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Post by JohnM on May 12, 2012 5:07:32 GMT -5
Regular BTB readers will know I have been a long term supporter of Ca$hman. But today is my day to blast him. I'm no scout. Never played the game in an organized league after my teens but have watched MLB closely for 50 years. Watching Montero catch last night got me stirred up. Many of you know i followed him about as close as you can follow a prospect from a distance. Taking every opportunity at Spring Training, seeing him live in-person in the Minors or watching on the Internet I watched him like a hawk to assess his catching skills.
Never did I ever conclude he wouldn't be an acceptable MLB catcher from a defensive perspective. But I'm not a Pro Scout or talent evaluator. Last year he should have been in the Bronx starting in June catching twice a week. We had a golden opportunity to see what he has catching 25 or so games and maybe getting 200 At Bats. We had Cervelli I guy I like, respect and root for getting valuable playing time with us already knowing what his ceiling was. Instead of playing with house money we let Jesus linger in AAA.
Instead of having a nice test in MLB we get a 63 AB sample and one game behind the plate. Utter stupidity. If we had a vibrant Boss around that never would have happened.
Make no mistake. My rant is not aimed at the trade. Acquiring Campos and Pineda was a great move. I should be Ca$h's boss.
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Post by bbt on May 12, 2012 6:19:09 GMT -5
I will say that Montero looked much better defensively than I expected. He has a big arm and is still only 22 or 23? That opposite field HR was no surprise either.......although he won't hit as many in Seattle as he would have in NY.
I bet the Mariners are happy with the trade. We're still waiting....
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Post by GoodFriar on May 12, 2012 6:48:48 GMT -5
Great posts, all.
Couldn't agree more with the mishandling of Montero. It seems like the Yankee brass was too busy denigrating Jesus' defense, they never wanted to give him a legitimate shot. It's our loss.
But, this is the way things are done in Yankee land. If the Friar was a Yankee farm-hand, he would be both excited and slightly bummed. Excited because it's the Yankees. Bummed because the team brings in old vets more often than than giving their young-uns a chance.
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Post by DavidL on May 12, 2012 7:43:07 GMT -5
Excellent post, John, except for one issue - if the Boss were still around, Montero would have been gone long ago.
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Post by JohnM on May 12, 2012 7:45:23 GMT -5
Excellent post, John, except for one issue - if the Boss were still around, Montero would have been gone long ago. Maybe the Boss of the 80's but not the Boss post suspension return.
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Post by Skinnyhead on May 12, 2012 8:26:34 GMT -5
The year the Yanks brought up Cano and CMW in the same season I thought I died and ended up in the alternate universe of all things backwards. The Yankees treat their minor league prospects as if they're some sort of heirloom to be looked at through bullet proof glass. Never to be handled.
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Post by paulie on May 12, 2012 9:41:59 GMT -5
I was always under the impression that Po would take Jesus under his wing and then pass the baton over to him. Then we got Martin, and those plans went out the window. I'm not sure what the Yankees were thinking, and its too soon to tell who the real winner is.
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Post by Knuckles on May 12, 2012 10:18:35 GMT -5
I'm still not convinced he will be a solid multiple-season catcher.
My rant would start with Igawa and end with retaining Freddy and letting Bartolo go.
Did Brian watch their games?
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!
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Post by paulie on May 12, 2012 10:23:42 GMT -5
Igawa was tit-for-tat, (love writing that!), but still ill advised. Letting Colon go was a colossal blunder.
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Post by Retro Jimbue on May 12, 2012 11:30:18 GMT -5
montero was never gonna be able to learn under the ny microscope......seattle is another planet!!.....my beef with cashman is nunez......forget ss ....when is he gonna play there??....in 2 years??......and from what i've seen he's never gonna play ss everyday anywhere........but he could be an outfielder......how come the yanks didn't have him shagging flies this spring??.....now a perfectly good bat gets sent down to the minors to learn a position he's not good enough to play.......the only speed we have without gardner and he's in AAA.....stupid!!!
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Post by JohnM on May 12, 2012 11:38:20 GMT -5
Colon has tailed off on Oakland. Not resigning him was the correct move.
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Post by Retro Jimbue on May 12, 2012 11:47:32 GMT -5
colon was still a better option then garcia but i wouldn't have brought either back!!!....
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Post by JohnM on May 12, 2012 11:49:36 GMT -5
colon was still a better option then garcia but i wouldn't have brought either back!!!.... I like that answer better.
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Post by bbt on May 12, 2012 13:04:27 GMT -5
montero was never gonna be able to learn under the ny microscope......seattle is another planet!!.....my beef with cashman is nunez......forget ss ....when is he gonna play there??....in 2 years??......and from what i've seen he's never gonna play ss everyday anywhere........but he could be an outfielder......how come the yanks didn't have him shagging flies this spring??.....now a perfectly good bat gets sent down to the minors to learn a position he's not good enough to play.......the only speed we have without gardner and he's in AAA.....stupid!!! Now that is the truth! NunE is a good hitter and a good enough athlete to learn an OF position. I will never trust him to be a solid ML infielder. Does he have any trade value now? He cannot be kept as heir apparent to Jeter, so move him along. Speaking of heir apparent, who is THAT gonna be?
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Post by paulie on May 12, 2012 13:41:24 GMT -5
OTOH, Stewart and Ibanez were both good signs.
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Post by JohnM on May 12, 2012 14:49:28 GMT -5
montero was never gonna be able to learn under the ny microscope......seattle is another planet!!.....my beef with cashman is nunez......forget ss ....when is he gonna play there??....in 2 years??......and from what i've seen he's never gonna play ss everyday anywhere........but he could be an outfielder......how come the yanks didn't have him shagging flies this spring??.....now a perfectly good bat gets sent down to the minors to learn a position he's not good enough to play.......the only speed we have without gardner and he's in AAA.....stupid!!! Now that is the truth! NunE is a good hitter and a good enough athlete to learn an OF position. I will never trust him to be a solid ML infielder. Does he have any trade value now? He cannot be kept as heir apparent to Jeter, so move him along. Speaking of heir apparent, who is THAT gonna be? Maybe Cito Culver 2016 or later
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Post by Effjay on May 12, 2012 17:07:22 GMT -5
For a guy everyone said was spent, Ibenez sure is carrying us these few games.
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Post by dg on May 12, 2012 18:02:20 GMT -5
Yeah, Ibanez has certainly done well.
Good points on Montero, John. As much potential as that kid has as a hitter, no way his D was only worth looking at once. Like you, I'm fine with the trade. None of us like how it currently stands, but I didn't object when it was made and it could sure turn out well for us in the end. We'll see.
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Post by Knuckles on May 12, 2012 19:27:29 GMT -5
Does he have any trade value now? He cannot be kept as heir apparent to Jeter, so move him along. Well, as for this, did you see the Seattle lineup two straight days? NunE can hit. He will play somewhere, at some point. Someone would trade for him NOW. YANKEE BASEBALL!!!
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Post by DavidL on May 13, 2012 7:19:13 GMT -5
Ibanez has been a very pleasant surprise. He's even got his BA over .280. Seems there's some life left in his bat after all. And he hasn't been an embarrassment in the field, either, although he's no Gardy.
I'm sure NunE has some trade value, since he can hit and run. Probably more likely to be for an AL team where he could DH.
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