And by “fun,” I mean it’ll make you want to beat your head against the wall.
First up: Bob Melvin’s obsession with Willie Bloomquist. “For me, Willie’s on the team,” Melvin said. “He’s such a great fit on a club, he’s got so many attributes that may not be noticeable to an outsider, but he really helps a team.” Further, “This is a guy we can use at shortstop or center field and don’t worry about what kind of game we get,” Melvin said. “How many players at any level can you say that about, and we’re talking majors here.”
OK, no. You can’t use Willie Bloomquist at shortstop or in centerfield. I cannot state this strongly enough. And what does that mean, they don’t worry about what kind of game they get? That makes it sounds as if they’re just throwing players out there without regard to performance, which is pretty odd thing to do.
Next: Kevin Jarvis. Kevin Jarvis worked two innings after Meche and had his best outing of the spring, and officially is still competing for a bullpen job. He also officially is a bad pitcher, in case anyone is keeping track of such things, and has no business on the M’s roster. This isn’t the Detroit Tigers we’re talking about — this is a contending team, and that’s no place for a pitcher of Jarvis’ ilk.
Finally: The left side of Tacoma’s infield. Jose Lopez and Justin Leone are projected to switch back and forth between short and third base, and it might be difficult to keep Santiago ready to fill in if the Seattle club needed to bring him up. Leone and Lopez are projected to switch back and forth? Look, I like Leone, but he’s not a shortstop. He’s a pretty good third baseman, and he probably has a better chance to make the majors as a utility guy than otherwise, but this jerking around of Jose Lopez has got to stop. If he’s going to have value, it’s as a shortstop, because he isn’t likely to hit enough to play third.
Sometimes I think I’m better off not reading these beat writers.