Montanez on the bench...again

[ChicagoBird]

It seems to me that a lot of the frustration expressed in this thread and in similar ones stems from the fact that the O's are again under .500 in late August, in last place, and not seemingly interested enough in evaluating talent that could help in the future.

I don't necessarily think that Montanez is going to be a late bloomer like Guthrie or that he'll turn into an All-Star. He may only be a fourth outfielder or he may not even be good enough to stay in the majors. But to treat him as a fourth outfielder now because you think that will be his role next year seems counterproductive to me. He's unproven up here so he should be getting as many at bats as possible between now and the end of the year to see where he may fit next year. Same story for Reimold. There's just too much Millar/Mora/Payton for my liking when not one of them will contribute to the next winning O's team (whenever that may be).

[TGO]

It's worth benching Jay Payton over, that's for sure...

Montanez is not going to play center regularly at the expense of Payton. Period.

If you want ABs for Lou, they come from Huff, Millar, Mora, and Scott. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Lord knows I don't care how many ABs Mora and Millar get, but persisting in this trashing of Payton is useless. Montanez is just not going to play there if he can't see the ball against the upper deck stands.

[YardBirds13]

Montanez is not going to play center regularly at the expense of Payton. Period.

If you want ABs for Lou, they come from Huff, Millar, Mora, and Scott. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Lord knows I don't care how many ABs Mora and Millar get, but persisting in this trashing of Payton is useless. Montanez is just not going to play there.

Trashing of Payton is never useless. Never.

[SilentJames]

It seems to me that a lot of the frustration expressed in this thread and in similar ones stems from the fact that the O's are again under .500 in late August, in last place, and not seemingly interested enough in evaluating talent that could help in the future.

I don't necessarily think that Montanez is going to be a late bloomer like Guthrie or that he'll turn into an All-Star. He may only be a fourth outfielder or he may not even be good enough to stay in the majors. But to treat him as a fourth outfielder now because you think that will be his role next year seems counterproductive to me. He's unproven up here so he should be getting as many at bats as possible between now and the end of the year to see where he may fit next year. Same story for Reimold. There's just too much Millar/Mora/Payton for my liking when not one of them will contribute to the next winning O's team (whenever that may be).

Payton over the last seven games (basically since he took over the starting job) is batting over 300

Mora is killing the ball recently and has an OPS of 1000+ over that stretch.

We let Liz get his lumps, and after every bad start there were three threads complaining about Liz' performance. Every bad Olson outing there is a thread saying about how he will "never be a major league pitcher."

Now we have a new flavor of the month, whom I would be money dollars, if the Orioles did exactly what everyone wants. Ran him out there to evaluate and he became what his stats say he would become.

If the Luis Montanez that can't bat over 250 in the GCL shows up and is taking ABs away from Luke Scott, Aubrey Huff a red hot Melvin Mora and even Nick Markakis. Those same people would be having kittens and other assorted small mammals much like the fashion they are now. Even though these are the same people that say these games don't mean anything except for evaluation purposes.

I'm done with this debate - Luis is being used as he would normally be used. Get him his starts when it is appropriate and be thankful he is up here.

[Mike B]

Per Roch

http://masnsports.com/2008/08/the-lineup-1.html

I just love watching Jay Payton

Unless he can Lou can play CF decently the Payton playing and Lou not are not related. I wish they would put Lou out there for a week. If he can play CF fine if not all these post after each lineup should come to an end. Lou has not played gold glove caliber defense in left, and his throws into the cut off men always seem to bounce. Maybe I have gotten use to Nick and Adam but he looked a little weak. On the positive side he has a nice swing.

[glorydays]

IMO I have to agree with the "play Montanez now" group. I certainly do not agree with putting him out there at CF because I think you need to protect your pitching staff and I am not in favor of calling up the Bowie roster and dumping our current roster as some would like to see.

But to keep him in the lineup - even against difficult pitchers while stealing at bats from Millar, Scott, Huff - regularly shouldn't be too difficult. I want to see what he can do against Carmona as much as your #5 starting pitcher. I mean - when he hit the homer the other night this place went wild. Keep him in there until he shows he doesn't belong here.

[Miller192]

Again, wake me up when the rebuild actually happens.

[Fan4Life]

I am going to explain this slowly for all of you:

Luis Montanez is now taking Jay Payton's role.

Luis Montanez lacks the range to play CF

Luis Montanez is playing the exact role he would be playing in if he makes the team next year.

Jay Payton, last 7 games batting .304 and hitting at a .751 OPS. All while playing a VERY good CF, he is earning his playing time right now.

Wo Wo Wo... slow down cheif... what was that again?

Why do you bother? I admire your fotitude.

[ACE]

With how Sarfate looks so far and our bullpen needing a rest.

Maybe Lou could pitch?

[SteveA]

Montanez should be put in the line up Period! We need to see if he is a long term answer on this team.

And playing for a stretch in August will prove that one way or the other?

[bluedog]

I am going to explain this slowly for all of you:

Luis Montanez is now taking Jay Payton's role.

Luis Montanez lacks the range to play CF

Luis Montanez is playing the exact role he would be playing in if he makes the team next year.

Jay Payton, last 7 games batting .304 and hitting at a .751 OPS. All while playing a VERY good CF, he is earning his playing time right now.

We are a rebuilding team. If a rebuilding team can't find time for a prospect with triple crown numbers at AA to attempt to prove himself at the major league level at the expense of an old, below average, lame duck veteran player who is definitely not in the teams long term plans, then someone needs to be fired because they have no clue what rebuilding is all about.

And if Montanez can't play CF then he can't effectively fill Payton's role as 4th outfielder on this team. The whole point of a 4th outfielder is that they can play all three outfield positions as needed. If you are correct and he can't play CF then he's not a good choice for 4th outfielder. This is particularly true if you want your 4th outfielder to be a superior defensive player and a base stealing threat, which is exactly the kind of player you want on the bench - which is where your 4th outfielder will usually be!

And the O's are almost certainly looking at Montanez to see whether he can be our full time LF next season. With Millar probably gone and Huff possibly going to 1b (if we don't sign Tex) that pushes Scott (as a below average defensive outfielder) to DH. This leaves a hole in LF. Why in the world wouldn't we want to see if Montanez can continue to rake to the tune of a .800+ OPS at the major league level now when there is nothing on the line except for evaluating players for next year?

Finally, how in the world can you say that Lou lacks the skills to be more than a 4th outfielder in the bigs? Even professional scouts that make a living doing this stuff routinely fail to correctly call whether players have the skills to succeed in the bigs. If the professional scouts and front office people can't say with certainty who's going to make it in pro ball, who in the world are you to make definitive statements about someone like Montanez and his ability to make it in the pros as a starter?

Give the man a chance before you bury him...

[J.D.]

And playing for a stretch in August will prove that one way or the other?

It won't. But people around here cry if the vets aren't benched in favor of minor leaguers at every turn, ignoring all the human things that make a baseball team function.

Montanez isn't going to be playing center field. He's not even feeling that comfortable with playing left field.

He'll get at bats. He'll get starts. He's not going to start every day. I don't see why this is the end of the world around here. I really, really don't.

I'm glad that Montanez had a great year in AA, but call me unimpressed as a whole with his minor league numbers. He's never hit above AA. He's old for the level he was at. He had been there a while. I don't know why people are expecting him to play every day. If this is Reimold, a guy that we're expecting might contribute in the future as a STARTER, sitting on the bench right now I would be mad. If it was Wieters, I'd be furious. It's Montanez. I'm not really bothered.

[bluedog]

And playing for a stretch in August will prove that one way or the other?

For a good coach, it will probably give them an outstanding idea whether or not the player should be given a shot at the starting job next season.

If Montanez isn't given playing time, how will the O's make that determination? The answer is they won't. They'll just send him back to the minors and eventually lose him like they did Jack Cust.

[waroriole]

I don't think anyone is saying that they don't want to see Lou playing, but it's not going to happen until he is comfortable playing in the field. He will get plenty of AB's before the season is over once he becomes accustomed to playing in a MLB OF. And if he doesn't then there will be something to complain about, but it's only been a few games.

[bluedog]

It seems to me that a lot of the frustration expressed in this thread and in similar ones stems from the fact that the O's are again under .500 in late August, in last place, and not seemingly interested enough in evaluating talent that could help in the future.

I don't necessarily think that Montanez is going to be a late bloomer like Guthrie or that he'll turn into an All-Star. He may only be a fourth outfielder or he may not even be good enough to stay in the majors. But to treat him as a fourth outfielder now because you think that will be his role next year seems counterproductive to me. He's unproven up here so he should be getting as many at bats as possible between now and the end of the year to see where he may fit next year. Same story for Reimold. There's just too much Millar/Mora/Payton for my liking when not one of them will contribute to the next winning O's team (whenever that may be).

Bingo - a voice of reason from the dark.