most significant contributors over the past 4 years, (longer for Cano).  Robinson Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with Seattle.  Granderson inked a 4-year, $60 million deal with the Mets. 

Writing this post is so bittersweet, and way more bitter than sweet.  Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson have meant so much to New York over the past few years.  Robbie was the next Yankee great, Granderson just an all-around great guy.  Cano was a natural, graceful in everything he did.  Granderson was a ball of energy who couldn't have stay steal when at the plate.  Both great players and even better people.

All season long, it seemed unlikely if not impossible that Robbie would leave.  Who would possibly outbid New York for one of their own.  One of the league's best players that actually came up through the Yankee system...no way they would let him go, right?  Well the emergence of Seattle was unforeseen and frankly the Yankees did what I could not have expected them to do: they stuck to their guns.  They set their price and said, if you can beat this, go for it.  And he did.

Robbie had become one of my favorite non-Core Four player ever, joining Bernie and Donnie Baseball in that next tier.  The way he played was so awesome, so powerful.  That's tarnished now.  He's got to go back down my list, as I suspect is the case with almost everybody in the Yankee Empire.

The sweet part for me goes back to how New York handled the situation.  They wanted to keep him, but had to take a hard line with someone who did the same to them.  He wasn't going to give him the same kind of discount Dustin Pedroia had given Boston.  For him, money was the biggest factor, and that's his right.  Detractors will continue to deride the Yankees for their free spending ways, robbing the little guys to stock their roster.  Any championship won in the next few years will be "bought" according to the haters.  But the story of Robinson Cano's career will be an example of how they did the reasonable thing.

With Grandy, the writing has been on the wall for sometime.  His is, I believe, a case of New York simply valuing the draft pick they could get for losing Grandy more than Grandy himself.  They did the same thing with Nick Swisher last year.  For what it's worth, I would have rather seen them sign Grandy than Ellsbury and spend the difference elsewhere, like on pitching perhaps.  Keeping a quality guy like Curtis Granderson should have some value to a ball club, in my opinion.

I really can't say much more than that.  Actually I can but not in a setting like this, at a time like this.  My thoughts have just begun to develop and will take some time before they're through.  All I can say is goodbye Robbie and Grandy and good luck in the next phases of your careers.