BP Unfiltered

Could someone adjust the Indians depth chart to reflect Sizemore batting 2nd please.

-- CWS needs a 3b (Teahan?).
-- Teagarden (Tex) mentioned twice - Salty omitted.
-- Royals are indicating Callaspo bats third and DeJesus first.
-- Chavez (Oak) over Barton @ 1B? Eric is hitting under 200 wno walks this spring. And his spring .500 SLG is still well below Barton's. If one thinks they are going to play Chavez in the hope that someone will take some of his salary off their books, it still makes little sense to put him out there against King Felix on day one. As need to put Barton out there and see if they have anything.
-- Jepsen over Bulger in setup? Depth charts have it reversed. More likely to me thaey go back to old reliable Scot Shields.

--I was so shocked that Teahen was hitting third I forgot to type it.

--It's hard to spell Saltalamacchia and I noticed you can't, either. Anyhow, he's going to be the backup.

--Royals just made the change today and I got their info yesterday (it's hard to track down people from 30 teams in one sitting).

--It's going to be a 60/40 split between Chavez and Barton as far as playing time from what I've been told.

--Yes Jepsen is going to set-up up.

For Baltimore's depth chart, just to point out a typo, Guthrie is a RHP. Also, do you really think Castillo will make the pen even with Ohman winning the spring training LOOGY sweepstakes? I would guess Albers or even the hardthrowing Sarfate make it over Castillo as a middle man, especially since these two are out of options while Castillo
can be stashed at Norfolk.

Thanks for pointing that out about Guthrie. That last bullpen spot can go a lot of ways with the Orioles. For right now, it seems Castillo has the slightest of edge but that could change.

-LHP Wade Davis

It's hard enough to play in the East for Toronto without having to do it with 24 players when everyone else gets 25.

And Merkin Valdez makes 25 for the Jays, though it could go to Accardo.

On what basis/info do you believe Guerrier will close in MIN over Rauch?

I agree with the comments above re Teahan. I was shocked to see him in the 3 spot for Chicago. That is not a good sign for the south-siders. Similarly, the Royals are in trouble if Kendall is projected to bat anywhere but 9th in the order (possibly even in interleague play when visiting the NL).

Also, John, why do you think Mitch Talbot is CLE's 5th SP, given Carrasco's spring performance & much >> upside?

This screams for a table. A simplified version of the depth charts tables (which, as an aside, I wish I could get for all 30 teams without going to each page).

I am surprised to see Thayer in the Rays' bullpen instead of Benoit. If he is healthy, I think it is Benoit, although I suppose the Rays might start him in AAA to build his arm strength.

I really hope Chavez isn't the A's starting 1B. I don't even want him as backup IF, but I guess I could learn to tolerate that. I'd also take Fox over Patterson.

Good stuff, John. Thanks much!

Excellent stuff -- and corrective editing suggestions from the finest online baseball community around.

But what have you done for me today? Uh, I mean, will we get a similar NL list before my league's draft on Saturday? Pretty please?

Can we take a poll? Assuming this list is accurate; which team has the weakest opening day batting order?
I'll toss my hat in with the ChiSox having a Teahen bat third in the order. That's special.

Two observations:

-- Didn't realize just how ghastly the M's rotation looked behind Hernandez since Lee and Bedard are both on the DL.

-- Any word out of Toronto on Dustin McGowan's status?

the royals are stuck on the "unwatchable" part of the Process

Good work out the Toronto 25 man roster, my only changes would be McCoy instead of Reed, there have been quite a few reports that he is ahead of Reed and Gathright for the bench spot.

thanks for this. It makes me even more excited for Opening Day.

I have that feeling right now that I get when I'm at a concert, already in my seats, just waiting for the lights to go down.

Let's play ball!

Thanks oodles for this, John.
A few surprises:

TB: The biggest surprise of this entire exercise - and I wish someone could explain it to me: Why would the Rays go with Thayer over McGee?
I also thought Blalock had earned his way on the team, though, it would have to be at the expense of someone more popular.

Tor: I thought Encarnacion was hurt and the Jays would play Bautista at third, Lind in left, Snider in right, and Ruiz DH.

Min: Punto can't seem to hit anymore. How bad could Harris be at third? Why wouldn't they have a real outfielder on the bench to spell Cuddyer and Young? Perhaps, Jacques Jones isn't the perfect fit, but he hit well this spring. Are they hoping to snatch someone from somewhere?

Oak: Eric Patterson over Adam Rosales?

Where's Jensen Lewis?

Miner for the Tigers very probably won't start the season. Will it be Bonine or Willis as long reliever? (Can't believe I'm even typing "Willis", but the guy threw some more pretty good innings again today.)

I also have a feeling it'll be Kelly instead of Clete Thomas. Thomas has an option, Kelly doesn't and can play both outfield and some infield. Plus, kelly has had a pretty good Spring.

I hate these four man benches. They are boring compared to the platooning or interesting specialized bench players you could have instead of a 12th pitcher.

Everett will play at least until the Break, I would imagine. With a rookie in CF and another at 2B, I can't imagine the Tigers starting another rook at SS.

It is hard to imagine Everetts hitting could be worse than the 2nd half of last year, but this Spring he's accomplished just that.

His '10 BA will be lower'n a pregnant snakes belly in a wagon rut. The Mendoza Line will look like a membership to Mensa for ex-Governors from Alaska. (Ya know, impossible?) He won't break one single bat the entire season. Leylands good friend LaRussa is going to convince JL to hit Everett 8th.....THAT's how bad he is.

Don't you mean Mike Sweeney in Seattle?

One thing that would be very helpful is to mention at the very beginning what's changed since the last update.

Isn't Carlson expected to be part of the Jays bullpen if healthy?

It would also be really helpful (at least to me and my fantasy league) if you post the final actual opening day rosters for each league. It seems to be impossible to find them all in one place now, and some old school leagues like mine still use final opening day rosters as the bible for auction eligibility.

The Tigers are now down to 26 players. Nate Robertson was traded to the Marlins. That puts Dontrelle Willis on the roster and most likely in the rotation too. I would guess that Don Kelly will beat out Clete Thomas for the last bench spot due to versatility and health, but your guess is reasonable.

John, thank you for these regular updates. Very informative and interesting. However, it's hard to keep up with the discrete changes. Is there any way that you can preface these updates with a brief summary of the changes in each update?

Thanks again!

Your Blue Jay sources weren't all that accurate. Jesse Carlson and Jeremy Reed were sent down today. Is Tallet really going to start or is he the second lefty in the bullpen? Are the Jays really keeping Mike McCoy?

What BurrRutledge suggests. What BurrRutledge suggests. What BurrRutledge suggests.

How tough could doing this be?

I've stopped wading through the rosters and lineups. It's just not worth it going through all of them to find the one or two changes.

Oh. I see you're doing this through a separate "Unfiltered". My bad for reading this things from back to front.

Thank you!