As good a pitcher as I know Franklin is, I just don't feel like he's got the mental toughness to take on the closer role. I don't have anything against him, and I like his stuff, but he was so much better as a set-up man. I just don't get the sense that he's going to lock down this new role anytime soon. Maybe it's time to test Perez for real.
Joe Mather had a pretty good first major league start, wouldn't you say? That diving catch in right. The RBI that turned out to be the game-winner.
I like his name, too. It's such a 'baseball' name. It puts to mind some of the great players of past eras.
Joe, for one, is a strong name, a man's name. Joe DiMaggio. Joe Jackson. Mather sounds very early 20th century recently-emigrated-American. Anyway, I like it, and I think I'm going to like him. The only problem is that our already crowded outfield just got a little more crowded. My suggestion: we keep a long bench and a short 'pen, and encourage our starting rotation to plug through a few more innings.
Chris Duncan said something that tickled me during the post-game interview with Jim Hayes after the Houston game in which he hit a 2RBI single. Cat asked him what pitch he got and what he was looking for, and Chris replied (and I'm paraphrasing) that it was a fastball, and he was "looking for the baseball." What a cutie.
