Surprisingly enough (or maybe not.....) the workhorse/powerhouse of the Mariners' offense so far this season has not been the $114MM man combination of Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre, who were signed before the 2005 season to fill that job description.
Instead, it has been a young man all of 22 years of age from Venezuela, second baseman Jose Lopez. While his batting average may seem somewhat "unimpressive" at .278, he is batting .432 with runners in scoring position. He has four home runs, 14 extra base hits, 26 RBI, and he has struck out only twice in the past 12 games.
This comes despite the fact that he was sent back down to AAA Tacoma last year for "more experience" and to improve his plate skills and discipline. At the beginning of spring training 2006 he was told that he would have to compete for the regular second base slot, which had been held for about half the year last year by now departed Bret Boone and by various others, including Lopez, for the balance of the year.
Fight for the position he did, and was successful in getting it when Fernando Vina, who had been brought in prior to spring training as a potential veteran every day second baseman, came up injured; and super utility man Willie Bloomquist was needed in his utility role.
Lopez has turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise. Hopefully he will continue to perform at this pace, and will be a part of an excellent double play combination (with shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt) for years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment