A Little Trade Background
by Jeff Sullivan on Jan 23, 2012 7:00 PM PST
in Seattle Mariners Transactions
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So about that four-player Mariners/Yankees trade - I decided to sit in on the Mariners media conference call without participating, which is way less awkward and uncomfortable on the phone than it is in person at an actual press conference. I'm not going to review all the bits and quotes because others will do that and they'll do it better, but there was one thing in particular early on that stood out to me.
The Mariners were looking all around the league for a young bat. Somebody they could bring in and keep for a while. They had a few options, but in the end they "settled on Jesus" (different from "settled for Jesus"). Jack Zduriencik asked Brian Cashman if there was any way to get Montero without trading Felix Hernandez, and that's where Michael Pineda came in. Pineda wasn't being shopped, but he was available at the right price, which is exactly what one would've figured.
From there, things developed, although they didn't necessarily develop that fast - the seed was first planted during the winter meetings, and then I guess it sprouted a few weeks ago. No, that doesn't sound right. It first came up during the winter meetings. Then it came up again a few weeks ago. Much better. Writing is easy!
As for Montero's future as a catcher, the quote you've probably seen all over the place is that he'll "get every opportunity to catch." The way Zduriencik tells it, they'll go to camp and let things play out as they will. So Montero could catch, and if you ask Brian Cashman he will catch, but his big selling point as far as the Mariners are concerned is most definitely his bat. They love the hell out of his bat.
Somebody always has to ask during these things what comes next, and Zduriencik always has to remind people that he won't talk about current negotiations. But for those of you who love to be teased, he did say that he has "other conversations going on." All that really says is that Jack Zduriencik isn't flat-out ignoring other executives and agents, but watch how little you care. What other conversations! How many of them involve Prince Fielder! I'm using exclamation points instead of question marks because the people who are still obsessed with the Mariners signing Prince Fielder probably don't understand punctuation.
Trade! It's done. Jesus Montero will be present at FanFest. He'll be bringing his big bat. It is a huge bat.
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Between this and ""Classic" MLB Baseball" tongiht is going to be a good night for me
"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence." ~ Dinobot
That line about people who are obsessed about signing Prince Fielder...
Had me literally laughing out loud. I then had to explain it to my girlfriend the whole joke which in turned made it no longer funny.
by Clown baby on Jan 23, 2012 7:11 PM PST reply actions 4 recs
Ackley-Smoak-Montero!
Offensive potential!
by EthanN on Jan 23, 2012 7:30 PM PST via mobile reply actions 3 recs
I would love Montero forever if he brought a giant foam novelty bat to Fan Fest.
How come you can do all this other great shit, but you can't lie the fuck down and sleep?
Per Drayer:
Zduriencik on the HSL-there were 4 names on the list of young hitters he would consider trading Pineda for.
I wonder who the other three were…
Z should be fired if...
…Mike Stanton wasn’t one of the other three.
I'm pretty sure he was.
I know I read somewhere that Z discussed Pineda with the Marlins, and LoMo probably wouldn’t be enough.
Assuming they're all players who've played in MLB at least a bit
I’d guess Stanton, Lawrie and Trout.
Maybe.
But last year didn’t help his cause.
"You are the molders of their dreams." - Clark Mollenhoff
All three of those are more intriguing to me, but they probably would have cost more.
Mariners fan in SF :: @Eric_Dykstra
I think I would take all of these over Jesus.
Although I have ignored Trout to the absolute best of my ability, so all I know is that he exists, is an Angel, and is a hitter.
by the other side on Jan 23, 2012 8:46 PM PST up reply actions
Z should be fired if he was not on the list.
by the other side on Jan 23, 2012 8:50 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Let me fix that for you...
Z should be fired if he was not on the list.
There you go, bright and shiny like a brand new penny.
Figgins was obviously on the list
The question was, what would the Mariner’s have to give up to get him? I’m thinking at least Pineda+Ackley
Hey everyone let's name young baseball players who can hit
by abender20 on Jan 23, 2012 8:50 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
He has to be young.
Just look at him, he hasn’t finished growing yet.
by Aussie Mariner on Jan 24, 2012 4:14 AM PST up reply actions
You're all wrong.
Correct answer is Perennial MVP Michael Young
by abender20 on Jan 23, 2012 9:27 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Bryce Harper
Aaron Curry is the first Seahawk since Walter Jones to have a legitimate shot at Hall of Fame induction - John Morgan
by Fearless Frog on Jan 24, 2012 4:25 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Unless I misheard Jesus on the HSL
I’m pretty sure he said something along the lines of “One of my favorite childhood memories was watching Edgar play and I’ve always wanted to play here in Seattle.”
Guys I think I’m in love.
I want to believe that this happened...
but I would think that someone would have repeated it by now in the local media. Maybe we’ll see when the articles come out later.
by JY on Jan 23, 2012 9:25 PM PST up reply actions
I know for sure that he mentioned watching Edgar bat growing up.
I’m waiting for the podcast to go up to confirm the other bit though.
by Cascadian Man on Jan 23, 2012 9:26 PM PST up reply actions
It's up.
Part about the M’s and Edgar starts at 25 minutes in. It kind of sound like he dreamed about being a Mariner like Edgar, or at least that he told his dad he’d be on TV like Edgar.
by Cascadian Man on Jan 23, 2012 9:37 PM PST up reply actions
It just kind of surprised me that he would be mentioned since Montero is Venezuelan and Edgar is Puerto Rican.
But Montero seemed to cite Edgar as an example of a right-handed hitter who could hit the ball out to right field and a model for that reason. I like that a lot.
by JY on Jan 23, 2012 9:45 PM PST up reply actions
Edgar got name dropped again about 34 minutes in.
by JY on Jan 23, 2012 9:53 PM PST up reply actions
It's certainly possible.
I know at the very least Edgar was on the Senadores de San Juan in 1995 and they swept the whole six-game affair by a combined 49-15 score. That was a team that had Roberto Alomar, Bernie Williams, Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Baerga, Ruben Sierra, Carlos Delgado, and Rey Sanchez in addition to Edgar. A hell of a lineup, to be certain.
That lineup today
would probably win more games than the Astros!
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring". ~Rogers Hornsby
by extavernmouse on Jan 23, 2012 11:24 PM PST up reply actions
Like this one!
Moving on. It turns out that Felix is not Montero’s only Mariners hero. His approach the other way? He saw someone on tv do that when he was very young and took note.
“It is amazing to me because that is the team that I dream all of my life when I was a kid,” he said. “I used to watch tv all the time when I was 11 years old and I used to watch Edgar Martinez hit home runs to right field and I used to tell my dad you are going to see me on tv one day and he saw me with the Yankees and now he will see me with the Mariners like I said to him.”
When Rick Rizzs pointed out that Edgar’s approach was to go the other way Montero excitedly interrupted him.
“That’s why I was watching a lot of video from him, that’s why I learned!”
by ThundaPC on Jan 24, 2012 2:40 AM PST up reply actions 12 recs
Reading Shannon's whole article, it sure seems like he's genuinely excited to play for the Mariners. Neat.
by wazzu93 on Jan 24, 2012 8:34 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Man, Shannon's articles make me excited about baseball season every time
by seattlebruin on Jan 24, 2012 9:12 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Montero, I like you, but you're not going to wear #11.
Not that I had any feeling that he wanted to, but still.
by Two Rs and Two Ls on Jan 24, 2012 3:55 PM PST up reply actions
No mention of food in this article.
Booooo
How come you can do all this other great shit, but you can't lie the fuck down and sleep?
by JAH on Jan 23, 2012 9:26 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I want my refund.
How come you can do all this other great shit, but you can't lie the fuck down and sleep?
No Iwakuma picture either.
Jeff’s losing his touch.
by Mariner John on Jan 23, 2012 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
I thought he could have used it in the latest Millwood post
Especially since he mentioned that he was a right handed pitcher.
I was making lunch during the conference call
It was pasta
by Jeff Sullivan on Jan 23, 2012 11:15 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
With oil or aiolli?
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring". ~Rogers Hornsby
by extavernmouse on Jan 23, 2012 11:24 PM PST up reply actions
There, there.
“The wind and the 3-1 pitch from Pineda… WELL HIT BALL! DEEP RIGHT FIELD! GOING AND GOING… GOODBYE BASEBALL! Get out the rye bread and the mustard, Grandma, and hand it to Dave! Ichiro scores! Guti scores! Ackley scores! Jesus Montero with a monster, grand slam homerun off the Hit It Here Cafe, to give the Mariners the lead and knock Michael Pineda out of the game!”
- Rick Rizzs, 4th inning, Safeco Field, Tuesday, July 24th, 2012.
Feel better?
by Chris_FB on Jan 24, 2012 9:55 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
How about October 27th, knocking Pineda out of the game
And the Yankees out of the ALCS.
by HititHere on Jan 24, 2012 11:16 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
He's lost his innocence
"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence." ~ Dinobot
by beastwarking on Jan 24, 2012 9:36 AM PST up reply actions
Can't wait to hear King's Court go batshit over his first Safeco homerun
I envision a cheer similar to part of the chorus to “Hey Jude”, but with his name instead. But then, I suck at envisioning. And one can’t force a good cheer.
by Chris_FB on Jan 23, 2012 10:37 PM PST via mobile reply actions 4 recs
That would actually be a pretty brilliant cheer. I support this.
by sanford_and_son on Jan 24, 2012 8:28 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Aw, thanks. If enough LLers were at King's Court with me, I'd try to start it
Or, if I got sloshed on enough $8 beer…
I agree. And the nah-nah nah nah part sounds like taunting without explicitly being taunting
Perfect for passive-aggressiveness Seattle.
by J0SER on Jan 24, 2012 10:44 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
and by "can't wait" I mean I hope they never happen
by pdb on Jan 24, 2012 8:55 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
I for one welcome our new Jesus overlords
"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence." ~ Dinobot
by beastwarking on Jan 24, 2012 9:38 AM PST up reply actions
Something to throw out there
Danny Hultzen and Jesus Montero are birthday twins.
That is all.
I don't love the trade, but I'm really, really fucking excited. So I guess I love the trade.
by Teej on Jan 24, 2012 12:12 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Yup.
And I really do have a lot of faith in his bat. I’m just a little bummed that we traded Pineda for a guy who is probably already a DH at 22. But by most accounts the bat is legit, and there’s nothing wrong with having a truly elite DH. I really hope he turns into that. Or a catcher.
Mariners' new Depth Chart is weird.
Most interesting thing is that Montero is slotted in as the first-string catcher. Other interesting things:
Mike Carp is first string at both LF and DH, that handsome devil.
Noesi, Beavan and Furbush are in the rotation, but Iwakuma is nowhere to be found.
That depth chart is probably put together by an intern
For entertainment purposes only- Z and Wedge don’t get on there and update the depth chart every time something happens
Determined, Jonesing Commentor
by Corco on Jan 24, 2012 6:55 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Not to be Debbie Downer, but is anyone else slightly concerned about his attitude/maturity?
Reading about how a lot of the Yankees’ front office was convinced that he was phoning it in at AAA because he was “bored” is a bit concerning.
Have you ever been to Wilkes-Barre?
You’d be bored too.
by pdb on Jan 24, 2012 11:28 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Maybe.
But another way to look at that is that he’s a FIERCE COMPETITOR who wants to HELP THE TEAM WIN at the HIGHEST LEVEL.
Ahhh words. They can be spun like webs, tops, and me, right round.
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Jan 24, 2012 12:48 PM PST up reply actions
They said that about Felix.
I think we know how that turned out.
by Two Rs and Two Ls on Jan 24, 2012 4:01 PM PST up reply actions
I watched the last two or three starts Felix had in Tacoma before being called up
He was bored too. He’d lose focus, A guy would get on base, and then you’d see him kind of wake up and concentrate and blow away the rest of the side. He’d done everything he needed to do at that level and needed a more challenging situation. Maybe that’s immaturity but when you’re a kid in your early 20s that goes with the territory. When you balance that with the fact that they’ve had the drive and ability to get to the point where AAA offers them no challenge at such a young age, I don’t don’t see it as a major issue.
In Montero’s case, I’d say the problem was less with him than with the Yankees, since he was ready to come up and they didn’t have a place for him. (Now, if you want to talk about things that are concerning, then let’s talk about the fact that the Yankees didn’t have a place for him because they didn’t think he could catch on a daily basis in the majors. They weren’t desperate for his bat the way the Mariners are, obviously, but even so they were willing to roster Cervelli ahead of him,)
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