3/2 SPRING TRAINING INFO

[shawn555]

Looking for starter info for tomorrows games will post what i find here.

FULL ROTATION: Jon Adkins will get plenty of chances to prove himself, at least in the early going. Not only will he start Wednesday's Cactus League opener against the Colorado Rockies, he already is scheduled to get a second start Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In between Adkins' starts, the Sox will send Mark Buehrle to the mound Thursday against the Diamondbacks and start Hernandez and Freddy Garcia on Friday in the Sox' only split-squad day of the spring. Hernandez will face the Diamondbacks and Garcia the Rockies.

McCarthy will start Saturday against the Diamondbacks. Jose Contreras and Garland will get their early spring work in relief before moving back to the rotation.

Nationals
Armas is slated to get seven starts during the exhibition season, according to pitching coach Randy St. Claire. In the first game, Armas will pitch two innings, followed by rookie left-hander Michael Hinckley, Jon Rauch, T.J. Tucker and Gary Majewski.

Manager Frank Robinson said he would have his regular lineup on the field to start the Grapefruit League season:
1) Endy Chavez -- center field
2) Cristian Guzman -- shortstop
3) Jose Vidro -- second base
4) Guillen -- right field
5) Brad Wilkerson -- left field
6) Vinny Castilla -- third base
7) Nick Johnson -- first base
8) Brian Schneider -- catcher
9) Armas – pitcher

Mets
Randolph gave a glimpse of what his lineup will look like during the intrasquad games this week. Expect Jose Reyes to lead off and Kaz Matsui to bat second. Beltran would normally slot in third, but with Piazza and Floyd not on the trip, he may bat cleanup with David Wright getting the nod behind Reyes and Matsui.

 

[shawn555]

Tom Glavine is starting for the Mets

 

[IE]

not for tomorrow but this oakland's plans coming up..

Dan Haren will start Oakland's spring opener Thursday, going against the Cubs.
Haren will be followed on the mound by fellow prospect and likely rotation member Joe Blanton. Dan Meyer and Keiichi Yabu are set to go on Friday against Milwaukee, Barry Zito makes his spring debut Saturday, and Rich Harden goes Monday against Arizona. The A's are setting things up for Zito to start Opening Day.

 

[IE]

Marklins:A.J. Burnett will make his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday. Josh Beckett and Al Leiter will pitch during Thursday's home opener against the Orioles. Unsure who would start Friday, McKeon all but ruled out Ismael Valdez.

Slotted as the fifth starter, Valdez is recuperating from a viral infection and has missed much of the on-field workouts.

"He came out and got his throwing in," McKeon said. "We wanted him to get the hell out of here so he wouldn't get the whole clubhouse sick."

 

[shawn555]

For many years, little was riding on Scott Erickson's first spring training start. He was a fixture in the rotation of the Minnesota Twins from 1990 to 1995 and the Baltimore Orioles from 1995 to 2003.

Every opportunity counts as a non-roster invitee, however. Erickson will start today's Grapefruit League opener against the Florida Marlins.

"I always approach every start as if I'm trying to win a job," Erickson said. "To make the team, you have to pitch good."

 

[Terryray]

more for Wed from mlb.com

more for Wed from mlb.com

A.J. Burnett will start and toss about 50 pitches.

Lo Duca is one of four projected regular-season starters making the trip to Vero Beach. He joins outfielders Juan Pierre, Miguel Cabrera and Juan Encarnacion.

Not making the trip are Carlos Delgado, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo and Alex Gonzalez.

Because he didn't get a ton of work done in the offseason, McKeon will gradually bring along Lo Duca.

"He'll get plenty of work in before the season starts," McKeon said.

Lo Duca didn't play in Tuesday's exhibition against the University of Miami, and he is not going to be in the lineup on Thursday against the Orioles at Roger Dean Stadium, because his wife and newborn child are due to arrive in town.

Scheduled to follow Erickson to the mound against the Florida Marlins are Joel Hanrahan, Franquelis Osoria, Buddy Carlyle and Aquilino Lopez.

A rusty Dontrelle Willis surrendered six runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings Tuesday afternoon in the Marlins' 9-7 loss to the University of Miami.


The Dodgers, who went on to win the 2004 National League West title, were 12-22 in exhibition play last spring, the worst record in the division and second-worst in baseball.

Manager Jim Tracy said he had not decided which of his regular position players would start Wednesday. It could be the Dodgers debut for second baseman Jeff Kent, third baseman Jose Valentin and right fielder J.D. Drew.

........................


Rox bits: Right-hander Jamey Wright, the projected fourth starter, is scheduled to start for the Rockies on Wednesday. Also listed on the pitching chart are left-hander Matthew Merricks, a Rule 5 Draft choice from Los Angeles, who must either make the squad or be offered back to the Dodgers, right-handers Aaron Taylor, Jason Young and Scott Dohmann, lefty Javier Lopez and right-hander Scott Chiasson.

Wright is slated to start for the Rockies in Wednesday afternoon's Spring Training opener against the Chicago White Sox at Tucson Electric Park. He said he is approaching camp with the same aggression he brought the last two years when he was in the Seattle and Chicago Cubs camps under minor league contracts.

"No, I don't feel like I can relax at all this spring," said Wright, expected to be the Rockies' No. 4 starter. "I'm trying to impress Clint [Hurdle] and [general manager Dan] O'Dowd. I guess it's the competitor in me."

Wright went 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in 14 starts with Colorado after being signed out of the Kansas City organization last season.

Hurdle said he will expect more of each pitcher than simply throwing.




Lineup feature: With the Rockies playing at an American League park, Hurdle is taking advantage of the designated hitter and the Spring Training situation by starting left-handed hitting Andy Tracy in the No. 2 spot. Tracy, who led the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with 120 RBIs last season, is not a No. 2 hitter, but Hurdle wants to assure him of at-bats against top-line pitching.

Shortstop Clint Barmes, projected as the No. 2 hitter behind second baseman Aaron Miles, will bat eighth. Hurdle also will get an early look at non-roster center fielder Reggie Taylor, formerly with Philadelphia and Cincinnati.



Colorado's batting order will be Miles, Tracy, first baseman Todd Helton, left fielder Matt Holliday, right fielder Brad Hawpe, third baseman Garrett Atkins, catcher J.D. Closser, Barmes and Taylor.


Rowand and his teammates get their wish Wednesday, with manager Ozzie Guillen featuring what could be his regular-season lineup against right-handed pitching. Scott Podsednik leads off in left, followed by Tadahito Iguchi at second, Carl Everett as the designated hitter, Paul Konerko at first base, Jermaine Dye in right, Pierzynski behind the plate, Rowand in center, Joe Crede at third and Juan Uribe at shortstop

The position players probably will stay in the game for two at-bats Wednesday, according to Guillen. Jon Adkins gets the start on the mound, opposing Colorado's Jamey Wright, and will be followed by closer Shingo Takatsu, Damaso Marte, Luis Vizcaino, Cliff Politte, Neal Cotts, Dustin Hermanson and Felix Diaz.

Don't try to convince Adkins or Diaz that Spring Training games aren't important. With one roster spot remaining, both pitchers need to impress during almost every inning. One bad outing against Seattle basically sealed the fate of Jason Grilli during Spring Training last year.

Regardless of the roster battles, neither Guillen nor general manager Ken Williams take these games lightly. They realize that a winning record doesn't necessarily translate to success once the 2005 campaign begins.