Comments on: An in-depth look at the “should Jesus Montero catch” question http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/ Baseball. Baseball. And then a bit more baseball. Sat, 18 May 2013 11:03:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: pellypell http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248244 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:22:44 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248244 You guys got it all wrong, people were saying he was “phat”.

Word up!

]]> By: humanexcrement http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248222 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:25:34 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248222 As a Yankee fan, it’s nice no longer having a stake in this matter, but I’ll say what I’ve always said: Yes, Montero deserves a chance to catch, but he’s never, ever, ever going to be a good enough catcher to justify the wear and tear the position will inevitably have on his ability to hit. Jorge Posada was a decent defensive catcher in his prime, and his numbers, while outstanding for the position, were never so good as to justify sacrificing a great-hitting first baseman or DH in favor of replacing him with a good defensive catcher who couldn’t hit. Montero should be used the way Detriot uses Victor Maritnez–regular DH, part-time first baseman, part-time catcher. He has the offensive ability to be another Edgar Martinez or Frank Thomas at DH. Not saying he WILL be that good, just saying he could. Why wear him out at catcher with below-average defensive ability on for an offense-starved team? Take away his catcher’s gear for a moment, lock him in the batting cage and feed him nothing but raw meat and see what happens.

]]> By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248208 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:36:58 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248208 Here’s some more fun. Miguel Olivo has 3565 Plate Appearances and has walked a total of 145(!) times. Barry Bonds walked more than that in 5 separate seasons (and tied it once as well).

]]> By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248206 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:34:59 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248206 The Miguel Olivo who hit .224/.253/.388 last year? Or the one who’s hit a career .243/.279/.421? Yeah he’s terrible offensively. And what’s worse is apparently he’s still better defensively than Montero =\

]]> By: mmason0071 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248191 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:01:56 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248191 Since the Mariner’s have had a historically bad offense the last two years, they shouldn’t distract Montero with learning to play the hardest position on the field. They should let him concentrate on learning to be a major league hitter, at DH or first. And if Smoak finally hits well enough to claim first, well that’s a problem they would like to have.

]]> By: papacrick http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248183 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:32:24 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248183 What happened to Olivo? That dude was a stud last year.. At least against my Tigers. I think he hit at least one bomb in every game against us and had at least a .600 avg. not sure how he fared elsewhere but he couldn’t have been bad.

]]> By: aaronmoreno http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248174 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:30:20 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248174 It seems like very few scouts think he has any kind of future behind the plate. They think he’s too big, has bad hands, and doesn’t like catching. At some point, shouldn’t we trust that Montero can’t play back there?

I say this as a stat guy who believes in taking risks. Montero can’t catch.

]]> By: paperlions http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248153 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:00:47 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248153 I haven’t heard a single person say he was too fat, he is too big. 6’4″, 225 at 21 yrs of age doesn’t profile as a person that will be able to easily squat behind the plate for the next 10 years….plus, he just appears to suck at it. It isn’t like the Yankees only tried him back there for a few games, he has been trying to catch for years, and he still sucks at it.

Even if he became passable at C, how much offense does all of the wear and tear on the body cost a team? There is a reason catchers tend to fade late in years and early in careers.

]]> By: paperlions http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248152 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:56:39 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248152 Yes.

]]> By: butchhuskey http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248139 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:31:06 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248139 Before I saw Montero on tv everyone kept talking about how fat he was and that he was too fat for the position, but he doesn’t seem all that rotund to me. I mean, Matt Wieters is really tall for a catcher and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez has spent 20 years at the position- it’s not like Montero is a Jeremy Brown look-a-like.

]]> By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248126 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:34:12 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248126 And here’s fangraph’s prospect writer Mike Newman saying the complete opposite. In fact he says:

Catching 101 includes a lesson in properly protecting the thumbs – which Montero seems to have missed – as he rarely tucks his right hand safely behind his back foot and out of harms way. Taking things a step further, Montero’s bare hand “floats” mid-pitch as he adjusts to catch and frame. This leaves him susceptible to foul tips off of the hands.

In general, this is a relatively simple adjustment, but scouting him in 2008, and then seeing the same bad habits in 2011 leave me wondering if his hand positioning is more a function of balance which would be harder to correct. Quite simply, Montero could be the second coming of Ivan Rodriguez defensively and Montero’s heightened injury risk may not be worth it. A badly broken thumb costs a player months of playing time and could run the risk of long term damage.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mariners-take-rare-mulligan-with-montero/

]]> By: fuggles7 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248120 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:17:34 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248120 Sneaky Handsome.. they using more powder then to keep the glare down from the lights?

]]> By: vanmorrissey http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248110 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:57:13 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248110 Uh, if it were Tiffany I’ll be there no doubt. You? DVR.

]]> By: cur68 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248106 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:41:30 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248106 “Sneaky Handsome” eh? Yeah, you rock that. 8)

Montero as a catcher needs a to come under the tutelage of a Molina. Benji is unemployed. There. Problem, meet solution: the Molina Hegemony. Baseball is better with more Molina input.

]]> By: deathmonkey41 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248104 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:35:34 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248104 Could he really be any worse than Posada was behind the plate?

]]> By: randygnyc http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248102 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:33:59 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248102 I’ll guarantee that the M’s will give him a chance to catch. For how long, I’m not sure. There’s little downside to offering him the opportunity.

]]> By: nekotman http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/16/an-in-depth-look-at-the-should-jesus-montero-catch-question/comment-page-1/#comment-248099 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:28:45 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=106836#comment-248099 Sneaky maybe. Handsome no. But at least you are a Braves fan so I can live with that.

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