Friday, March 9, 2012

Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 6 vs. Oakland

Hits

Juan Nicasio

Nicasio's comeback story gets better and better with each passing day. For the first time since breaking his neck last August, Nicasio threw in a live game against live hitters and was largely successful, allowing only one unearned run on five hits over the three innings. But the numbers truly do mean little in this case, it's just awesome that Nicasio is healthy enough physically and mentally to resume his big league career. He's already the comeback story of the year.

Troy Tulowitzki

You probably won't see guys like Tulowitzki, Gonzalez or Helton listed here often since, you know, they're well established and we kinda know what to expect, but multiple extra basehits (two doubles) on a day the offense did little else is worth recognizing. Tulo remains a stud.

Misses

Casey Blake

The 38-year-old veteran, who at this point is fully expected to be the opening day third baseman, is off to rough start this spring. In his initial two starts, Blake has four plate appearances, and each appearance has resulted in a strikeout. Again, we shouldn't look at this too closely at this point, but Blake is definitely among the regulars who needs a good spring in the eyes of the fans. With Nolan Arenado already a huge fan favorite and breathing down his neck, there will be justified discontent if he's simply handed the job despite a lousy spring.