UPDATE: The Cubs have designated Catcher Miguel Montero for assignment, according to multiple sources.
The impossible has happened. Hell has frozen over. Pigs have taken flight. The Cubs have won the World Series. And yet, even though the Cubs are World Series champions, something more unbelievable has happened: someone in the Cubs’ clubhouse has become unhappy.
Joe Maddon, the Cubs’ beloved, bespectacled manager, is widely thought of as the foremost player manager in MLB, well known for his zany tactics to keep his players energized throughout a 162 game season, like when he brought a magician into the clubhouse to try and end a slump. For Maddon’s teams, it really is all fun and games, all the time.
And yet, somehow, in this Shangri-La of farm animals and flip-flops, a player is fed up. The player in question is Cubs’ backup backstop, Miguel Montero.
Montero came to the Cubs in 2014, as part of a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since then, he has struggled with some injuries and missed some playing time, and lost starts to youngster Wilson Contreras and veteran David Ross. Montero first made headlines for complaining about losing time to these two men in the Cubs’ World Series season. Montero was criticized for opening his mouth after one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, after the Cubs snapped their 108-year losing streak.
Apparently, the criticism didn’t stick, because Montero is talking again. Yesterday, the Cubs faced the Washington Nationals, with Montero behind the dish. Over the course of the game, the Nationals stole seven total bases, and, unsurprisingly, the media wanted to ask Montero why. Montero was ready with his answer, and he hardly accepted the blame:
“”That’s the reason they were running left and right today, because they were slow to the plate,” said Montero, referencing his pitchers, especially his starter, Jake Arrieta. “Simple as that. It’s a shame it’s my fault because I didn’t throw anyone out. It really sucked, because the stolen bases go on me. But when you really look at it, the pitcher doesn’t give me any time, so yeah, ‘Miggy can’t throw anyone out,’ but my pitchers don’t hold anyone on.”
Montero’s blame game may not be entirely fair. Though Arrieta’s rotation is certainly not the quickest, runners are a perfect 31-for-31 stealing against Montero. And yet, the story here is not whether or not Montero’s criticism was correct, but that he made the comments in the first place.
Montero’s words show a degree of unrest in the Cubs’ clubhouse, and perhaps this should come as no surprise. Though we’re almost eighty games into the season, the Cubs, who ran away with the NL Central last year, remain one game back of the surprising Brewers. The entire division is struggling this year, and yet the defending champions have not been able to separate themselves. So it wouldn’t normally be a surprise to have some people upset in such a clubhouse environment.
But Montero’s comments were beyond simple frustration. Rarely in professional sports do we see an athlete entirely throw one of his teammates under the bus to protect himself, but Montero did just that. And in the Cubs’ clubhouse, where Maddon is supposed to command such respect and authority, this should come as a major surprise.
Cubs’ star and team leader Anthony Rizzo was asked about these comments, and he did not mince words:
“This is all over TV last night. Now I gotta talk about it today. We win as 25 lose as 25. To call teammates out, what’s the point? When you point fingers, you’re a selfish player… We have another catcher that throws everyone out.”
Rizzo’s words show how grave this situation is. For Rizzo to unabashedly shame Montero for his comments shows just how seriously the Cubs take this situation. The Cubs may not be far from moving on from Montero. It would make sense for them to look for a backstop at the trade deadline and move on from Montero’s attitude. But his comments give outsiders a view into the environment within the Cubs’ clubhouse. Despite having Maddon at the helm, it’s not all fun and games for the Chicago Cubs in 2017.
