Miggy vs. Bauer. Round 2. Ding Ding.

“He [Bauer] never wanted to listen.” The soap opera that features Miguel Montero and Trevor Bauer in starring roles continued on Tuesday. Bauer was dealt this off season, which to most, came as a surprise. Despite some ruffled feathers in the battery of Montero and Bauer, the young pitcher from UCLA seemed to be a Diamondback for the long-haul. In July of last year, Miggy and Bauer struggled to get on the same page. Miguel wanted this, Bauer wanted that, and D’backs fans wanted it to stop. I thought all of this was behind us but naturally, the media brought up the predicament during a radio interview with Montero on Tuesday and he had this to say:

"“When you get a guy like that and he thinks he has everything figured out, it’s just tough to convince him to get on the same page with you.  You just try to keep things simple for him, but he doesn’t want it simple. He made it even harder.”"

I don’t want to say that this disagreement was the main reason that Trevor got shipped to Cleveland, but it certainty didn’t help his cause. We have seen this all to often- a young guy coming onto the scene and thinking he runs the show. It doesn’t always work out too well. Obviously, Bauer is a player that dances to the beat of his own drum and Montero was not listening to that same noise. From the high socks to the pre-pitch crow hops, Bauer plays the game one way: his way. Miggy has seen the high points and the really low points as far as the pitching staff is concerned over the years. I think that coaches and players are confident in the way Miguel Montero handles the staff in the desert. He has become a veteran in the organization and his voice carries some weight in the clubhouse.

The look says it all.

In a very un Trevor Bauer-ish move, he took the high road on this story and when asked for a comment on Twitter, he praised the constitution and freedom of speech and moved on. Bauer seems focused on the season with the Tribe and the only way Trevor can shut up his critics is to shut down batters. My advice to Bauer would be to quit running his gums at people who are trying to develop him. I believe Trevor Bauer can be a dominant pitcher in this league, but until he is on the same page with his teammates, then there is some potential that is remaining untouched.

The Snakes don’t see Cleveland this regular season but with the Indians playing their games only about 20 minutes from Scottsdale, the two teams will get to see a lot of each other this spring. Personally, I hope this situation is over and the fact that it has gone on this long is still surprising to me. These two guys are on different teams, in different cities, and at different parts of their careers. Let’s leave it at that.

In maybe the most sarcastic part of Montero’s comments, he mentioned Indians catcher Carlos Santana and how he would have to handle Bauer. To Santana, Miggy simply said, “Good Luck.”

Follow me on Twitter @realcmoff18, along with the entire staff @venomstrikes.