Of course, you remember what you were doing twenty-seven years ago, today. If you are a Chicago baseball fan, May 6, 1998 is a significant date.
Over the years, I’ve posted several times about being at The Kerry Wood Game, so I won’t bring up the specifics this time. You’re welcome. However, I think about the game every year on the anniversary, and it gets me thinking about different aspects of the game.
Every few years, rookies play spectacularly to the point they earn Rookie of the Year honors and people can’t stop with the All-Star or HOF projections. It’s only natural. The other day, I heard someone in the game talk about how Paul Skenes is no longer a candidate for Cy Young honors, and not just this year. Man, that’s a huge yuk on our collective yum! Skenes rise last season was as meteoric as any young pitcher in the past decade. It’s way too early to predict how his career will end and what trajectory it will take.
While Colson Montgomery’s private batting tutoring session in Arizona might not be TMZ worthy, the downward trajectory is relevant. Because the Sox drafted him in the 1st round, he’s being given more rope. That’s only natural, but if things don’t work out quickly, his descent will become legendary in Chicago. Conversely, if he figures things out and makes his ML debut in the next month or two, all will be forgiven (but not forgotten).
Skenes’ and Woods’ rookie stories are the exceptions and not the rule. I’ve never seen Montgomery play an entire game so I have no idea how good or bad he is. I’m also not buying anything any of the experts have to say, least of all the draft experts. None of them predicted he’d struggle this badly. It’s not an exact science no matter how much credit we give to experts.
Since Manfred eliminated 40+ minor league teams before the start of the 2021 season, organizations have rushed too many players to the Bigs. The vast majority of players are not being developed properly. I’ve read other (uniformed) pieces how Paul Skenes’ career is going to be cut short due to injuries and poor mechanics. That’s almost as foolish as saying Mark Prior was injury proof. Build them up, tear them down.
As I’ve posted several times before, how about we let the careers play themselves out. Let’s enjoy the highs while we can, unless of course, he plays for the wrong team like the Cardinals or Mets.
I’ll argue that fans patience for particular players isn’t and shouldn’t be limitless. Maybe Colson Montgomery will be that guy for the White Sox, but maybe the brain trust had ridiculous expectations and will have to adjust some arrival dates.
