Robinson Cano is gone. And I have to say, it sucks. It sucks because he was eminently likeable; it sucks because he was (and still is) the best second baseman in the league. If you want to look at this whole situation clinically like it’s all numbers on a page, then the Yankees front office has a tremendously hard task ahead of them: they now have to fill a gaping defensive hole at second base and a gaping offensive hole in the lineup. The scrapheap approach, as we saw with the situation at catcher last season, will likely not suffice. But more importantly, at least for me, is that with Cano moving to the Mariners we lose a tremendous character—a player that was fun to watch; a player that breathed life into the game; a player that was, by all accounts, a legitimately good person. He was, in a word, likeable, and you certainly can’t say that for everyone in the Majors. Indeed, the players that meet all those quotients are in a very small minority.

Initially I embraced this news under the guise that it was a good idea for the Yankees not to meet the Tridents’ offering because the contract it resulted in would be a) expensive and b) long. I suspect this prima facie reaction was little more than a coping mechanism. Now I hate that they didn’t sign him—the sort of disgust like thud thud thud goes the baseball bat in the hands of a crazed mobster in a Martin Scorsese flick. I am aware of all the arguments against, and I even subscribe to these arguments, which certainly makes me something of a walking, typing contradiction. Still, I can’t shake the side of me which cries out in vain. It’s not rational. It’s not smart. But it’s there. And what are you and I to do? Nothing, because we don’t run the Yankees. To that end, join me, if you will, in revisiting some great moments in Robinson Cano.

Hipster Cano

Who's Sorry Now?

Between you and I, this actually happened because Cano was too lazy to swing.

Flip #1

And a reverse angle:

His Greatest Gift to Us

There’s a lot to be thankful for when it comes to Robinson Cano being a Yankee, but him providing us with the situation which birthed a plus-plus GIF—here is the authoritative version—may very well take the cake. P.S.: I very nearly called this "His Greatest GIFt to Us," but then I didn’t.

Face

Stab

Michael Kay: "I just wish he’d put more effort into the throw."

Strange Days Have Found Us

Strange Days Have Tracked Us Down

Yes, You Are on Camera

The Triple

Missing from this is how angry John Sterling was that Nix threw the ball to third. He just didn’t quite get what was going on there. Sort of par for the course, I suppose.

Flip #2

A-Rod

Well, listen, we all knew A-Rod would find a way to inject himself into these proceedings.

Contemplative Cano

Flip #3

Flair

When you’re Robinson Cano, you don’t have to field balls in a normal fashion.

Dancing

A Classic

The Swing

The King

Shiny Happy People

A Slam



2011 ALDS, Game 1.

A Ring



A Smile

Two bonus GIFs: 1; 2. You can find more GIFs here, and you can follow us on Twitter here.