In case you haven't read Jason's article like bad boys & girls, the Mariners demoted former Yankees prospect Jesus Montero down to Triple-A Tacoma. He was not demoted to work on his catching or his ability to pitch. That leaves his hitting which, back in the old Pinstripe Alley days, was heralded. Montero has not been the offensive power the Mariners have been looking for. Neither has Justin Smoak. Neither have most Mariners really.
Here in the jolly ol' land of Pinstripes, the (before injured) combo of Defensive Warlock Chris Stewart and Francisco Cervelli was quite serviceable. Lyle Overbay, our 4-day trial answer to Juan Rivera, is also hitting decently enough. The Yankees offense that was doomed to stumble and fail has provided their pitching staff with enough hits, dingers, and comeback wins to have them in first place as we come to the end of the month. Considering how well Montero did when he was on the Yankees' major league roster in September of 2011, the greatest September of baseball ever, I really wonder if Kevin Long had anything to do with that and how well the Yankees are hitting currently.
There's only so much Long can do though. Vernon Wells has been hitting the ball well, but scouts saw his swing improvement in Spring Training. I doubt Long could do anything with Ben Francisco besides pat him on the back to either tell him it's going to be alright or to help Ben burp. Perhaps he could still do something with someone like Montero though. Or perhaps Montero is just not that great at the major league level and that's why Cashman traded him. Time will tell.
Questions:
- Do you think Kevin Long deserves more/less/no credit for the Yankees offense this season?
- If possible, would you like Jesus Montero back?
- Where would you like to go see a Baseball game that you've never been to before?
- Have you ever been to Disney World in Orlando and if not would you ever want to go?
- Besides the obvious choice of Yankee Stadium, if there ever was a PSB meet up what location would you choose?
- Since we have some newcomers around, a classic question: Drink/drinks of choice?