There are about a billion articles in the mainstream and not so mainstream press out there, though there is not much to report. Grapefruit League action kicks off on Wednesday, and Mets fans in attendance will see Oliver Perez make the start as the battle for the rotation slots begins. Here are the candidates:
Glavine (lock)
El Duque (lock)
John Maine
Oliver Perez
Chan Ho Park
Aaron Sele
Mike Pelfrey
Jason Vargas
Jorge Sosa
Phillip Humber
Not including Pedro Martinez, due sometime after the All Star Break, there's 10 pitchers for 5 slots, or really 8 pitchers for 3 slots, when you lock in Glavine and El Duque for the one and two positions. Of course, despite what Glavine says, when you have two men over 40 at the front end of the rotation it's tough to imagine them both making 35 starts each. So, this could be interesting. Over the next few weeks I'll try to keep track of the speculation of the "experts," to see who is predicting what. In the meantime, let's get on with it already!
1 comment:
I think first four are set barring trades and assuming Maine or Perez doesn't have a horrible spring - they don't have anything left to prove in the minors. Park has a major league contract so has to be frontrunner for #5. After first couple weeks of season, maybe they even go to 6 starters to keep Glavine and El Duque from too many innings, in which case one of the kids gets a shot.
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