Joe Mays stays, will open the season in Las Vegas

In what seems to me a very smart move, the Dodgers retain the rights to former starter Joe Mays, and send him to Las Vegas 51's where he will start ballgames. In another smart move, Joe accepts the assignment to Triple-A (much like Aaron Sele did last March) in hopes he could be called back as soon as any of the fifth starter combo (Brett Tomko / Mark Hendrickson) gets injured or ineffective.

In a perfect world I would have Mays compete with Chad Billingsley for the fifth spot right away, but well - things are far from perfect in this world, and I'm too far from LA, anyway.

One way or another, Mays will should have a chance to resurrect his career within the Dodger organization.

How about Joe Mays?

One pitcher that gets a bit overlooked this spring in the starters-relievers dilemma is former Twin starter RHP Joe Mays. He's 32 yo now and has been quite dependable this spring.

In fact, he's just gone 3 IP of one-hit no-run ball in the game against the Orioles that the Dodgers won 4-2. He got seven ground out and struck out the other two batters. He's pre-season ERA is 2.57 as of today.

How do you think the pitching situation will play out for him? Can he make the opening day roster?