Why Robinson Cano Needs to Be Even Better for the New York Yankees in 2012

After a miserably slow April that saw him hit just .246/.323/.389 with one home run and four RBI, Robinson Cano has really turned it on over the past two months.

In May, he improved to .312/.364/.606 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. Through 19 June games, he has improved even more, to a .319/.413/.681 line with seven home runs and 12 RBI.

Cano has been stellar since April. His lengthy hot streak has been one of the many reasons why the New York Yankees are now battling to stay in first place in the AL East.

That being said, he needs to be better—much better.

We've all come to expect great things from Cano. He has been an offensive force ever since he entered the league, and his .307/.348/.499 career line re-enforces that.

Racking up the hits has never been an issue for Cano, and driving the ball into the gaps to pick up a healthy number of doubles also isn't a problem. Heck, even taking walks isn't an issue. He's already picked up 27 base on balls, more than his BB totals from the 2005, 2006 and 2008 seasons.

But, for some reason, Cano hasn't been able to get it done when the Yankees need him most.

In games the Yankees have lost—that's 28 games—Cano has hit just .229/.292/.394 with 25 hits, three home runs, nine RBI and a SO/BB ratio of 3:1 (24:8).

In the Yankees' 49 victories, Cano is hitting .346/.417/.660 with 12 home runs and 26 RBI.

Now, I'm not blaming Cano for the Yankees' struggles. He's just one guy, and it'd be unfair to hold him accountable.

Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and even Derek Jeter need to pick up the slack along with Cano, as the team's philosophy of "live and die by the home run" is not the most effective way of winning baseball games.

Cano's numbers for the season are still solid, but they are not where he or the Yankees would like them to be. He'll have to start hitting better when the Yankees really need him, or it could be another season in which the Yankees see an early exit from the playoffs.