By the Way, Cano Played Worse.

          It is easy to pick on the guy whose contract is more astronomical than Felix Baumgartner. There are plenty of people who will single him out because he will be on a Cooperstown ballot as soon as he is done playing. When he is out of a game, playing poorly, and saying “call me maybe” to some female spectators, he gets dumped on; as he should.

            However, while everyone took time out of their busy schedule to bury Alex Rodriguez, they seemed to forget that there was a certain left handed second baseman that played worse. That is right, Robinson Cano had a far worse postseason than A-Rod did, yet you probably didn’t hear about it.

            While A-Rod was struggling mightily against the Baltimore Orioles, Cano couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. A Rod’s batting average was .125 against the dirty birds of Maryland, Cano hit a pathetic .091. Neither man hit a home run this postseason. Against the Tigers of Detroit, A-Rod hit .111, Cano hit .056, yet media outlets across the boroughs seemed more interested in the fact A-Rod can get a girl’s number than the overall struggle of the entire team.

            And no, the argument that A-Rod is a first ballot hall of famer (if your stance on steroid users is to let them in) does not make Cano’s struggles in the postseason irrelevant. Between the two men, one has a career postseason batting average of .263 and the other man is hitting a meager .222. The higher number belongs to Rodriguez, yet because Cano has been somehow exonerated from struggling in the playoffs, A-Rod gets all the heat.

            Now that the damage has been done and the Bronx Bombers have been swept out of Comerica Park, the media haymakers are being thrown. Ian O’ Connor is saying blow it up. Jim Caple is saying get rid of A-Rod and everyone else seemingly over the age of 30. Brian Cashman is now dealing with swirling rumors that A-Rod could be going to Miami.

            Yet Cano’s struggles are the buried lead. The best player in terms of talent level and production on the most famous team in professional sports has a historically awful postseason, and the only criticism is a caption saying he went 1-18 in the ALCS.

            Cano is lucky to have a guy like A-Rod taking all the heat for him, because Cano sucks in the postseason. Remember in 2009 when A-Rod had that great postseason and the Yanks won it all? Fun fact about the Yankees second baseman that year, he hit .167 in the 09 ALDS, .261 in that ALCS, and .136 in that World Series. Also in the 09, postseason Cano had a total of 6 RBIs and 9 strikeouts. But they won, so his struggles didn’t matter.

            Once A-Rod is gone, Cano’s poor play in the postseason will not be ignored. The best player on the Yankees will actually have to own up to going 1-18 against hot starting pitching rather than hiding behind the “infidelities” of an aging icon.

            Cano got lucky he didn’t get reamed the way A-Rod did. But if his horrid postseason play continues, his luck will eventually run out.