I would wet my pants. Find some Depends for me.
'Nuff said. But I did actually play two holes yesterday, creaming the driver and stuffing the irons.
Montgomery, however, had all the shots in the bag. Doc, I am so glad you mentioned the arm action on his Ephus-thingy.*
I was sitting at my dad's (nearly 87 years young and in great nick, despite the four hips he's had put in) sipping a fine Bushmills to his glass of brandy when I saw a pitch that was jaw-dropping. Montgomery's arm-action looked liked he was chucking a Big Unit heater but the ball just puffled up there, almost as if it was drunk and wobbly. I went, "Whoa, dad...did you see that?" My dad cares nothing about baseball but watches games with me regardless, so my question was rather a moot one as I'm sure he just saw it as a swing and miss. I don't remember who the batter was but he seemingly swung 3 or 4 seconds early.
It was the arm action that did not match the sauntering pace of the ball that grabbed my attention. The Root guys slo-mo'ed it and the ball seemed to tumble as well.
If MM can hit spots with the fastball AND keep the ephus-thingy* going....whoeee!
Some guys are quick learners, Doc. Montgomery, a one-time blue-chipper took his time getting to the bigs and really didn't have a great resume of AA/AAA work to indicate he had this kind of stuff in him. But here he is.
That "learning jump" doesn't come at the same time or same pace for everyone. But it apy7pears that Montgomery has soaked up some of what Felix has to offer....and probably Waits, too.
I can't remember who it was, perhaps George Low (billed as The World's Greatest Putter) or maybe Gene Sarazen who said they liked to hang around rich people because you got to pick up the money that fell off them. So it seems, in a pitching sense, for Montgomery: He sponges up all the info "rich" folks have to offer.
I like guys like that. And it is also why you can't just look at a guy's AA/AAA pedigree and determine if he can play MLB ball. Guys have to fail, sometimes, before they learn. Sometimes that failure comes during their first Big Show dance which is why I think Romero is poised to be a lefty-masher.
Back to the man of the hour: Montgomery is a delicious tidbit to have around. He's good and I bet he gets better. He will throw in the bigs for a long time, if he can continue to spot fastballs and float changes. Give him a curvey thing and he's decently way nice. And those K's that he couldn't get in his first few starts looks like they do exist after all. Dollars to donuts that he doesn't end up K'ing only 5.6/9 this season.
I'm going to be the first in on this: When/if Paxton or Kuma is rotation ready, it's JA Happ who gets dropped out.....if I'm pulling the levers.
*I know the real ephus pitch, Rip Sewell and Dave LaRoche-style, came in as a lob, sometimes going 20 feet high. But I like the word "ephus" and wanted to roll it in here.