Why Robby? Why?
 
Sorry Robby, I just not buying it. Call me cynical, but I’ve been down the road too many times with too many players.
 
They always are sorry. They always say it was a mistake. They always say they didn’t know they were doing anything wrong.
 
If it’s true, Robinson Cano is either incredibly naïve, incredibly careless or incredibly stupid. I don’t think he’s any of those things.
 
The Mariners second baseman, a man who was headed to the Hall of Fame, will be suspended 80 games for violating the MLB’s joint drug prevention program. Cano was taking a diuretic called Furosemide, a banned substance.
 
Cano says it was a mistake, a prescription he was given by his doctor in the Dominican Republic for a medical condition. He says he didn’t realize it was a banned substance.
 
Really? Cano is in the fifth year of a 10-year contract that pays him $240 million. Yet you were willing to haphazardly take a drug you’ve never taken before without the slightest consideration of whether it was allowed under MLB rules?
 
How could it possibly be worth the enormous risk?
 
“For more than 15 years, playing professional baseball has been the greatest honor of my life,’’ Cano said in a written statement. “I would never do anything to cheat the game I love. I’ve never tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug because I’ve never taken one.
 
“Today, I’ve decided to accept MLB’s suspension. This is the most difficult decision I’ve ever made in my life, but ultimately, the right decision given that I do not dispute I was given the substance. I apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates and the Mariners organization.”
   
This type of statement is so common in these situations it’s almost laughable. Could he be telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
 
Sure, it’s possible. It seems incomprehensible from a common-sense perspective, but it’s not impossible.

And there's this little tidbit for T.J. Quinn of ESPN. The MLB drug policy says MLB has to prove intent to mask, which they apparently did with the diuretic.
 
Whether you believe his explanation or not, it’s a big blow to the Mariners. The one bit of good news (oddly enough) is Cano has a broken finger and was going to miss games anyway. Those games will count against the 80-game suspension.
 
However, he won’t be on the field if the Mariners make the playoffs, something that looked like a realistic possibility for a 23-17 team. Continuing to play at that level for 80 games without your No. 3 hitter is quite a task.
 
And what about the damage to Cano’s reputation? While this isn’t a steroid suspension, officially, Hall of Fame voters tend to shy away from players who have a drug suspension on their record.
 
It all seems so senseless, so I ask again:
 
Why Robby? Why?
 

 
SEATTLE – A tie never looked so bad, at least not in the eyes of forward Will Bruin.
 
The Sounders had a man advantage for more than 75 minutes Saturday, but failed to score in a disappointing 0-0 tie against the Columbus Crew at CenturyLink Field.
 
It was the fifth time in seven MLS games this season the Sounders (1-4-2) went scoreless. They have only five goals in those seven games.
 
“We need to find a solution to this, because if you can’t tell, I’m pretty frustrated right now,’’ Bruin said after the game. “We were too slow. We moved it too slow. We were too predictable. We didn’t even try to play through the final third.”
 
Crew midfielder Pedro Santos was given a red card in the 15th minute when he went for a ball and kicked Seattle midfielder Alex Roldan in the face.
 
Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer made three substitutions in the second half – bringing in Handwalla Bwana, Magnus Wolff Eikrem and Henry Wingo _ to try to get more aggressive. Most of the second half was played at the Columbus end, but the Sounders couldn’t capitalize.
 
“We’re disappointed in the result,’’ Schmetzer said.” It’s not good enough. I’ll make sure we watch the tape and work on attacking movements to be a little more creative. I think we’re better than that. We need to get down the field before [the opponent] gets a chance to get bunkered in.”
 
Bruin feels the Sounders are playing far too conservatively.
 
“I think everybody in the stadium knew we were going to try to get it and push in wide and cross it,’’ he said. “You’ve got to find other ways to create chances. We just haven’t been able to do it.
 
“We’ve got be willing to take chances. We have to get some creativity and some flair. We’re too caught up with playing simple pass and saying, ‘I’m not going to make a mistake. I’m going to move it to the next guy.’ You’re not going to score like that. It’s so easy to defend.’’
 
Making matters more difficult was the surprising news on forward Nicolas Lideiro, who didn’t play because of what a foot injury. But Lideiro’s injury wasn’t on the team official report before the game.
 
“When the player has a significant foot injury, it’s his call,’’ Schmetzer said. “We’re sad that he isn’t playing. We’ll take it game by game. Nico has been a very positive influence for us. We missed him, but we had enough players out there capable of breaking lines.”
 
Things don’t get any easier for the Sounders. They have road games at Toronto Wednesday and Portland next Sunday.
 
“We’ll look at the film tomorrow,’’ Bruin said. “I hope we look at ways to exploit Toronto and ways we can attack them.”