The article is titled PEDROIA'S EFFORT LEVEL LEAVES ROBBIE IN DUST.
I formed a seven- man committee comprised of one NL GM, one AL GM, and five assistants -- three NL and two AL -- and posed this question:Both Steve Lombardi over at Was Watching and Mike Axisa from River Ave. Blues posted about the articleIf you could have Robinson Cano or Dustin Pedroia for the next five years, who would you take and why?
The result surprised me. All seven executives picked Pedroia. He is the reigning MVP. But his 2009 season is down from last year while Cano has rebounded to have a positive campaign. Pedroia just turned 26, Cano turns 27 in October. I thought Cano might receive some extra points for potentially aging better than Pedroia, whose all-or-nothing swing scares me for the long term.
However, all seven respondents followed a basic theme: "Pedroia has better makeup and gives his all every day," an NL exec said. "On natural ability, Cano tops the list. But Pedroia is a winner and a leader."
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Still, what became obvious from the respondents was that Cano has an image problem that lingers even as his overall game has improved this year. For if both second basemen took the field in workout garb for hitting, running, throwing and fielding drills, Cano likely would be the more impressive player. But the perception lingers that Cano does not concentrate well and floats through too many at-bats, while Pedroia treats every inning as a baseball holy war.
"I trust [Pedroia's] ability to grind and persevere more than Cano," the NL GM said.
Steve mentions how Pedroia still needs to prove to him "that 2008 wasn't a fluke." Which I can't help but agree with since his '09 has been less than MVP quality. Last year he hit .326/.376/.493 with 17 HR, 83 RBI, 20 SB and 213 hits. This year he's hitting .296/.371/.440 with 10 HR, 53 RBI, 15 SB, and 139 hits. Still a fine season, but not his MVP '08 and not even Robbie Cano's '09. Cano is hitting .311/.343/.499 with 18 HR, 61 RBI and 152 hits.
On the defensive side Pedroia has clearly been better. His UZR/150 is the second best in baseball for second baseman at 9.6. Cano ranks 12th with a -3.4.
Mike A. also brings out a very good point about the stereotyping that goes on with both players.
Let’s not pretend that there aren’t some stereotypes involved here. The Dominican Cano is often be called lazy, or boneheaded, or something along those lines when he has the audacity to fail at something in a game of failure. Pedroia, short and white, fits the mold of a “grinder” and someone that “plays the game the right way,” something you absolutely never hear about non-caucasian players. But just look at last night’s game, when Pedroia was thrown out at third by ten feet trying to stretch a double into a triple. What would have been said about Cano if the roles were reversed?I completely agree with Mike.
Who would I want on my team? I'm not sure, but this isn't as cut and dry as these seven anonymous MLB execs put it. Cano, at times, does look lazy. Pedroia at times looks like a firecracker who's playing his last game. Does that make Pedroia better? Absolutely not. Right now I'm willing to say that they're just about even. They both do a lot of things very very well and are both top tier second baseman. Pedroia gets the edge in the field, while Cano get's the edge with the stick.
So if you're starting a team who's your second baseman?
14 Comments:
As a Yankee fan I've been saying this for the past couple of years. Cano has way more natural ability but Pedroia has worked for every gain he's made over his career. Based on effort Pedroia is better which is what is so maddening about Cano if he played like he gave a shit he would be the better pick. The race issue is insulting to even mention because I find that demeaning to Cano that an excuse can be made because of how his race is perceived as ball players. That excuse does not do Cano a service, it's like saying it's ok because he doesn't know any better, we should hold him to a lower expectation because of his race. That excuse is a scrap from master's table. White, purple, green Pedroia out hustles Cano plain and simple.
Personally, I would take Cano.
Mostly because I still feel there's even more improvement left in Cano. With Pedroia, I think he's gonna be a lifetime .300/15/75 player. Not saying that's bad or anything, but I know Cano is much better than that.
On the defensive side, sure, Pedroia has more range, but Cano has improved significantly over last season, and he did lead the AL second basemen with a nice 11.3 UZR. So obviously, the defense is there.
He led in 2007 I meant.
I don't buy the stereotype BS at all. I think Cano is a better player, at least in terms of potential, who often doesn't give it his all while Pedroia gives his best every day.
We Yankee fans simply can not dispute that Cano has been a lazy player at times.
That's not a stereotype... it's a fact. Any Yankee fan that disputes that has had the blinders on.
I can't stand Pedroia but I must say that I have never seen him lack hustle.
The point would be mute if Cano played hard every day. And to his credit, I believe that he has played harder this year. But no GM or scout will give credit for just one year. He must continue it over a longer period of time.
As for my feelings on who I would rather have, I still take Cano over Pedroia. I think he will be a better player over the next 5 years and has a much higher upside.
He is lazy at times, but if he was white would he be considered as lazy?
Of course he's lazy at times, nobody is saying he isn't. But the whole thing is blown out of proportion. Those plays he makes at second - where he looks like he's not even trying - are plays most second baseman can't make because they don't have Cano's arm. I've heard many people call that a lazy play just because he makes it look easy. If Pedroia did that it would be a web gem.
Anon, to answer your question, no he wouldn't be considered as lazy by a lot of people if he was white.
i would take Cano anyday, Pedroia reminds me of a little middle schooler trying to hustle all the time to impress the coach and maybe make the team lol. Yeah so Robbie maybe comes off as a lazy player but thats just who he is, and as long as he produces and makes the plays, which he does; who cares?
Greg, I really have to disagree with the race component of your argument. Making it a race issue really undermines Cano because his skills are better than Pedroia so he should be held to a high standard. I would make more of a race issue about how Yankee fans have thrown hispanic players under the bus after their usefullness was up, compared to white players. Compare the treatment of Bernie to Paul Oneil, or how little fans complained at the time Tino was shown the door and the love fest with Giambi, who wasn't half the player Tino was.
Making the debate between Pedroia and Cano racial is a discredit to both of them. It's is disrespectful to Pedroia and his professionalism and it is condescending and patronizing to Cano.
I would take Cano as well, and not just because he's a Yankee.
Pedroia is a good player, don't get me wrong, but Cano overall is better. Cano when he reaches his prime he'll probably be a .300/25 HR/90-100 RBI/20 SB/ guy. He also has a better arm than Pedroia.
Pedroia cheaply won the MVP, not a lot of people bring that up. There were at least 4 other players that deserved MVP than him. I think Pedroia, as I said, is a good player but he'll never really be that big player people think he'll turn out to be. His only advantage is he has more speed.
Hey YB, check your email.
Check your inbox Greg.
While Cano's stats are better than Pedroias, overall you just get the feel that Pedroia is the better player.
It was the same thing back in the day with Jeter and Nomar... Nomar consistently had better regular season stats than Jeter, yet Jeter was the better overall player.
Its not all about stats
Nomar was a better all around around player than Jeter from 1997-2000.
Not only were his stats better, but he was better defensively too.
Jeter's career is light years better than Nomar, but at their best Nomar was probably the better player.
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