So the Spring has moved on far enough that injuries and performance are starting to impact who will make this team. Cliff Lee, despite what he and the team says, probably will not be able to come north, in my opinion. Ethan Martin's mysteriously diminished fastball won't allow him to come North with the big club either. The spots on this roster become more and more clear by day. So does this team's lack of offense. Both are pretty troublesome. Here's my outlook right now.
- Rotation- Well, I believe Cliff Lee is going to end up under the knife, and done for the year. Billingsley is already DL bound to start. That leaves Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, David Buchanan, and Jerome Williams in. This leaves one more spot, which seems to be a battle between Slowey, Clemens, Gonzalez, and Morgan, on paper. My guess right now is that Kevin Slowey gets the five to start.
- Bullpen- Ah, the stability. Jonathan Papelbon, Ken Giles, Jake Diekman, Justin de Fratus, and Mario Hollands are the locks. Past that, I have Andy Oliver and Elvis Araujo winning the last two spots.
- Line-Up- I still have Ben Revere in center, Grady Sizemore in left, Chase Utley at second, Ryan Howard at first, Dom Brown in right, Carlos Ruiz catching, Cody Asche at third, and Freddy Galvis at short, though Odubel Herrera is making a case to start somewhere.
- Bench- Cameron Rupp seems locked in at back-up catcher, while Odubel Herrera is playing well enough to make it easy. Darin Ruf, Cesar Hernandez, and Jordan Danks round out this week's picks.
