Add new comment

.

Yang, dept.

OKDan, an excellent poster, gives us a fun report from onsite:

I just cannot foresee any situation in which Montero makes this team, regardless of his xbh's. Been down here in peoria for a few days, and his lack of interest in the game of baseball is palpable. Watched him take grounded on a side field, where he bobbled or straight up missed 30-40% of them. Then watched him stand in the back row during some group calisthenics, and he was barely even trying. Half-heartedly bending over while everyone else was going gull tilt.

During the game, the crowd over by 1st was letting him have it all night. Might have been cubs fans though. He dropped a foul popup, botched a grounder, and nearly took his foot off the base on the 8th out. The next inning, I watched as all 3 other infielders stood out in the field waiting to do their warmups, while Montero was the last one out there, and they had to cut it short before the leadoff AB.

I dunno. Could be that I caught him at his worst moments, and am ascribing motivations where there aren't any. But from my perspective, the guy doesn't give a rip about the game, and it's obvious to the manager and the players on the field with him. If anyone else gets passed over in favor of Montero, I don't think it will go over well in the clubhouse.

- See more at: http://seattlesportsinsider.com/comment/137439#comment-137439

...

Thanks Dan!  Keep da onsite reports comin' my man.

And DaddyO seconds this emotion.  :- )  He points out that "head cases are rarely worth their contribution."  If that's what Montero is -- a Manny Ramirez type before he's ever done anything -- then there does come a point where you can cheerfully wash your hands of him, and never worry about what he does anywhere else. 

Just as a f'r instance, we recall Bill James (a Royals fan) write up a long analysis showing that Danny Tartabull was (at the time) the #3 right hand hitter in the American League.  He finished with a short paragraph:  Who Needs Him.

...

After Dr. D put up his recommendation of Jesus Montero for the 25-man roster, Mojician came thundering down Sixth Avenue with a cross-examination that was all but impossible to resist.  The Cliffs' Notes:  Montero is comparable to a bond rated at "Default" trustworthiness.  I loooov eet :- ) 

.

Yin, dept.

The Mariners themselves seem to be wavering a bit, regarding Montero's ticket to the Gulag Archipelago.  Their TV announcers are now complimenting him about losing a ton of weight, and if the announcers are saying that, it's because the shot-callers are in the same mood about Montero.

Montero is in the games, he's even playing 1B, and when he butchers it, McClendon is making excuses for him.  When McClendon says "he was horsefeathers this week, but he looks good now" that's not the kind of remark you make about the kid you're about to cut from the traveling squad.

....

So, what's going on with the half-ars'ed calisthenics?  Montero isn't the first ballplayer ever to "hang his head" over a rap on the knuckles.  MLB org's see this a lot; sometimes they push through it and sometimes they don't.  "Sometimes they do" tends to coincide with a player you paid Michael Pineda to get.

.

Dr's Prognosis

OKDan's report from Peoria is compelling.  Montero's lack of desire is disruptive, as it is with lots of Cuban players, for example.  His talent is also disruptive, to enemy pitching, that is.

Montero's annoying, but ... would you rather have Delmon Young?  Tampa Bay and Minnesota waited out 3-and-a-half years of fulltime play, at VERY little production, trying to get at the superstar they thought was underneath.  They finally did get a 124 OPS+ in year 4, and now teams have spent 3 more years trying to get anything other than a sewage sandwich.  No luck so far.

Vicente Padilla was at constant risk for death by alcohol, death by self-inflicted gunshot, or both at the same time, or in either order.  Chase Utley was ranked #2 in Sports Illustrated's "meanest" players in baseball -- by his own teammates, LOL.  

Miguel Cabrera was asked to leave a bar a year or two ago and calmly informed the bartender (not Wilhelmsen to Dr. D's knowledge), "You don't know me.  I will kill you.  I know you, all of you, and I will kill every one of you.  I will blow this place up."  A.J. Pierzynski lasted one year with the Giants before he was unanimously voted off the island.  

Do we even need to get into the Milton Bradleys, Carlos Zambranos and Carl Everetts here?  :- ) 

You and I look at Montero and see a lost cause; the Mariners (presumably) look at him and see a "high-maintenance player."  When it gets to the point to where your maintenance blots out your talent, it's time for a change of scenery.

How close are we to that?  I ain't in the locker room, but hey.  You're lazy and we don't like you.  Then you better hit, Bub.

My $0.02,

Jeff