Some defensive plays otherwise overlooked in Mariners intrasquad game

There were a couple of key defensive plays that went largely unnoticed by casual observers of yesterday's game, but which did resonate with some members of the front office. How do I know this? I was standing right in front of them shooting photos. Anyhow, one came on the photo you see above, where catcher Jesus Montero slides to his let to block a pitch in the dirt from James Paxton. There were runners on second and third with one out at the time and the block saved a run from scoring. Moments later, Paxton struck out Casper Wells, then escaped the inning after that. "I thought he did a good job back there,'' Mariners manager Eric Wedge said of Montero afterwards. "I thought he did a good job of moving around, blocking the ball...and he was catching those young kids with good stuff. Those are live arms and the ball's getting on him really quick. So, I was really impressed with what we saw out of him.'' Read more...