Mormon Baseball

A Mormon trio has made spring training very interesting for the Oakland Athletics and their fans. Shane Peterson, Adam Rosales and Eric Sogard are all playing outstanding ball, sporting high batting averages and making managerial decisions anything but obvious. Sogard jumped to the front of the group last week, hitting a stunning .692 (9 for 13) for the week, bringing his spring training batting average up to an even .500!

Rosales also had a strong week, going 4 for 8 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs, bringing his own average up to .364 for the spring. And the red-hot Peterson cooled off a little to .333 (3 for 9), so his batting average fell to a “mere” .439. Sportswriters say Rosales and Sogard are in contention for backup spots on the A’s opening roster, while Peterson will likely start in AAA, but should make his first big league appearance during this year.

Among other position players, Boston’s Mitch Maier made a strong case by hitting .600 (3 for 5) for the week, but was sidelined temporarily with a sprained wrist. But he is unlikely to win a roster spot and will probably start the year at AAA Pawtucket.

Meanwhile the Mets’ John Buck is assured of a spot catching, at least until the Mets’ highly-regarded prospect
Travis d’Arnaud is ready. Still, Buck is making a case for not being too hasty, hitting .333 so far in spring training. He was 1 for 2 last week before being sidelined with the flu.

Nor should we fail to mention Bryce Harper, who is also having a fabulous spring, He cooled off a little last week, going 4 for 12, and his average for the spring fell to “just” .409. It appears that he will bat third in the National’s lineup this year, and is expected to have an even stronger season than last year.

Among pitchers, Toronto’s Josh Johnson seems the most ready for the season, sporting a 1.69 era over 10 2/3rds innings work and recording 3 wins. But Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay, who is also assured of a starting job this year, struggled in an outing against the Tigers last week, giving up 7 earned runs in 2 2/3rds. His chance to work his era back down was ruined, however, when he became ill with a stomach virus and left the game after one inning on Sunday.

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Current Roster Players:

• Darwin Barney—second base—Chicago Cubs
  3 for 15 (.200), 0 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 0 so.
  YTD: .214, 4 runs, 6 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 3 so in 42 at bats.
• John Buck — starting catcher — New York Mets
  1 for 2 (.500), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .333, 5 runs, 7 rbi, 2 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 7 so in 21 at bats.
• Jacoby Ellsbury — starting outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  3 for 12 (.250), 4 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .235, 5 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 3 so in 34 at bats.
• Kyle Farnsworth — closer — Tampa Bay Rays
  0-0, 0.00 era, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, and 0 k in 1.0 innings
  YTD: 0-0, era 0.00 1 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 2 k in 3.0 innings
• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher (right handed) — Kansas City Royals
  1-0, 4.50 era, 5 hits, 2 er, 2 bb, and 2 k in 4.0 innings
  YTD: 1-0, era 6.00 9 hits, 4 er, 2 bb and 4 k in 6.0 innings
• Roy Halladay— starting pitcher (right handed) — Philadelphia Phillies
  0-1, 17.18 era, 7 hits, 7 er, 5 bb, and 3 k in 3.2 innings
  YTD: 2-1, era 6.75, 13 hits, 9 er, 7 bb, 10 k in 12.0 innings.
• Bryce Harper — left field — Washington Nationals
  4 for 12 (.333), 3 runs, 4 rbi, 1 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .409, 8 runs, 8 rbi, 3 hr, 2 bb, 1 sb, 9 so in 44 at bats.
• Elliot Johnson — infielder — Kansas City Royals
  3 for 15 (.200), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 5 so
  YTD: .265, 4 runs, 4 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 2 sb, 8 so in 34 at bats.
• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher (right handed) – Toronto Blue Jays
  1-0, 3.00 era, 2 hits, 1 er, 5 k, 0 bb in 3.0 innings.
  YTD: 3-0, 1.69 era, 4 hits, 2 er, 13 k, 0 bb in 10.2 innings.
• Matt Lindstrom — right handed bullpen pitcher – Chicago White Sox
  Did not pitch this week
  YTD: 0-0, 0.00 era, 0 hits, 0 er, 4 k, 2 bb in 4.0 innings.
• Brandon Lyon — right handed bullpen pitcher — New York Mets
  0-0, 0.00 era, 1 hits, 0 er, 2 k, 0 bb in 2.0 innings
  YTD: 0-0, 1.59 era, 3 hits, 1 er, 4 k, 1 bb in 5.2 innings.
• Mitch Maier — outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  3 for 5 (.600), 3 runs, 1 rbi, o hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .320, 5 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 2 sb, 3 so in 25 at bats.
• Clayton Mortensen — right handed bullpen pitcher —Boston Red Sox
  0-0, 0.00 era, 2 hits, 0 er, 1 k, 1 bb, 0 hr in 3.0 innings
  YTD: 0-1, 3.68 era, 5 hits, 3 er, 4 k, 3 bb, 0 hr in 7.1 innings
• Shane Peterson — outfielder — Oakland A’s
  3 for 9 (.333) 3 run, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD : .439, 9 run, 7 rbi, 1 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 6 so in 41 at bats
• Adam Rosales — 2B — Oakland A’s
  4 for 8 (.500) 4 run, 4 rbi, 2 hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .364, 10 run, 6 rbi, 2 hr, 8 bb, 1 sb, 4 so in 22 at bats
• Eric Sogard — infielder — Oakland A’s
  9 for 13 (.692) 4 run, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .500, 5 run, 4 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 1 sb, 1 so in 30 at bats
• Mitch Talbot — starting pitcher (right handed) — Miami Marlins
  0-0, 3.00 era, 4 h, 1 er, 1 hr, 2 k, 0 bb in 3.0 innings
  YTD: 0-0, 4.50 era, 9 h, 4 er, 2 hr, 5 k, 0 bb in 8.0 innings
• Nik Turley — starting pitcher (right handed) — New York Yankees
  Did not pitch this week – reassigned
  YTD: 0-1, 27.00 era, 4 h, 4 er, 0 hr, 2 k, 1 bb in 1.1 innings

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