Stopping by the Cubs television booth Tuesday night at Nationals Park in Washington, Sen. Dick Durbin related how his staff helped Venezuelan catcher Miguel Montero gain United States citizenship.
Montero called Durbin's office after hearing how the Illinois senator had paved the bureaucratic road for fellow countryman Willson Contreras' parents in Venezuela to obtain travel visas in time to attend the World Series. In May, with a little direction from Durbin, Montero officially became a U.S. citizen in a country that affords the most outspoken of people the freedom of speech.
But with that freedom comes responsibility Montero shirked in a selfish rant that created a distraction for a Cubs team that doesn't need one. So the Cubs did the best thing for their up-and-down season Wednesday in designating Montero for assignment, drawing the line between public candor and criticism of teammates.
The Cubs determined Montero's occasionally lively bat in a backup role wasn't worth his loud mouth. His pinch-hit grand slam in last year's National League Championship Series didn't give him a lifetime pass to pass the buck. Cubs President Theo Epstein doesn't suffer fools, and that's what Montero acted like Tuesday night in the visiting clubhouse.
Just because Montero has the right to rip a teammate publicly doesn't make it defensible, yet the veteran catcher unloaded after the Nationals stole seven bases in four innings with Jake Arrieta on the mound. It turns out you can point a finger wearing a catcher's mitt.
"It really sucks because the stolen bases go on me," Montero told reporters. "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."
Four times the Nationals got big enough jumps to steal a base without drawing a throw. But Montero being correct doesn't make him right about airing excuses in front of microphones and cameras.
"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," Montero said. "It's a shame that it's my fault."
In fact, Montero hasn't thrown anybody out with an attempted throw since 2016 — 0-for-31 this season. Anyone who follows the Cubs closely understands Arrieta's deliberate delivery makes him susceptible to stolen bases without Montero reminding everyone after the Nationals exposed the battery's weakness.
You never heard David Ross, formerly Jon Lester's personal catcher, utter a peep about his batterymate's odd inability to throw to attempt a pickoff move to first base. You never heard Kyle Schwarber mention anything that resembled an excuse when the Cubs sent him to Triple-A Iowa. That Montero included former teammate Jason Hammel, now with the Royals, while complaining only exposed him further as a finger-pointer the Cubs couldn't tolerate.
"It always goes to the catcher and I'm the bad guy there," Montero said. "It really sucks, but it is what it is and I got to take full responsibility. But in the end, I would like a little help."
A player taking full responsibility doesn't do so by asking for a little help. An NFL quarterback doesn't impugn his linemen for sacks. A NASCAR driver doesn't fault his crew for crashes. And a major-league catcher doesn't blame his pitcher for stolen bases _ especially one who has failed to throw out a base-stealer this season.
Blaming any pitcher would be bad enough. But ripping Arrieta, a respected leader whose mind is cluttered enough, only made it worse. Professionalism dictated that Montero, as culpable as Arrieta in being one of the easiest batteries in baseball to run on, deal with the issue behind closed doors. What a Cubs player says can resonate, otherwise known as The Jason Heyward Rule.
"When you point fingers, you're a selfish player," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said Wednesday on WMVP-AM 1000. "We have another catcher (Contreras) that throws everyone out."
Rizzo scolding Montero on a Chicago radio station for being selfish differs from Montero throwing Arrieta under the bus because of Rizzo's status as team leader. His words carry weight and represent the way most players feel or else he would have chosen them more carefully. He knew the culture the Cubs seek to create. Switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini will replace Montero and, while Caratini might not frame pitches or hit fastballs as well as his predecessor, nobody will worry what the 23-year-old will say next.
Something like this can galvanize a team, especially one as inconsistent as the Cubs have been. Manager Joe Maddon can take advantage of a captive audience in the clubhouse to bring players together, even if it's just in the name of protecting one another.
Nobody should be surprised that Montero talked his way off the roster. When Montero was with the Diamondbacks, he complained on an Arizona radio station that former teammate Trevor Bauer "never wanted to listen." With the Cubs, on the day of the World Series parade in November, Montero made waves on WMVP-AM airing his grievances over his limited role in the playoffs.
Nearly eight months later, the Cubs muted "Miggy" and it struck the right tone.
