TIME TO COMPETE!
-- Barry Enright, 24 January
Mission accomplished, Barry. For Kirk Gibson announced after tonight's game that Enright has locked down a spot in the Diamondbacks rotation for the start of the season. He joins Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and (we presume) Joe Saunders, leaving Aaron Heilman to fight it out with Armando Galarraga for the fifth spot.
This is definitely deserved, as he has easily been the most consistent and reliable of our starters in spring training, sporting an ERA of 2.65 in his five appearances and 17 innings.
Just to rub in the point about consistency, here are the numbers for Enright's starts to date.
| DATE | OPP | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
| FEB 28 | COL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MAR 05 | TEX | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| MAR 10 | CWS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| MAR 15 | SF | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MAR 20 | @OAK | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 17 |
13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
With the possible exception of a home-run rate which is higher than I'd like, that's an extremely decent set of spring numbers, progressing in length more or less consistently, to the stage where he should be fully ready - assuming the current pitching rotation is maintained, he'll get his first start on April 4th in Wrigley. Which will also be my first recap of the season.
On a personal level, I'm delighted. Barry has had a super, positive attitude all winter, even when it would have been easy to become discouraged - for example, after the team went out and got Zach Duke and Armando Galarraga (the tweet headlining this piece comes from the date the latter arrived). But his Twitter account stands as testament to his relentless competitive spirit, and I know I'm not the only one on the 'Pit who has been pulling for him to make the team.
Of course, realism compels me to mention that while this is a huge battle won, it is not the war. For it may not be a permanent assignment, depending on Zach Duke's return. But Enright now has the chance to show his stuff, and it's up to him to continue pitching so well, that it becomes impossible for Kirk Gibson to send him down.