For one night, anyway, Luis Mendoza showed why the Rangers added him to the 40 man this offseason, rather than letting him walk as a 6 year free agent, why they kept him ahead of Armando Galarraga, and why they have stuck with him in the rotation despite some disastrous outings.
Mendoza was outstanding last night. And the next time someone says they've seen nothing to suggest that he can be a successful major league starter, point them to last night's game.
This isn't to say that he's going to be great, or even good, from here on out. He may not be able to stick in a rotation, and may end up in the pen, or in the minors, for much of his career.
But if he does, it is because he can't bring what he had last night on a regular basis, or because he can't command his stuff, not because he doesn't have the ability.
Richard Durrett has praise for Mendoza's performance, along with the outfield arms the Rangers are running out there, with Brandon Boggs and Marlon Byrd both having big assists last night.
If Joselo Diaz plays, he'll be the 46th different player to appear for the Rangers this season. Diaz replaced Scott Feldman, who may be heading to the bullpen...the Rangers feel his ceiling for the year is about 135 innings, and more than that would impact his performance next year.
Milton Bradley sat for the third straight day, but Ron Washington continues to say that Bradley will be able to play in the All Star Game. Maybe they are resting him to make sure he'll be healthy on Tuesday.
Jean-Jacques Taylor says the Rangers need to do a better job developing their own pitchers. Jim Reeves says the Rangers need to be more like the Brewers.