God, is Arod frustrating

I watched the replay of Wednesday night's Cincy game. Arod is lucky these games don't mean anything. Through just 3 innings, he: 1. bobbled a bunt into a hit (admittedly a tough play), 2. ran through Larry Bowa's stop sign to get nailed at home (which would have become a run later if he had paid attention), 3. made a poor throw to 1b (E-5) allowing the hitter to reach (forcing Pettitte to throw 9 extra pitches that inning), 4. with 2 runners on and 2 outs, took strike 3 called right down the pipe. It's only March, it's only March...

Anyway:
- Mo's split-change-slurve was less dynamic than expected when I first heard it reported. I'd still love to see him use it in the regular season. It would be very useful for those 10+ pitch at-bats where the hitter clearly has Mo's timing but keeps fouling off pitches - and at the very least, it can serve as a 'show-me' pitch.

- Melky made two nice plays in centerfield and another where he looked lost. He got a bad jump on a ball hit to right-center and dove several feet short of it. He should only improve though, as I was impressed with his overall D.

- Even though Minky doesn't have one hit yet, his eye and glove still work well. He's worked a couple walks and a HBP. He also made a fine stab tonight on a short-hop toss from Cano on a GDP.

- Josh Phelps is a great fastball hitter. Unless Andy Philips tears the cover off the ball, Phelps has got to be the righty first-baseman. (So far) he's hit his way onto the team.

- I know Brett Gardner is fast, but damn is he fast! Mark Bellhorn (yep, him) hit a shot to left-center that looked like an easy double. Not only did Gardner run it down, but nearly overran it. He looks big and strong enough to have some power, so if he can add just a little, he would be a fantastic OF defensive replacement/pinch-runner extraordinaire (basically Bubba Crosby times 10).

- Luis Vizcaino looked great against his first 2 hitters, then gave up a solo shot to Cincy prospect Joey Votto. In Vizcaino's defense, it was a tough pitch to hit: an inside fastball that Votto seemed to pop-up. He must be strong and there must have been wind, because it somehow carried over the RF wall.