Friday, June 18, 2010

How could I write about rookies and not focus on Garcia?

One of my first posts at Spot of Red's new home talked about 2010 being the 'Year of the Rookie', and I focused a bit on the great season that David Freese is having. Well, after the other night's Cards/M's game, I'm finding it hard to believe that I focused on Freese over Jaime Garcia. Of course, Freese is having a great year, but if you had to pick a ROY candidate from the Cards, I'd say Garcia has earned the honor. You figured he wouldn't be terrible, given that he parlayed a strong spring showing into a job as the 5th starter. But I, for one, certainly didn't expect to be sitting here in mid-June with the kid sitting at 6-3 with a 1.59 ERA. Brad Penny was expected to be the "replacement" for Joel Piniero as #3 starter -- but injuries to him and also to #4 starter Kyle Lohse have pushed Garcia to the defacto #3 spot. And he has responded. While I think 'Year of the Rookie' is a more descriptive way to describe 2010 thus far, I've heard/read others refer to it as the 'Year of the Pitcher'. Strasburg and Heyward have garnered most of the headlines, but it just might Garcia who ultimately winds up being rookie of the year.

No comments:

Post a Comment