Another Spring Update

So, It's been 2 weeks since I've blogged it up.

It's not that I've been busy, I just kind of stopped caring for a bit. But, with the Season 11 days away, I'm starting to get that bit of excitement inside that I get when I see a 15 year old girl shopping with her Daddy.

Onto some baseball:

Matt Clement was optioned a couple days ago, and It leaves Richmond, Mills, and Romero fighting for 2 rotation spots behind Halladay, Litsch, & Purcey. I would like Romero & Mills to be the guys, but really it won't matter because whoever gets left out will still see some big league starts.

Brian Burres was sent to minor league camp as well, along with Randy Ruiz, Curtis Thigpen, Angel Sanchez, Rick Bauer, Brian Jeroloman, JP Arencibia, Bill Murphy, and Davis Romero.

None of those are surprises, although I though Thigpen would stick around until the end of Spring Training. I'm pretty sure Barrett will get the nod to back-up, which will end up a time-share. I suspect if Arencibia is raking after 2 months, he will get the call-up and Barajas will be traded or Barrett released.

Jason Lane continues to hit the ball really well. This is the rease the Bautista re-signing doesn't make sense. My feeling is that you should always at least 1 opening on your roster so that a guy who hits well in camp gets to crack the roster.

Speaking of Bautista, he has been getting some time at SS, which leads me to believe that Johnny Mac is on his way out. If Inglett & Bautista can each play a moderate SS, than Johnny doesn't need to be on the roster, hitting .150 with no power or on-base ability.

Brad Emaus is also hitting the ball really well, as is making a case for himself should Rolen go down for a stretch. Scott Campbell has been pretty impressive as well, so at least some quality gritty white guys are in the pipe-line. This also is doing nothing to calm down the voices in my head screaming that Aaron Hill should be playing SS, with Inglett at 2B.

Travis Snider has done nothing to deserve getting to AAA shaft, but I hope to see it so that his clock gets delayed. 2009 is a lost season anyways with the uncertainty in the rotation. This season should be about trying to builld value on Rolen & Overbay so that they can get something in return on the trade market next off-season.

Russ Adams is also making a case for himself that he is not a lost cause, as he is having a pretty hot Spring. He has played 2B & OF this spring, so he now he can make terrible throws from the OF now too.

Onto some other teams now.

Some battles going on this spring are pretty interesting.

Brett Gardner & Melky Cabrera have both hit well this spring for the Yankees, but Brett Gardner has been steller. He is the faster of the two and possesses the better defense, even with a Johnny Damon-like arm. Cabrera has been labeled as a potential trade candidate, so this one looks like it could solve itself. It is more likely that these 2 split CF almost 50/50 this season.

The San Francisco Giants have their entire IF pretty much up for grabs this Spring. SS is set with Edgar Renteria, but the other slots are an open competition. Travis Ishikawa should be the 1B as he is having a big Spring. Kevin Fransden, Eugenio Velez, & Emmanuel Burris have had great Springs as well, and will continue to battle for 2B. Pablo Sandoval came in as the favourite for 3B and has hit very well, so the job should be his. Other guys with pretty good Springs who could still push their way into a picture: 3B/1B Joel Guzman, 3B/2B Juan Uribe, 3B/1B Rich Aurilia. The Giants have had everyone of their potential infielders put up great Springs, and it will make the decisions pretty hard. But I guess it is a good problem to have.

The Chicago White Sox have a battle going on for CF and lead-off, featuring Jerry Owens, Brian Anderson, and ex-Jay DeWayne Wise. Owens has gotten on-base, but hasn't hit worth a cock. Still, his average wouldn't be below .200 over a full season, so it could be flukey. Anderson has hit pretty well, but above his head with his track-record. He is clearly in the running for his defense, but if he can show consistant pop and on-base ability, then the job should be his. Wise is probably the best hitter of the bunch (not saying much), but he has no upside at his age. There could always be a late trade in Spring to solve the problem (Melky Cabrera, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Pierre, etc.)

The Minnesota Twins have 5 outfielders for 4 spots (DH included), and going in to Spring, Denard Span seemed to be a favourite to land in the starting foursome. But, he has had a pretty lousy Spring, and serves a better purpose playing 4 times a week as a back-up for all 4 spots. Delmon Young, Mike Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel have all hit well this Spring, and Carlos Gomez is a plus defender in CF.

Last, but not least, is my favourite Spring Training battle. The Texas Rangers have 3 outstanding young catchers is Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Max Ramirez, and Taylor Teagarden. Salty has hit extremely well this Spring, while Teag has struggled some. Ramirez was at the WBC (playing a limited role), so he has had a late start into this battle. I don't believe that either should be backing up. One of them should be traded (Teagarden) for a starter (Boston? Florida?) while the other should be in AAA starting everyday. Adam Melhuse is in camp and would make a fine back-up, and veteren backstops are always in stock on the market.

Well, that's it for today.