I lost a bet this weekend. I’m down a six-pack and a quart of oil.

No, I didn’t bet on any of the Yankee-Met games.

I bet my friend that I could write a positive article on the Yanks.

No dice.

Not when Robinson Cano, he of the attention-deficit disorder, is seen laughing in the dugout before Saturday's game, a game that he is doing his best to screw up through stupidity.

From the start of the game, Cano was loafing on each play he was involved in, dropping balls, throwing in slow motion, jogging to first base on grounders, throwing balls into his foot...literally playing as if he was on whatever new recreational drug is in vogue these days.

No, I am not accusing Cano of being high; he just plays that way.

At best, Cano is immature. At worst, he is a horrible influence on the team and the other young players who see what he gets away with. It is beyond comprehension why Torre doesn't pull a Billy Martin and take Cano out of the game in front of everyone.

Anyone who did not see this game has no right to accuse me of hyperbole. Cano’s performance was the most despicable display I’ve ever witnessed. EVER.

Cano is not thinking when, after he stops a ground ball that can keep the game at 8-6 in the 8th, he rushes his throw and ends up throwing into his foot – because he doesn’t realize that it’s Julio Franco running and not Jose Reyes.

Isn’t it enough that The Yankees embarrass themselves now on a daily basis by losing? Do they have to embarrass themselves through lackadaisical and stupid play as well?

Yes, it’s easy to say that players do not look as if they are playing at 100% when they are not hitting, but I defy any of my readers to mention any player—at any time—who played with less zeal and intelligence than Robinson Cano. (The exception is Gary Sheffield, who admitted to making errors on purpose, and of course, the 1919 Chicago White Sox, some of whom threw the World Series.)

The fact that the Yanks made a valiant effort to get back into the game in the 8th and 9th makes the whole Cano affair that much more troublesome. If only they let Cairo take his 0-4, the Yanks might have won.

So, why does this happen? Yes, there is something within the soul of Robinson Cano that is rotten and fetid. The sooner he is gone the better.

But it is always up to the manager to take action when he sees that players are not “in the game.” It is the manager who allows this to happen. It is the manager who sets the tone.

As long as Torre says that his players are giving 100%, and he turns a blind eye to his players disrespecting him, the uniform, and the game, he is a fool.

It is a shame that the game has passed Torre by, but it clearly has, and the time for him to go has long since passed. He should have been fired years ago.
(Please see any of 234 of my previous articles that called for Torre to be canned.)

Granted, it would be nice if Jeter, just once, acted like a captain by stepping up and demanding that the team play like they cared…but we mustn’t disparage the captain. It’s not Jeter’s way to act like a captain; he is not going to start doing that now.

Okay, so don’t believe me, but listen to Tino Martinez:

"It seems like too many guys get hurt and take days off, and there's not that really burning desire to win from nine or 10 guys. You have two or three guys playing hard every day but you don't see the whole entire team just getting after it night after night."

However, Torre comments: "I really don’t have any issue with anything other than the final score.”

I think it would be a great message to Robby Cano and the team if they sent him down to Scranton for a month. After all, it's not as if the Yanks are in contention this year. Maybe Cano would take things more seriously. That’s the kind of hard decision that Cashman and Torre need to make to take control of this team.

Take control of the team? That’s a laugh. Torre can not do that.

The Robinson Cano’s of the world have taken over the Yankees, right under Torre's nose, and he doesn’t smell a thing.

Postscript: And don't get me started on Cano's strike zone, which extends from his eyes to his toes. That is an article unto itself.

Double Postscript: That was pretty classy of so many Met Fans who cheered when Darrell Rasner had to leave the game after being hit by the comebacker. Do you all feel proud of yourselves now?