In about 27 hours from me writing this very sentence, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Pirate City in Bradenton, Florida to begin a highly anticipated Spring Training 2010. For the first time in the 5 years I've been a season ticket holder, there seems to be a wealth of competition for several different positions, not just the rotation, third base, or the bullpen.
It's around this time of the year that bloggers and message board readers love to write their predictions for Opening Day rosters. So, why not jump on the bandwagon and list my predictions for Opening Day, the day following the trade deadline, and the last day of the regular season.
Opening Day - April 5, 2010 @ PNC Park vs. Dodgers
Starting Nine Batting Order:
1. Andrew McCutchen - CF
2. Akinori Iwamura - 2B
3. Andy LaRoche - 3B
4. Garrett Jones - RF
5. Ryan Doumit - C
6. Jeff Clement - 1B
7. Lastings Milledge - LF
8. Ronny Cedeno - SS
9. Ross Ohlendorf - P
Rest of the Rotation:
10. Paul Maholm
11. Zach Duke
12. Charlie Morton
13. Daniel McCutchen
Bullpen:
14. Kevin Hart
15. Brenden Donnelly
16. Evan Meek
17. Joel Hanrahan
18. Chris Jakubauskas
19. Javier Lopez
20. Octavio Dotel - Closer
Bench:
21. Ryan Church
22. Bobby Crosby
23. Delwyn Young
24. John Raynor
25. Brandon Jones
I expect little selling to be done by the Pirates this year. There will be little change in the roster between April and August, however, several injuries will pop up and here is what I expect the roster to look like after some trades and injury moves.
Day After the Trade Deadline - August 1, 2010 @ Busch Stadium vs. Cardnials
Starting Nine Batting Order:
1. Lastings Milledge - LF
2. Akinori Iwamura - 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen - CF
4. Pedro Alvarez - 1B
5. Andy LaRoche - 3B
6. Ryan Church - RF
7. Neil Walker - C
8. Bobby Crosby - SS
9. Daniel McCutchen - P
Rest of the Rotation:
10. Donnie Veal
11. Ross Ohlendorf
12. Paul Maholm
13. Charlie Morton
Bullpen:
14. Kevin Hart
15. Brenden Donnelly
16. Evan Meek
17. Joel Hanrahan
18. D.J. Carrasco
19. Javier Lopez
20. Octavio Dotel - Closer
Bench:
21. Garrett Jones
22. Ronny Cedeno
23. Jeff Clement
24. John Raynor
25. Brandon Jones
Ryan Doumit is out, again, with an injury. As is Zach Duke. Delwyn Young gets traded for some cash. Jaka is traded as well for a minor league lefty bullpen arm. Clement struggles through May and June, resulting in Alvarez learning to play first base in Indy. Neil Walker is converted back to a catcher in AAA and does some emergency duties while Doumit is out. Most of the starters are sitting as this is a Sunday afternoon game.
The regular season will come to an end on October 3 in Florida, again a Sunday. This time though, most of the starters will be playing this game. Of course, the roster is expanded at this point. I expect about 38 players to be in the locker room.
Last Game of the Regular Season - October 3, 2010 @ Land Shark Stadium vs. Marlins
Starting Nine Batting Order:
1. Akinori Iwamura - 2B
2. Andy LaRoche - 3B
3. Andrew McCutchen - CF
4. Garrett Jones - 1B
5. Ryan Church - RF
6. Ryan Doumit - C
7. Lastings Milledge - LF
8. Ronny Cedeno - SS
9. Paul Maholm - P
Rest of the Rotation:
10. Charlie Morton
11. Daniel McCutchen
12. Brad Lincoln
13. Ross Ohlendorf
14. Donnie Veal
Bullpen:
15. Kevin Hart
16. D.J. Carrasco
17. Evan Meek
18. Joel Hanrahan
19. Brenden Donnelly
20. Jeff Karstens
21. Javier Lopez
22. Jose Ascanio
23. Steven Jackson
24. Tyler Yates
25. Virgil Vasquez
26. Craig Hansen
27. Octavio Dotel - Closer
Bench:
28. Pedro Alvarez
29. Jose Tabata
30. Erik Kratz
31. John Raynor
32. Neil Walker
33. Brandon Moss
34. Steve Pearce
35. Jeff Clement
36. Bobby Crosby
37. Brandon Jones
38. Gorkys Hernandez
Let's see how this will pan out...
Let's Go Bucs!
MLB.com's Pirates beat writer Jennifer Langosch announced on her blog today that relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan will likely miss part of the season due to right flexor-pronator strain. The strain will result in Hanrahan, who was one of four pitchers considered a lock going into Spring Training, missing a portion of the start of the regular season. The length is unknown at this time.
Hanrahan came to the Pirates on June 30th last year, along with left fielder Lastings Milledge, from the Washington Nationals, in a trade for relieve pitcher Sean Burnett and outfielder Nyjer Morgan. on July 9, 2009 Hanrahan probably became the first pitcher to win a professional ball game while at home when he won a game for the Nationals, while being a member of the Pirates roster. All of this was thanks to a delayed game from May 5 where Hanrahan was the pitcher of record, as the Nationals played the Astros and made it up on that July afternoon.
