:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29881875/20131212_ajl_sn8_056.0.jpg)
Three months ago, to the day, on Dec. 12 Robinson Cano signed a 10 year, 240 million dollar contract to be a Seattle Mariner. It was a move that was decried by some, mainly for the "fiscal irresponsibility" angle, and loved by many, for reasons both logical and illogical.
For those like myself, perpetually dammed to believe that the next dawn shall be brighter than the last, the Cano signing was an indicator that, flush with the megabucks TV contract what's all the rage these days the Mariners were set to "go for it". With glaring needs in the outfield and in the starting rotation Cano was, I believed, the beginning of a new financial era for the team.
Now we still have precious little hindsight. Robinson Cano has yet to play a regular season game. He has looked very much like I imagine Robinson Cano would look minus the most hideous uniform designed by god or man (I very much look forward to Summer versions of this). But the roster still feels largely, well, unfinished.
The team needs Scott Baker to be something better than Scott Baker. Today Scott Baker hit 3 consecutive hitters so he appears to still be stuck in the Scott Baker Zone. The outfield holds perhaps more promise but has proven exactly nothing. The payroll appears to be only slightly increasing, if at all. There are questions. Questions that need answering.
It's impossible to know if the Mariners had not signed Cano where or even if they would have allocated that money. The Mariners are highly secretive, even for a professional sports team. So given what we know now that we did not know then I posit you thusly.
