If only we had Abe
.
Yes, Lincoln was a ferocious wrestler. Here's an article that will blow your hair back. "Gentle" does not mean "weak." It means "strong" and "restrained."
.....
There is a story about a college dean who was walking the President around his campus. The university had put in sidewalks a few years previously ... the students persisted on walking across the lawns, wearing out the grass. The dean tried everything, punishments, etc., and couldn't stop the kids from "trespassing" onto his lawns.
"What should I do about this?," the dean wailed.
"Put the sidewalks where the students want to walk," Lincoln said. He didn't smile.
.....
As Spectator pointed out at Mariner BrainStorm, we have an Albert Pujols-class hitting prospect who was doing great ...
UNTIL ...
... the Yankees held him back a grade. (Making him repeat a level he'd already destroyed.)
Jesus Montero lost interest at that point.
I'll tell you about somebody who has an attitude much like Montero's: ME. I do great as long as people are applauding. As soon as somebody holds me back a grade, to make me "prove" my grittiness, I lose interest in that person. I've got no interest in a person -- such as a domineering editor of my tech writing -- who wants to prove THEIR OWN importance by putting their fingerprints on my career.
So you don't like that about me. You wish I was different. Fine. But there are people who will gleefully exploit my talent and ignore my sensibilities.
If I were one of the other 29 major league teams, I would trade for Jesus Montero, give him love and hugs, let it slide when he got lazy, and I'd watch him hit .330 with 31 homers for me.
.....
The word is, that the Mariners are hesitating about Nick Franklin's promotion because they don't quite feel that he's "broken to the yoke." He doesn't respect the game quuuiiiiiiiiite as much as he should, don'cha know.
I don't know if all that's true. But if it is as simple as letting the blue-chippers walk across the grass, here is one guy who would do exactly that.
Tell you one thing that is definitely true, though. Jesus Montero is -- as a Seattle Mariner -- a colossal waste.
Maybe the Yankee$ and Mariners have already cut Montero all reasonable slack, and he's stepped over the line? How would I know. Is it Montero's fault, or the Mariners'? We will definitely find out, because history will judge Montero's career. We'll know the same way we did with Carlos Guillen in one direction, and as we did with Brandon Morrow in the other.
Sigh,
Dr D