Let’s see if I can come up with a post every day of the rest of the offseason. Today, there are 33 days left until Opening Day on April 6.
33
is the number of games in which Luis Mendoza pitched for Omaha last season. Mendoza was named PCL pitcher of the year with 12 wins and a 2.18 ERA, if you’re into that kind of thing. He didn’t rely on strikeouts to keep opponents from scoring (5.1 K/9), but rather, his success came by his allowing just 7.9 hits per nine innings. That was the 2nd-lowest figure in the PCL among pitchers with at least 100 IP, and it is the lowest mark over any full season of Mendoza’s career.
The official word from the Royals is that Mendoza is a candidate for the starting rotation. Craig Brown at Royals Authority is less optimistic, and notes that Mendoza’s great season is right in line with numerous cliche “comeback” type of stories.
It would be awesome if the Mendoza who pitched flawlessly in those two late-September games was the real Mendoza, but that was September, and just two games of it at that. Perhaps the adjustments he made last season were the golden ticket indicating that he has everything figured out. That would be neat! But I won’t hold my breath. I’ll just hope for the best, because hoping for things that aren’t likely to happen is what I’ve been doing with this team for 23 years now.
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