Surprise Five: Looking at Matt Bush's role and Jake Diekman's mechanics

OK. I’ll admit it. I committed a cardinal sin within hours of my first day back on the Texas Rangers beat – I referred to the clubhouse as the “locker room.”

Sorry, it’s those football instincts kicking in and I rightfully caught grief for it. I’ll make sure that mistake doesn’t happen again in my week here at spring training.

Anyways, on to the “Surprise Five” made famous by our Jeff Wilson.

1. Matt Bush is focused on making the starting rotation, but openly questioned if the Rangers have a similar commitment after a disappointing outing Friday night vs. the Reds. Bush gave up two runs on a two-run homer by Eugenio Suarez and lasted just two innings.

Bush was kept on a pitch count of about 45 for the second straight outing, something that manager Jeff Banister alluded to before the game. But Bush clearly doesn't like that approach.

"Forty-five pitches two times in a row doesn’t seem right,” Bush said. "If I end up moving back, it’s something I’d rather know sooner than later because I feel like it is a mental block.”

Banister didn't offer much insight into the Rangers' plans afterward, although reiterated that the organization is going to monitor Bush and Mike Minor closely in their bids to join the rotation.

2. Reliever Jake Diekman’s third outing of the spring didn’t go well last week – four runs, two outs and not throwing harder than 90 mph.

Diekman blamed “dead arm” for his outing, but feels he’s back on track after pitching in a simulated game Friday morning.

“It felt good,” Diekman said. “Mechanics are working.”

With dead arm, Diekman said, your mechanics get out of whack because your arm feels heavy and your legs do more work.

“Stuff gets out of synch,” he said. “So it’s just an uphill battle when you go through it, but you have to go through it.”

Diekman faced five batters in an inning, recording four outs with one strikeout and one walk. He threw 18 pitches, including 11 strikes.

3. The Rangers made their first cuts of spring training and left-hander Yohander Mendez was not among them. Mendez has pitched in the big leagues each of the last two seasons, and had a solid start to spring ... until Friday night.

Mendez gave up a solo shot to Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez -- the same guy who took Bush deep -- and ended up giving up two runs on two hits in two innings.

Before the game, though, Banister raved about Mendez’s ability to command his fastball, but stopped short of saying whether he had a legitimate chance of making the opening day roster.

“Look, there’s a lot of variables to that,” Banister said. “I’m not going to rule out anybody making this team right now, but he’s one of the guys who has really continued to progress in the manner that we feel would be, if it’s not opening day, if it’s not early, he’s going to be a guy who, if he stays healthy, is going to help us out at some point in our season.”

4. Count me among those intrigued to see what Anthony Gose can do this spring. The Rangers re-acquired him on Friday from the Houston Astros, and it’s hard not to wonder if he’ll be able to make a successful transition to pitcher.

With a fastball that can hit the 95-100 mph range, he’s certainly worth a roll of the dice. His lone spring training appearance with the Astros wasn’t promising – walking all three batters he faced – but that’s a small sample size.

Gose is still early in this transition, but let’s see if the Rangers’ pitching minds can get him on track.

The Rangers are focused on developing Gose as a pitcher, although manager Jeff Banister said the organization will keep its options open by having him shag balls and take BP.

5. Finally, Booty's remains the best sports bar in Surprise. The wings are top-notch and you're bound to find a flavor you like as they have 52. It's a short drive from Surprise Stadium, too.

Other Surprise spots that yours truly will hit -- Babbo Italian, Las Cazuelas and Saigon Kitchen.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Surprise Five: Looking at Matt Bush's role and Jake Diekman's mechanics."