Frank Menechino has heard all the criticism. He’s fully aware that in the second half of his first full season in the majors, he hit only .191. He can’t hide the fact that he made 15 errors at second base, the third most among American League second basemen.
And he can’t ignore the presence of fellow second baseman Randy Velarde, who sits just a few lockers away at Oakland’s spring training facility. Or the glowing reports on second baseman Esteban German, one of the top prospects in the A’s system.
That said, he doesn’t let these things concern him.
“I don’t worry about it,” Menechino said. “I know what happened last year in my own mind. I know that what happened wasn’t from fatigue. I know I can still play defense and contribute.”
Nevertheless, Menechino likely will have to prove it all over again. A season ago, he took over in April when second baseman Jose Ortiz, the 2000 Pacific Coast League player of the year, was injured. Menechino performed so well that Ortiz was sent back to Triple-A Sacramento and eventually traded. Through June 27, Menechino batted .292 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs.
Then the bottom fell out. Menechino managed only 45 hits in the final 75 games, went deep only twice and drove in only 19 runs.
But, he said, it wasn’t fatigue. It was injury, the result of being drilled by a pitch. That wasn’t a rarity last season; Menechino was hit 19 times, one shy of Don Baylor’s club record set in 1976.
Menechino said he played the entire second half with a bone bruise in his elbow, an injury he now admits was more serious than revealed at the time. He said he couldn’t extend the elbow and that he had trouble swinging.
“Frankie’s a gamer,” manager Art Howe said. “I think he got hit so many times in that elbow, and he had waited so long for that opportunity that he wasn’t about to shut it down.”
Said Menechino: “That’s exactly right. I didn’t know really what to do. I didn’t know if I should take some time off and let it heal. But it seemed like nothing made the pain go away. I had a cortisone shot, and it didn’t work. So after that, I just decided to try to play through the pain.”
Now all he has to do is play through a fierce competition at second. Velarde batted .297 in 78 games with the Texas Rangers last season before being traded to the New York Yankees, and he seems more suited to the leadoff position vacated by departed center fielder Johnny Damon.
“I think it’s great that he’s here,” Menechino said. “He’s a great player and a leader in the clubhouse.”
Menechino also must hold off German, who hit .373 in 38 games at Sacramento. German is likely a year away but could win a job with a huge spring. Nevertheless, it appears the job is Menechino’s to lose.
“I think now that he’s healthy, we’ll see the same kind of consistency we saw in the first half of the season,” Howe said. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”
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