National League All-Acquired Team 2011

It's been a while since Part 1 of my All-Acquired Team project hit the tubes a couple weeks ago - it turns out that real actual-factual baseball (plus the emergence of my fantasy team as an early powerhouse!) has had more interest for me than my lists. But I'm of the mind that completing a project is nearly as important as starting it, so I'd like to bring this little experiment to a close, with the...

2011 NATIONAL LEAGUE

ALL-ACQUIRED TEAM

At first glance, the lack of offense is the most immediately apparent feature of this roster. You can only see two significant threats: Jayson Werth (signed a huge Free Agent deal with the Nationals) and Dan Uggla (acquired via trade by the Braves). Of Werth's three full big league seasons, they've all been good (for an average of 4.2 WAR), but they've all come in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park with an All-Star offense surrounding him. Uggla has never had an OPS below .800 in his 5 seasons in the bigs - all with the Marlins after being acquired as a Rule 5 pick from the Diamondbacks. After those two, the lineup consists mostly of question-marks and also-rans.

Carlos Pena gets pretty high marks in MLB's pre-season rankings; I guess they're banking on a change of scenery from the miserable dome in St. Petersburg FL to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field in Chicago will account for his batting average rising above the mendoza line. (It hasn't yet in his 20 games with the Cubs, as he's currently sitting at .169.) His backup is high-strikeout slugger Adam LaRoche, who joins Werth on the Nationals. Interestingly enough, when I plugged this lineup into MLB 11: The Show, the CPU picked LaRoche to start over Pena. The swp from 2011 backs up this decision.

The rest of the starting infield features an aging shortstop who experts say can't really play the position anymore (Miguel Tejada, signed by the World Champion Giants) and a utility infielder who is projected to spend most of his actual 2011 time vying for playing time (Ty Wigginton, signed with the Rockies). The bench actually looks pretty strong with an established middle infielder in Ryan Theriot (who will start at SS for the Cardinals) and a lot of versatility in All-Star Omar Infante (traded for Dan Uggla) and Bill Hall (Astros) - both super-utility types turned regular second basemen. They would look really strong if they had a decent team to back up.

Rounding out the outfield is Cameron Maybin, whose defensive talents should really shine through for the Padres in spacious Petco Park, and Lance Berkman, who will attempt to play in the outfield regularly for the first time in six years. The move seemed to rejuvenate him; he's hitting .378 with 6 HR for the Cardinals. Nyjer Morgan, who rather recently became eligible for this list, can back up any of the outfield spots.

The real strength of this team is the starting pitching. We've all heard about Cliff Lee and his signing by the Mystery Team *cough* Phillies *cough*, and he's continued his lights-out K/BB brilliance into 2011. But the real depth to this imaginary staff comes with two acquisitions by the Brewers. Yes I know that Zack Greinke is still injured and hasn't made his '11 debut yet, but MLB 11: The Show picked him as the #1 starter over Lee. Shaun Marcum has pitched to a very nice 2.73 ERA, 1.146 WHIP in his 5 starts. Matt Garza has been striking out everyone for the Cubs, despite being unlucky in the win department. And Javier Vazquez hasn't been anywhere close to regaining his 2009 form with the braves (6.52 ERA, 2.017 WHIP).

But the talent doesn't stop with five pitchers, and this is reflected in the Long Relief (LR) position. Kevin Correia has already thrown a complete game and came out of the bullpen for the Pirates and Aaron Harang leads the league in wins pitching for the Padres. Other notable starters who were left off the roster: Jon Garland (also a complete game after a late start for the Dodgers), Tom Gorzelanny (struggling a bit for the Nationals), Armando Galarraga (trying to give the Diamondbacks a taste of his near-perect glory), and Chris Young (trying to re-jump-start his injury-plagued career with the Mets).

Quite a wealth of arms; I would have included more on the roster, but I felt it was necessary to represent with a complement of full-time relievers. Which would be worth it if there were more than two useful relievers acquired by NL teams over the 2010-11 off-season. We've got J.J. Putz, re-entering the closer market with the Diamondbacks, and doing a darn good job of it. We've got Takashi Saito, a former closer in Japan, who was brought in to set up and mentor the Brewers' young Canadian closer John Axford before going on the DL with a hamstring strain. And then we've got the rest.

My next project (really it's more of an idea) has to do with the hottest prospects in the game, and which of them we have a chance to see reach the majors any time soon. But before I get around to analyzing MLB's Top 50 list, we'll hit the one-month mark of the 2011 season, which I feel requires some sort of recognition and recap of the top performers so far.

Liveblogging Jackie Robinson Day (Already)

Turned on the MLB Network to see the Yankees hosting the Rangers. And I see that every player has 42 on his jersey. That can only mean one of two things: my TV is broken or it's Jackie Robinson Day!

Jackie Robinson Day is a fun tradition. And I think it's better that they went all-out and put 42 on everyone's jerseys instead of leaving it as a by-request-only thing. That sets up an "I'm more commemorable of history than thou" kind of dynamic. And while it may seem a bit over-the-top to have #42 on everyone's jerseys for a day, it's just as over the top as retiring #42 on every major league team for the rest of the time.

And it's nice that Baseball's greats are still active and involved enough in the current tradition to be commemorated in a sport-wide ceremony. And to appear on popular branded celebrity-themed reality shows. And also to potentially go to jail for obstruction of justice. Well, it's give and take...

Seeing as how my Goal for this blog this season is to limit my coverage to games (or parts of games) that I happen to see, here are my thoughts on this rematch of last year's ALCS. First on Ivan Nova, the Yankees' rookie starting pitcher. It looks like he has some good movement to that fastball, really cuts back in on right-handed hitters. Looks like he complements that with a decently-biting slider. I don't know if he'll be able to make his living in the AL East with those two pitches, but at the moment, he's all the Yankees got.

He certainly didn't last long against the Rangers: 4.1 innings, 5 runs (reliever David Robertson allowed 1 of his 2 inherited runners to score). I don't know if it's too soon to write off the Yankees, but there would be some poetic justice in seeing a free-agent-gobbling powerhouse with unlimited funds fade into mediocrity for a few seasons, regardless of what it would do to TV ratings.

Meanwhile, in a battle of #4 starters, the Rangers' young lefty Matt Harrison seems to be throwing the ball pretty well. Harrison came over from the Braves (with Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz) in the deal for Mark Teixeira, so it's fun to see these two face each other tonight. (Tex was 0-3 with a K and a GDP against him tonight.) He had failed half-season stints as a starter in 08 and 09, was used primarily out of the bullpen last year, and was left off the Rangers' postseason roster.

Harrison wasn't in the Rangers' projected starting rotation until rather late in the pre-season. But a good spring training line - coupled with injuries to Tommy Hunter and off-season gamble Brandon Webb - put him front and center. And he's performing pretty well, what with his perfect W-L record and WHIP under 1.000 on the season. Also stuffwise: he's changing speeds well, and according to fangraphs, his fastball speed has increased each  year he's been in the majors.

Harrison is one of those young pitchers that are helping to redefine this Rangers organization as one focused as much on good pitching as stacking the lineup with mashers. And his performance tonight solidifies that: 8 innings, 2 runs (one on a Granderson homer), just a 3/3 K/BB ratio, but he induced a franchise record 6 double plays. That's good for 99 swp, for those who care about such things.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mound, we're seeing the major league debut from 27-year-old rookie Lance Pendleton. After 6 seasons in the minor leagues as a mostly-effective starter, he's finally getting his first tosses in The Show, and he has not disappointed: 3 perfect innings in relief, including 3 strikeouts. I wonder if we'll see him as a rotation filler later in the year if Freddy Garcia continues to struggle or if Phil Hughes spends significant time on the DL with his "dead arm." (Maybe the Yanks should have made the Hughes Rules a little more strict than the Joba Rules...)

So now it's Neftali Feliz to try to close it out, facing... you guessed it: Mark Teixeira, the very man for which he was traded. It's interesting that the entire complement of pitchers used by the Rangers tonight was acquired for this guy, who's now off to an uncharacteristic fast start this year. But a groundout completes the ofer for Texeira.

An A-Rod double gives the Yankees some life (that's at least good for my fantasy team), but Joe Girardi is putting that life in the hands of Eric "Chokey" Chavez, who surprisingly comes through in the clutch with a pinch-hit RBI single! I know a lot has been made of Miguel Tejada's decreased defensive range and inability to play shortstop regularly, but I will always rue the day when Billy Beane let Miggy walk in favor of signing Chokey to a long term deal. I mean, the A's missed out on some pretty impressive numbers that Tejada put up for Baltimore (150 RBI anyone?) before he suffered his power outage.

Now I'm just trying to find something to write about before the game ends, as Posada gets on base with a walk. But Russel J. Martin flies out to end it, finishing out a rather adventurous save (and the first run allowed of the season) for reigning AL Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz. Good performances from guys like Harrison and Alexi Ogando kept Feliz in the bullpen this year, but I feel like it's just a matter of time until he cracks the starting rotation. Like I always say (because I've heard so many smarter people say it) a pitcher can give his team six times more value if he pitches six times the innings.

That's it from Jackie Robinson Day. See you next time with the NL All-Acquired roster!

American League All-Acquired Team 2011

Most of the fun of the baseball off-season is wrapped up in players changing teams for the next season. I did a three-part post chronicling player movement over the off-season, but now that I have my hotly-anticipated Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview in hand - which notes which players on each lineup are newly-acquired - I can see which roles those players will play on their new teams. And using that information, I can compile the best of those players into a fantasy lineup. Here is one such lineup representing the best players newly acquired by American League teams over the '10-11 off-season.

OK, so I got a little carried away and a lineup turned into a full 25-man roster. But this way you get a sense of how this team might play over the course of a full season. Nota Bene: the player rankings are from MLB.com's system and are  current to before the start of the season. Moving from top to bottom and using the cliche'd "compliment sandwich" to evaluate this team seems in order, as their very strong offense and bullpen flank a downright pathetic starting pitching staff.

Boston's big acquisitions lead the way on offense with Baltimore and Texas also looking to field some key players. I've talked a little about picking more versatile players to stock a bench rather than just the most talented hitters - hence the presence of David DeJesus, who can play all three outfield spots well, over a guy like Johnny Damon (ranked 299) who will likely be limited to DH/LF duties for the Rays (especially now that Manny has essentially been dishonorably discharged). However, in the case of Guerrero and Reynolds, I was mesmerized by their home run totals and couldn't help but include them in the roster.

I had to revamp the pitching staff due to injuries and ineffectiveness. We would have had higher-ranked pitchers such as Brandon Webb (419), Vin Mazzaro (447) or Rich Harden (507), except those three are either starting the season on the DL or in the minors. I think I'm putting too much stock in those MLB pre-season rankings, but I just like the way their website is designed so much....

Yes I realize that both members of my middle infield are injured. I didn't remove them because a) I think they'll both be back in their respective lineups eventually while it's unclear what role the injured/demoted pitchers will play this year and b) I didn't want to go through the trouble. So there.


I have Soriano as the closer because he has the best closer-quality stuff. Gregg is ranked significantly higher because he projects to actually record some Saves this year for the Orioles while Soriano will be stuck behind Mo Rivera for the Yankees. It's encouraging that Fuentes has such a relatively high ranking for a setup man... but that's probably because the folks at MLB could see that Andrew Bailey has become a true injury risk.

As followers of my alter-blogging-ego might know, I recently picked up a copy of MLB 11 The Show. Using the game's superior game simulation/roster manipulation skills, I recreated this project, but with a twist: I simply put ALL the acquired players on a single team and let the CPU sort out what would make the best lineup. The results were a bit strange if also a bit predictable.

The starting outfield included Carl Crawford in LF, Vladimir Guerrero in RF, and ... Hideki Matsui in CF! Those of you who didn't see Guerrero try to play in the outfield last World Series should probably avoid the footage, because it was painful. And Matsui can barely man LEFT field, let alone center. I understand the game values hitting over defense (as video games are wont to do), but then why leave Adam Dunn on the bench in favor of ... MANNY RAMIREZ!!?! Granted this was before his retirement, but MLB ranks him 268, a full 234 places below Dunn. Someone somewhere got their signals crossed.

Other than those changes, though, the lineup and rotation (minus the injured pitchers) were pretty similar. I think they had Frank Francisco in there, but, again, minus the injured pitchers. The cool part about using the game, is that I could actually see a cartoony representation of how this team might look and how they might play. Incidentally, in the one simulated game I had the patience to (mostly) sit through (while doing other things), the AL team beat its NL All-Acquired counterpart in a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Next time, I'll go over the National League's squad.

Arrested Development: Stuck in Spring Training

I had a great time at Spring Training in Phoenix. It was great to see some preseason action and to be right next to the players and to be immersed in baseball action for a whole weekend. Then the following week, in Phoenix again, I enjoyed the exhibition game that took me into a new Major League ballpark. But as fun as it was watching the D-Backs beat up on a team from the Mexican League, it's now the first week of April, and I'm ready for some regular season action. The Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview is finally out, and I'm ready for the games to count.

So when my latest travels took me to south Florida and the cab driver said we were close to where the Marlins played, I got extra excited. Could this be two new stadiums for me in as many weeks? We were on a tight schedule, so I had the cabbie swing by the stadium, just to pay my respects. As it turns out, it was where the Marlins play... but only during the Spring. That's right, we were actually close to Roger Dean Stadium, the facility shared by the Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals. Still cool to see the outside of the facility, but again it's not exactly Major League grade. No matter where I turn, it's back to Spring Training!

Other occurrences might signal that I'm not quite ready - emotionally and spiritually - for the season to start. Remember that big "30 Projected Lineups in 30 Days" project that was due to start as soon as the SI baseball preview came out? Well, I picked up the preview issue this Monday, and I have some not insignificant issues with it. First of all, there's that cover story about the Phillies' rotation. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally enamored of the Phillies' rotation, and I think it's cool that Roy Halladay is on the cover two years in a row. But who's idea was it to give them all dumb superhero names and contrived origin stories? I've read Gary Smith's work before, and enjoyed it very much, but Tunnelman? Loose Laser? I couldn't get through all six densely packed pages of it....

Then there's the projected lineups, of which SI is the gold standard, in my opinion. Looking forward to these 30 lists is basically what gets me through the off-season. (Well, that and friends, family, loved ones, and Arkham Asylum.) This year's lineups are well-organized (although they've replaced the one-page story on each team with a broad, sweeping article about each division) and accurate (that's what happens when the issue is released a few days after the start of the season), but I'm a little confused with some of the personnel decisions on who to include.

Many teams are slated to begin the year with one or several key starters on the disabled list for one reason or another. Whether it's Chase Utley's tendinitis or Matt Holliday's appendectomy, some players don't enter the year 100%. I'm confused, though, how SI decides whether to leave the injured player in the projected lineups or remove them in favor of a replacement. In the Sporting News' preview issue, players expected to start the season on the DL were marked with an asterisk. No such luck for SI. Here are some of the contradictions I've found:


INJURED, BUT IN LINEUP

Aforementioned Phillies 2B Chase Utley (knee tendinitis) and RF Domonic Howard (broken hand) still show up in the issue.

Brewers SP Zack Greinke injured his ribs playing basketball.

Athletics CL Andrew Bailey strained his forearm during Spring Training.

Indians CF Grady Sizemore is having knee surgery and is always a question mark to stay healthy.

Dodgers 3B Casey Blake started the season on the DL for a back strain, but he was just activated today.

As stated above, Matt Holliday is having his appendix removed.

Mets LF Jason Bay is out with a muscle strain, Astros SS Clint Barmes broke his left hand, and White Sox DH Adam Dunn is also having his appendix out, but those injuries/procedures occurred after press time.


INJURED, NOT IN LINEUP

Cardinals ace SP Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery and isn't in the magazine, although he doesn't project to play at all in 2011.

Mets ace SP Johan Santana doesn't show up either although he's only on the 15 day DL. (UPDATE: Looks like he's actually having another left shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely. Yikes...)

Blue Jays SP Brandon Morrow is replaced in the mag's rotation by Jo-Jo Reyes, although the projected starter is only out with a forearm strain (see Andrew Bailey).

Tigers veteran 2B Carlos Guillen is out  and replaced in the lineup by Will Rhymes. To name another washed up veteran, Royals C Jason Kendall won't start the season, and is replaced by new acquisition Matt Treanor.

Rangers playoff-worth SP Tommy Hunter has a strained groin and should pitch for most of the season, and yet erstwhile RP Alexi Ogando has his spot in the rotation.

-

Due to the inconsistencies in this year's issue, it might be a while before I can start my project, if I don't abandon it altogether in favor of more flexible, far-reaching, and altogether shorter endeavors. One will definitely be an All-Acquired team for each league (followed by a piece about how that team plays on MLB 11: The Show, which I've been itching to buy ever since I learned it came out almost a month ago...) and something chronicling the game's top 50 prospects.

Until then, the silver lining is that my flight back to LA has seat-back TVs, so I'll be able to catch most of the Twins/Yankees game on ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball. Maybe that will be enough to launch me into the throes of regular season awesomeness.

More Baseball...

...Is on TV today! Don't you just love this time of year, when everyone is so excited about the baseball season starting that there are random games on TV all the time? I personally wish it was like that all the time; and with MLB Network in full swing, I don't see why it shouldn't be the case.

Today's evening broadcast featured the contest between the AL Champion Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox, the team that most pundits agree had the most productive off-season. It was 1-0, on the strength of an Ian Kinsler homer (his second to lead off the game in as many games), but Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz quickly made it 2-1 on the strength of a bloop and a blast, respectively.

Watching Colby Lewis throw his 87 MPH fastball and 80 MPH curve/slider combo, I'm wondering if he'll have any trouble repeating his very effective '010 comeback season. He came back to the states last year, fully rejuvenated by a full year of domination in Japan, and he must have brought some of that confidence with him to the mound. I know he just finished pitching in a grueling post-season, but will the pressures of playing back in the majors full-time balance out his competitive fire, and expose his weakish stuff? We'll see.

Oh, I also noticed that Mitch Moreland is up at first today for the Rangers. Ahh, maybe there's going to be a platoon setup going on here - Napoli will play 1B against lefties while Moreland will man first sack when a righty's on the mound. Factor in some extensive backup for Yorvit Torrealba behind the plate, and you've got a situation where Napoli gets some significant at-bats. Cuz, seeing as he's on your team, you might as well let him contribute all he can.

But, what's this!? We've switched over to the Orioles Rays game for Manny's at-bat. Wow, a pitcher's duel here, 0-0 in the 7th. Chris Tillman pitched a gem for the birds, but he surrendered the ball to a reliever after his 6 innings. Aaaand, now that B.J. Upton just singled up the middle, the Orioles are no longer pitching a team no-hitter. Can you believe it? That was the first Rays hit of the game, and it came with two outs in the 7th inning.

It's strange that manager Buck Showalter opted to make it a "team no-hitter" rather than give his youngster who just barely made the team a chance at history. Tillman is only 23, smack in the middle of those formative years I keep talking about, so his workload is being closely monitored. And although he had logged a very manageable amount of innings in his past career, they opted to pull him at 6 innings and 101 pitches - right at the exact point where Craig Wright says it's foolish to set a fixed pitch count limit.

Oh well, I hope Tillman rewards the Orioles' care by having his arm hold up for years and years without injury. Or rather I hope chance rewards the Orioles' care by not bestowing injuries on Chris Tillman's arm.

But what's this? The hitters at the top of the Rangers order are mounting a comeback with a double by Kinsler and a triple by new 2-place hitter Elvis Andrus. I like the Rangers' choice to go with power at the top of the order and speed/contact as number 2. Then the rest of the lineup can mash it with the best of them. Again, it all comes down to the pitching.

I'm going to try, this year, to write more about the games, live and televised, I happen to catch, with a special emphasis on the A's, Dodgers, and players on my fantasy team. I think this will make the whole blog thing more manageable than trying to cover everything that happens in the sport - I don't have the time or the manpower for that task. Knowing about everything that happens in the sport - my unstated goal - will hopefully give some more meaning to my coverage, limited though it may be.

But if the plan is to report on what you watch, than the road to moderation leads through knowing when to stop watching. So I'm going to give the blog and post length a rest before the Red Sox somehow manage to put a rally together and take back the lead...

The A's First Game of the Season...

...And it's on TV, no less! I didn't catch the beginning - I was en route from the airport when I read a tweet about Josh Willingham hitting a homer in his first at-bat as an Athletic (the first player to accomplish that feat since Frank Thomas in 2006, according to @OaklandAs). Thus I missed some first inning fireworks, just like I did in the Diamondbacks exhibition game a few nights ago. But unlike the Diamondbacks game, there weren't any more fireworks for me to see.

Those two runs that came on the Willingham homer were the only two the A's would score all night. Fortunately, though, A's starter Trevor Cahill allowed fewer runs than that (his only ER came on a bases-loaded walk)... but unfortunately, he only lasted 4.2 innings. However, In un-typical Cahill fashion, he finally lived up to his name and struck out 8 batters in that span. But after an A's bullpen meltdown - led by former elite lefty Craig Breslow - and a King Felix Hernandez complete game effort, the Athletics extend their opening day losing streak to 7 games.

I don't particularly agree with Manager Bob Geren's style of handling the A's pitchers in last night's loss - but then again I haven't agreed with much Geren has done since his tenure as skipper. First, pulling Cahill with a close lead after 105 pitches in the 5th. As I wrote about before, I am now a full convert to Craig Wright's school of handling young pitchers, which states you should limit their workloads during their formative years (age 18-24). But he measures workloads in innings pitched per year and batters faced per start - nowhere does he condone the use of a fixed pitch count per game. And, if his system is followed correctly, an occasional start consisting of 120 - 140 pitches shouldn't be uncommon, even for a youngster like Cahill.

Trevor Cahill enters the 2011 season just having turned 23. Here's how his formative years have stacked up so far (including minors and majors):

2006 (age 18): 9 IP
2007 (age 19): 105.1 IP
2008 (age 20): 124.1 IP
2009 (age 21): 178.2 IP
2010 (age 22): 205.1 IP

Not overworked by any means - he's averaging 124.1 innings over his formative years so far. Especially compared to former young flameout Frank Tanana (mentioned in Wright's article in the Hardball Times Annual), who averaged 238.2 innings in his age 18-24 seasons. Given his relatively stable progression through his young years, why don't you let the kid pitch a little deeper into his first opening day start?

Then, Geren relieved Cahill with lanky lefty Jerry Blevins (whose signature rests proudly in that same Hardball Times Annual), who pitched to two batters before he was lifted from the game for... another lefty, Craig Breslow. If you read the box score, you'll see Breslow got saddled with the BS and the L, and he deserved them both. But, to be fair, he wasn't put in a position where he could thrive. Breslow's what I could classify as a "lefty setup man." He's good enough to pitch to lefties and righties (i.e. not a LOOGY), so he can work a whole inning. Plus, he's experienced and gritty enough to pitch in high leverage situations. And while I'm fully in support of stretching relief pitchers in terms of innings pitched, why would you replace Blevins, who profiles as more of a "long reliever," with Breslow, a short reliever, and then expect the short reliever to pitch multiple innings. It's the little things and arbitrary classifications of bullpen roles that win and lose ball games.

Well, at least my Fantasy team is off to a good start, with King Felix's performance. Now it's time to finally throw out my bad luck A's batting practice jersey, and turn my head forward to the next 161 games.

Projected Lineups in Action

The other day, while traveling, I got my first taste of projected lineups for the 2011 season. With the Sports Illustrated baseball preview not yet on the shelves and the ESPN Magazine preview issue waiting for me at home, I decided to take a new, unexplored route: The Sporting News.

There were two baseball-related issues on the shelves, so I got them both: one was the weekly issue, including a two-page spread for each division, and the other was a fantasy baseball yearbook. The former is up to date, the latter was published before the new year, thus before many of the lineup-shaping trades occurred. It's interesting to see the two different takes and how things have changed, but it's obvious which one is more informative.

With the Phillies/Astros game on TV right now, I have the chance to see how the projections measure up against reality. Cuz in baseball, the lineup is a team's lifeblood, and it's important to see how good the pundits are at predicting reality.

For the Astros, only one notable change, and that's due to injury. Former Rockies prospect Clint Barmes was replaced in the field at SS and at the 2-hole in the lineup by Angel Sanchez, who was acquired last year and actually played the lion's share of time at shortstop for the 'Stros. Only one other change in the batting order: veteran 2B/super utility Bill Hall hits 5th, in front of young 3B Chris Johnson, but otherwise it was a pretty good job by the folks at TSN.

The big change for the Phillies was actually predicted by TSN, but not reflected on the page. They list 2B Chase Utley as the 3rd place hitter, but they amend that choice with an asterisk, denoting that he was expected to start the season on the DL, this time with knee troubles. This move bumps Shane Victorino to leadoff and Jimmy Rollins to 3rd place. Wilson Valdez fills in at 2B and bats 8th.

I don't know why TSN assumed Ben Francisco (filling in for injured prospect Domonic Howard in RF) would hit 5th behind Ryan Howard instead of the actual choice of LF Raul Ibanez. Probably because they thought splitting up the LH batters was important enough to put the weaker foot forward. In any case, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel decided to go with the more traditional choice.


ALSO, this just in from the crawl at the bottom of ESPN: Mike Napoli will start at 1B for the Rangers. A fantasy darling, what with the ability to post power numbers at catcher, but also with first base eligibility, Napoli was acquired over the off-season from the Angels, by way of the Blue Jays. I always thought he would be a better choice than Mitch Moreland, and now I've been somewhat vindicated. We'll see how he hits against Jon Lester and the Red Sox.

Wow, you guys, aren't lineups fun!?