Luis Mendoza, who looked good in six appearances late last season appears to be making a major case for himself to be in the starting rotation, and not the spot where you don’t need him all the time (aka the fifth spot). In his six appearances last season, he had three starts. All totalled 16 innings, 13 hits, 4 earned runs, four walks, and seven strikeouts. ERA of 2.25. Small sample, I admit, but they’re still decent numbers.
One always wonders if quick flashes in the pan will stick going into a following season. It’s spring, so you can’t get too excited, but Luis’ performance yesterday certainly will help him. He went five innings, giving up just two hits and one run. Only one strikeout, but more importantly – no walks!
Ian Kinsler led off, and led the offense, going 3-4 with an RBI and scored twice. Nice game for Ian. Hank Blalock and Marlon Byrd both doubled. However, Adam Melhuse had a home run that really excited Steve Busby who was calling the game for an mlb webcast. It sounded like a monster shot as I was listening online.
I did realize as I finished listening to the game last night that I’m ready for the season to start. Tired of no games on TV – ready to go guys. I know it’s starting earlier than normal this year, but I don’t think I’ll be getting up that early to watch the games from Japan.