Baseball is a cruel game

Mariners reliever Kanekoa Texeira made his major league debut yesterday. Texeira, who was drafted by the White Sox in 2006, traded to the Yankees with Nick Swisher in 2008, and claimed in the Rule V draft by the Mariners a few months ago, had plenty of success as a reliever in the minors due to his high groundball and strikeout rates. His selection in the Rule V draft and his 15 strong innings in Spring Training gave him the inside track to make the Mariners' roster, when Opening Day rolled around, he found himself in the Mariner bullpen at the Oakland Coliseum.

What was Kanekoa's first situation in the big leagues? Tied 1-1, starting the bottom of the 9th! Adding to the pressure, Texeira loaded the bases in that inning and was down in the count, 3-1, on Daric Barton. He threw the strike that he needed, and got Barton to fly out to left field. Escaping the bases-loaded situation, Texeira pointed to the sky as he walked off the mound.

But that wasn't all. After the stressful 9th inning, manager Don Wakamatsu brought Texeira back out for the 10th. While retiring two more matters, he gave up three hits to lose the ballgame. I watched the end of this game on television, and I must say that it disappointed me. I remembered Texeira from the Yankees' minor league system last year, and I was impressed with his good numbers and awesome name; it was hard for me not to root for the guy. And also, if a guy is making his major league debut in a tough spot, you want to see him do well. At least for Texeira, it'll get better from here on.