Thursday, June 23, 2011

WHY IT'S CERVELLI'S END, MONTERO'S BEGINNING

(Photo: Getty)
I am a huge fan of Fransisco Cervelli but his bat is clearly not there and if he wasn’t as passionate as he was on the field, fist pumping and getting extra excited, I probably would have dismissed him a while back, let’s be honest. Now there are some Cervelli fans out there that think I’m being a dick. I’m not, let’s face facts, Cervelli is not a backup catcher, he’s a third string catcher. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just life. Passion is great and energizes a ball club but you need to hit and throw bulls eyes to second on a stealing play. If you can’t do that, we have a problem and it seems, we may have a problem with Fransisco Cervelli.

(Photo: Getty)

Look, we all know what we have in the farm, Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, the catchers down there have “future legend” written all over them. Now I know Brian Cashman has made it clear that Jesus Montero is NOT coming up to back up Hustle Martin, but we are all salivating at seeing what this kid has in him. He will no doubt be a superstar, we just want a taste. Cashman is sticking to his guns though, he has told The Record: “If Montero comes, I want him to play…I don’t want him to come and sit and play once every five days… is Montero better than (Francisco Cervelli)…Yeah he is.

So, will we see Montero this year? Yes. Why do I say that? Because Cashman, while he comes off a guy who seems to be honest to the fans, isn’t at all. He’s a smart guy, he’s a strategic guy and he’s lying to us juste so he can get his ducks in a row and sees what he’s got to work with. But these are some scenerios that I believe will change the catching situation for the better with Montero coming to the Bronx:

  • If Russell Martin were to have some dramatic injury, Montero will be up, believe me. Why waste a hitting spot in the lineup for a stretch, if god fobid Martin gets hurt for a long period of time? You won’t want Cervelli there when you could get a quality bat in the lineup in Montero.
  • If Cervelli were to make one move that blows a game or is deemed unacceptable, Montero will be up.
  • If Cervelli get’s shipped off by the trade deadline, Montero is coming up.

Bottom line, the rise of Jesus is coming, the question is how and when? My feeling is you don’t choose a player with less talent for some one with more, and that’s just fact. It goes back to high school ball, the kids that didn’t have the talent sat a hell of a lot more than the ones that gave you a chance to win and there is no doubt in my mind that Montero is coming up soon and Cervelli’s days are numbered.

CBS Sports.com had a story today that stated that Jesus Montero was benched for "lack of energy". Read it HERE. They quote Butch Wynegar, the Scranton hitting coach who said: "I just get the feeling that Monte is so blessed physically -- and I hate to say it -- he is almost bored here in Triple-A. Maybe if he went to the big leagues tomorrow, this kid might just go off and he just might lock in."

Interesting theory Butch and you may be right. Montero is talented and probably ready to be a top contributor in the Bronx. Sorry Francisco, it’s survival of the fittest, and you may not be surviving long.

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