Montero's chance to show Yanks he can play

BOSTON -- The pressure got to Jesus Montero in March. How he handles September will determine if the Yankees' top prospect can land a spot on the postseason roster. Like the early part of spring training, when Francisco Cervelli got hurt, the opportunity is there.

Montero was one of six players called up by the Yankees Thursday, but none of the others will face the scrutiny of Montero, who didn't respond as the organization hoped in spring training when the backup catching job was there for the taking and he didn't take it.

"I think some of what you saw was a kid who had a shot at making a team," hitting coach Kevin Long said. "He was in the picture and maybe put a little added pressure on himself to perform."

The righthanded-hitting Montero, 21, made his major-league debut as the DH Thursday night against the Red Sox. He struck out with the bases loaded against lefthander Jon Lester to end the first, flied to right to end the third, grounded to short with runners on first and third to end the fifth and flied out to right in the ninth. But in the seventh, he was hit by a pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Russell Martin's two-run double.

Before the game, he called his promotion "amazing."

"This was my dream," said Montero, who had his mother, father, girlfriend and some of her family in attendance watching his debut.

Montero didn't dispute those who have said the pressure was too much. "I did the best I could but I felt a little pressure, yes, because I wanted to be with the Yankees," he said. "They decided to send me to Triple-A. Now I'm here, thank God."

He rebounded from a slow start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to hit .288 with 18 homers and 67 RBIs in 109 games, with five homers and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.

Should Montero produce this month, he could be an option against lefties in the postseason. He hit .328 with nine homers against lefties for Scranton, with a .392 OBP and a 1.039 OPS. "We're hoping he can give us some lightning in a bottle," Joe Girardi said.

Gordon Blakeley, a special assistant to general manager Brian Cashman who has been with the Yankees for more than 20 years, watched Montero in person as recently as 10 days ago.

"Sometimes it seems pretty easy for him," Blakeley said by phone Thursday afternoon. "He has really good quickness. He can catch up to any fastball. He can look really bad on a breaking ball, but if the guy comes back in the same spot with that pitch, he'll hit it nine miles."

Long is looking forward to working with Montero again. "There's serious upside to that bat," Long said. "The ability to get that barrel to the ball, he doesn't seem to be a swing-and-miss guy unless he truly expands out of the zone. There's a lot of raw power, raw power. You just see a quality bat."

The debate remains, of course, about Montero's ability to catch. Girardi said the video he saw of Montero, who said "I want to be behind the plate," was encouraging.

"I saw things that I wanted to see him change," Girardi said without specifying. "I saw them changed. I'm not sure if we'll start him behind the plate; we'll see what happens over the next month. But I would really like to see him catch."

Said Blakeley, "I told Brian, I hear a lot of people knock his catching, but I just don't see it. I think he's going to be fine."

An opposing organization's scout wasn't as impressed. "I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up as a DH," the scout said this week. "He could probably catch for a lower-caliber club."

Which, of course, the Yankees are not.

But as of now, Montero is not with the Yankees to catch. He's up to get a taste of the big leagues and to see if he can be a player for October.

"I'm ready," Montero said. "I can't tell you three years ago I was ready because I was not. Now I'm here. Now I'm ready."