Yesterday was a rough day for Miguel Montero. The Cub catcher was on the hot seat after the Nationals stole 7 bases during their 6-1 victory Tuesday night, leaving him at 0-31 at nabbing would-be base stealers for the season. When questioned after the game, Montero placed the blame squarely on starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, saying, “It really sucks because the stolen bases go on me. When you really look at it, the pitcher doesn’t give me any time. It’s just like: ‘Yeah, OK, Miggy can’t throw nobody out.’ Yeah, but my pitchers don’t hold anybody on. It’s tough, because it doesn’t matter how much work I put in. If I don’t get a chance to throw, that’s the reason why they were running left and right today, because they know he was slow to the plate. Simple as that. It’s a shame that it’s my fault because I didn’t throw anybody out.”
Those comments did not go over well in Cub-land. Anthony Rizzo, unofficial team captain, appeared on ESPN 1000 this morning and called out Montero as being selfish, noting that Willson Contreras has no issues throwing runners out. A few hours later, Montero’s time with the Cubs had come to an end, having been designated for assignment. Given the $7 million he is owed for the remainder of the season, a trade seems unlikely.
Montero had a few highlights in his 2 1/2 years on the North side, including his Game One grand slam in the NLCS last year against the Dodgers to give the Cubs the win. Will he catch on somewhere else? Or is this the end of the road for the former all star catcher? We’ll likely find out over the next few weeks.
Montero’s numbers in a Cub uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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With the NLDS between the Cubs and the Nationals tied at a game a piece, it’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the now 26 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.
