Hot Stove Check In: Robinson Cano

The biggest free agent of the offseason is undoubtedly Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, and once Watch-gate blows over the real negotiating can begin.

Cano asked for a deal worth over $300 million before declaring free agency, but it's unlikely he'll end up getting that much. Teams are usually loathe to invest such mega-dollars in a middle-infielder, because the wear and tear on their bodies makes them shaky investments long term.

Luckily for Cano, one of his biggest selling point should help to assuage those concerns. Cano typically plays between 159-161 games each year, and hasn't missed any substantial time to injury.

The 2014 Bill James Handbook projects Cano to play in 161 games next season, hitting .306 with 27 home runs and 101 RBIs. He has consistently dependable defense (though Dustin Pedroia beat him out for the Gold Glove at the position for 2013).

At the end of the day, Cano is going to end up back in the Bronx. He needs them, and they need him - but most importantly, there aren't too many teams out there who are willing or able to pay Cano what he's worth.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm hoping the Yankees overpay and over commit, because watching them struggle with behemoth contracts is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

Great expectations for 42

Since tonight's game has already been called on account of inclement weather (luckily it's just rain and not the snow/sleet that's afflicting parts of norther New England), I hope that some of you will take this opportunity to go and see 42: The True Story of an American Legend. I'm planning to see it after the weekend with my roommate - she's out of town, and I promised I would wait.

One of the best things about being a baseball fan is the richness of the sports history - but it's important to acknowledge that not all of that history can be romanticized. The game of baseball is just as stained with racism as the rest of US history, and though Jackie Robinson was a revolutionary figure, his first game in the major leagues (exactly sixty-six years ago as of next Monday) was only the beginning.

I have high hopes for 42, but I will always point to Jule Tygiel's book, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and his Legacy as the quintessential volume on the career and life of MLB's first African American player. By definition, a film has to cut out things that a book can expand upon - and the life of Jackie Robinson has far and away too many incredible moments to contain in two hours.

Jackie Robinson's legacy is incredible, and simply cannot be overstated. Though Major League Baseball only started officially celebrating Jackie Robinson Day in 2004, ballplayers have always been keenly aware of his amazing contributions; indeed, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was named for Jackie Robinson (if you're wondering, Sox fans, Jackie Bradley Jr. was named for his father, who was named for singer Jackie Wilson - though Bradley Jr. names Robinson as one of his baseball heroes).

If anything, this movie will bring the hard fought achievements of Jackie Robinson to light in a way that will make a younger generation pay attention. It's easy to pretend that baseball's racial struggles are in the distant past, but one of my mothers was born in 1947 - the very year that Robinson debuted with the Dodgers (the other was born later, but still four years before the Red Sox finally integrated). We are literally just a generation or two removed from such shameful segregation - on and off the baseball field - and it's important to acknowledge the shame of the past, even as we work toward a better future.

Robinson Cano fires Scott Boras

It's looking like Robinson Cano will be around to torture Red Sox pitchers and rob would-be gap hits for years to come. The Yankees' second baseman has reportedly ditched superagent Scott Boras and signed on with Roc Nation Sports, an agency headed by hip-hop mogul and Yankees fan Jay-Z.

Robinson is in a contract year, and rejected an extension offer from the Yankees this spring training while still represented by Boras, whose negotiating strategy is nearly always marked by testing the market in free agency to find the most lucrative deal. Red Sox fans will remember this strategy, because it's caused them to lose out on free agents to the endlessly wealthy Yankees multiple times, perhaps most notably Mark Teixeira in the 2008-2009 offseason.

Cano is my second-favorite Yankee (you can't beat out Mariano Rivera, at least for one more year). You might say I have a soft spot for second baseman, given my love for Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Marco Scutaro, and Cano. As much as I don't love watching Cano rake against Red Sox pitchers, I do love to watch him play, and I would hate to see him go to the NL where he'd undoubtedly be successful, but I'd miss watching him.

Though it's certainly possible that Cano ends up elsewhere, despite the much-lauded agent switch, things certainly look good for the Yankees.