Happy first day of Spring! As it snows up north here in Philadelphia and Allentown, the rosters for the Phillies and IronPigs become a bit more clear, and yet less so as well. Aaron Harang got through his start, and if he doesn't have an issue after this one, could be good for the start of the season. Maikel Franco was optioned to AAA today, and Ruben Amaro thinks he was pressing too hard. So count Harang and Cody Asche in again for Opening Day. At the same time, Dom Brown's achilles is bothering him, and now you have to wonder if he'll be ready to go.
So here's a look at the Phillies:
- Rotation- Hamels, Buchanan, Harang, Slowey, Gonzalez. So my current thought is that Slowey will safely slide in at #4, but they will not add another non-40-man player at #5. I have Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez edging out Paul Clemens and Joely Rodriguez as a result, for now. His salary being guaranteed doesn't hurt either.
- Line-Up- Revere-CF, Herrera-LF, Utley-2B, Howard-1B, Brown-RF, Ruiz-C, Asche-3B, Galvis-SS. So I have Dom possibly not being ready, but for today we'll say he's going to be there.. Otherwise, not much changes.
- Bullpen- Papelbon, Giles, Diekman, De Fratus, Hollands, Araujo, Oliver. No changes here.
- Bench- Rupp, Hernandez, Sizemore, Francoeur, Ruf. No real changes. Ruf or Sizemore could be starting a lot if Dom is hurt.
- DL- Lee, Williams, Billingsley.
The pitching is light, the offense very suspect, and the bench a question mark. At least they have a nice bullpen.
Now, for the IronPigs:
- Rotation- Rodriguez, Clemens, Morgan, Martin, O'Sullivan. So this has changed a bit. Apparently Ethan Martin will get some starts again this season. Clemens will be interesting to see where he begins.
- Line-Up- Perkins-RF, Dugan-LF, Franco-3B, Canzler-1B, Altherr-CF, Hill-C, Blanco-2B, Green-SS. Lots to watch, but Franco is the biggest piece.
- Bullpen- Garcia, Jimenez, Neris, Gomez, Aumont, Rosin, Nesseth. Rosin and Nesseth make the squad now thanks to the chaos around the pitching situation.
- Bench- Hester, d'Arnaud, McGuinness, Nelson, Mastroianni. Not a ton of changes, other than thinking Green starts, so d'Arnaud goes to the bench.
