Jeanmar Gomez, by far the highlight of the spring, once again dazzled over 3 2/3 scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to lower his ERA to 1.37. Then, he left with an injury. Kevin Slowey instantly got a huge boner. It does keep with theme of spring, that of on-field performance having no relation to the acquisition of a roster spot.
Later, Dan Wheeler, fresh off of officially "winning" a roster spot, went out and proved exactly why he was far and away the best choice. After retiring the first man he faced, Wheeler surrendered back-to-back home runs (that made 5 in fewer than 9 innings this spring) to Todd Frazier and Juan Francisco. Danny then settled down to allow a single to Willie Harris and an RBI doubled to former Indian Ryan Ludwick. Next up was Ryan LaMarre. I don't even know who that is. Suffice to say that Dan Wheeler will never forget him, as LaMarre jacked a two run bomb (keep counting, that's #6) before Wheeler was mercifully able to retire the last two he faced. Still, the line is fugly: 5 earned on 5 hits (including 3 long balls) in a just a single inning of work. Did I mention that the five runs were the difference in a 6-5 Reds win? The massacre left Dan's ERA at 11.70, his OBA at .422 and his WHIP at 2.20. I reiterate: could the man have done anything more to convince the brass to send him somewhere, anywhere other than the North Coast for April 5th? C'mon, man!
Somewhere Out There: Fuck it, we have to work with what we have and this is the only race left. Unfortunately, the only two guys in this competition are stiffer than a Vietnamese gigolo after a handful of Viagra. Aaron Cunningham (.205) went 1-for-4 and Ryan Spilborghs (.167) 0-for-1. I never though that I would be rooting for AC, but if the alternative should occur, I might have to renew my conceal and carry on the off chance that I see Manny Acta on the street.
Not that these games matter in any context whatsoever, but the last day of March features the Indians hosting the Rangers for a night game. That 10:05 EST if you're not keeping up.
Cheers.
