An opening for you know who?

16 Responses to An opening for you know who?

1. Matt says:

   May 17, 2011 at 8:28 am

   Great article I feel if you bring Monty up he must get alot of at bats and no just be a bench player. So if Posada ends up getting cut I’m all for it. But if it’s to bring him up to play every now and then i’d rather him develop in AAA.

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   Matt Imbrogno Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 8:37 am

   Posada is not getting cut. His playing time may get reduced, but there’s no way the dude is getting cut.

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   Matt Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 10:07 am

   Hey Matt was just giving options. I don’t believe he will get cut or that he will retire. No one is stupid enough to walk away from that kind of money. The only thing that I’m firm in is if Montero comes up it can’t be as a bench player.

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   Matt Imbrogno Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 10:33 am

   Agreed. What I think they could do is make him the DH, do…whatever with Cervelli, and have Montero catch on Martin’s off days.

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2. Joe says:

   May 17, 2011 at 9:02 am

   I agree with giving Montero a chance. What else does he have to prove offensively in the minors? Someone likened the situation to 2005 the other day on this site when the yanks brought up Cano. It gave us a shot of energy. Now all we need is Shawn Chacon. lol

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3. Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:

   May 17, 2011 at 9:26 am

   I agree that if Montero gets called up it should be as a regular, not a bench player. The Yankees have nothing to lose at the DH spot right now. The team may as well give Montero’s bat a chance. If he proves himself, great. If not, he’s young and can develop more in AAA.

   Regarding Posada getting cut, that will only happen if he continues to be difficult. I won’t go so far as to say that it won’t happen, because the front office seems to have limited patience for Jorge and Jeter, but both Posada and the team stand to benefit from a marketing stand point if they can ease Jorge into retirement. There’s money to be made having him shake hands in a Yankee uniform.

   However, this is almost certainly Jorge’s last year as a big leaguer, and his performance (forget his attitude) is hurting the team. If he continues to struggle while also refusing to accept a severely reduced role, I wouldn’t put anything past the front office.

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4. Phil C says:

   May 17, 2011 at 9:28 am

   Where is Billy Martin (RIP) when you need him? What concerns me more than anything is that I don’t see where anyone on this team is concerned about how poorly they are playing — defense, offense, pitching. To me the biggest detraction under Torre & Girardi is that when things start to go poorly no one — players, managers, and post-Boss management — seems to give the team a swift kick in the ass! Certainly the calm, optimistic approach is a good thing, but not always, and NOT right now.

   Maybe some new blood (like Montero) can help get them started again. I’d love to see Montero with the team. But remember, he tends to start slowly when promoted to the next level. Considering how impatient we are with Jorge and others, are we prepared to give Montero a couple of months to start hitting like he can? If not, then he should stay at AAA. Right now we’re looking for an immediate impact and I highly doubt he will provide that result. Let’s not place more expectations on Montero than is reasonable. He alone can not and will not turn the Yanks around.

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   Mike Jaggers-Radolf Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 11:27 am

   I wasn’t implying that Montero will come up and be precisely the swift kick the Yankees need.

   There are a few different issues at play here.

   The first one is that on a team like the Yankees it is difficult to integrate prospects into the lineup, given the team’s need to win immediately. This is one of those rare moments where a prospect can slide into a starter’s role, and do a better job. But I don’t mean to imply that Montero will turn around the stagnant offense.

   The second issue here is that the Yankees are old at key spots, and do need to pick their moments to drop aging stars. I believe that is why they take such a hard line with Jorge and Derek. The team’s economic viability is based on a win always structure that won’t support the modern equivalent of Mickey Mantle in the late 1960′s. That means that the opportunity to ease a struggling, free-agent, almost 40 Jorge out of the lineup needs to be seized.

   Finally, I do also agree that it is difficult to motivate a team of players making $20+ million a season with at leat a ring a pop. Sure, A-Rod wants to break the all-time home run record, but the dude is A-Rod. How bummed out will he be after an 0-4 night.

   All of these reasons suggest giving Montero a shot. We know he’ll be better than Jorge, who needs to go, and he needs to get his big league swings in.

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   Phil C Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

   BTW, Mike your comment posted while I was writing mine. I didn’t read it until afterward.

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   Mike Jaggers-Radolf Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 12:21 pm

   Not sure I follow you. I posted mine as a response to your comment. I just used the platform to address a few different thoughts.

   Either way, I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

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   bornwithpinstripes Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 11:53 am

   great comment..

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5. bornwithpinstripes says:

   May 17, 2011 at 11:50 am

   i would love to see montero come up and be the DH, that spot also needs guys like arod to rest..so it will be a little be of a juggle..so..we would need to send cervelli some place. of the 25 man roster..posada’s roster spot is just like having 24 guy’s and a malcontent ..so you play him and he don’t produce he gets paid..if you don’t play him you still pay him and get what i said before…hugh decision to be made.. we do need a jolt, maybe it is jesus maybe not but we can not look at all those dead bats everyday..if it were my call..i ask jorge to retire gracefully , have a nice press day..posda day next year..pay him hurts less than play him, he should worry more about his private life at this stage than a dying career.he would be in the class of a paul o’niel who knew when it was over…

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6. EJ Fagan says:

   May 17, 2011 at 11:50 am

   Too soon!

   Obviously, I agree with you. I hadn’t thought of your explanation for why Montero’s power hasn’t arrived yet this season (Late start in camp), but it makes sense. We all know its there, and its not like he’s hitting all that poorly right now. Montero could come up and hit .250/.320/.400 and make a huge difference over Posada.

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   Mike Jaggers-Radolf Reply:
   May 17th, 2011 at 12:24 pm

   Which is why I say give a shot, if not now, then soon. There are currently three players on the team with an OPS below .720, one of whom is the DH.

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7. An opening for you know who? | New York Yankees blog, Yankees blog … | Yankees News Source says:

   May 17, 2011 at 12:18 pm

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8. T.O. Chris says:

   May 17, 2011 at 6:23 pm

   Before bringing up Montero I would like for Jorge Vazquez to get a shot as the DH vs LHP. This allows Posada to keep his job as DH vs RHP for a little while longer, and it puts more power into the lineup while letting Montero get everyday ABs and play catcher. If at some point Vazquez isn’t working out you call up Montero and get on with the future.

   One thing concerning me just a tiny bit about Montero is he is hitting for less power than he ever has before, while striking out more and walking less than at any point in his minor league career. He has a great average, but I think some of that is because of his higher than ever before BABIP. It just seems his approach at the plate hasn’t been as effective as it has in the past, I don’t know if he is pressing to hit everything in an attempt to make the bigs or what.

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