Chew on that for awhile

Recently the United States Congress, which seems to have time on the hands these days, trying to convert the NCAA to a sweet 16 College Football format, and taking on steroids in baseball, have turned their gaze to the old act of tobacco and baseball.

Turn back the clock to the dead ball era, and pitchers would spit tobacco juice on the ball, and make it do remarkable stunts, namely avoid bats. These days the spitter is outlawed, but scuffers, scratchers, and scrapers have replaced spitters, but the juice is still around.

Well not if the US Congress has their way.

It will be illegal to chew tobacco in the major leagues, as the Congress believes it does not promote a healthy example to the youth of America.

Holy Smokes ! Chewin Tobacco is unhealthy ? Imagine my surprise to read that the US Government just made that connection. These would the same folks 25 years ago that defended the tobacco industry against the millions dying from lung cancer.

Now as we begin a new decade it is unseemly to be chewing tobacco, and we have no smoking signs in the showers ( Who the hell is smoking in the showers ? )

I don't disagree that it appears to be a real nasty looking piece of business, smelly, disgusting, and all that, but I not in favour of Congress' two face attitude after years of reaping sales taxes.

Poor Obama has enough to do fighting the angry Pharma companies who see record profits dip with a new health care agenda, now Obama's mates in Congress have lost what little wits I think they were born with.

Baseball used tobacco and Tobacco used baseball. Except for Honus Wagner who was dead set against his image being used to promote smoking.

He had his likeness recalled, and Honus was a big enough name to scare the tobacco exec's into pulling every damn card of his from circulation. It is why his card is worth so much money and so few still exist.

Bad enough our heroes are on Twitter, in strip clubs, casinos, in bars till 3 am, driving drunk, beating up their wives, or lovers, having children out of wedlock, and generally trying to keep pace with NFL players ( Sorry, until they start going to jail, baseball players are poor sisters tot he NFL and even the NBA )

I say to the US Congress "find a new hobby", take on organised Crime, South American Drug Lords, how about the war on Poverty, Old Age Security, Parks, and Wildlife. Take a look at the garbage mounting, and the waterways. Ask New Orleans if they need anymore help.

Save the whale, the American Eagle, restock the rivers and lakes, find a goddam cure for Cancer !!!! and stay to hell out of baseball, we have enough idiots running it, we don't need your 2 cents worth.

Right Bud..."What was that ? "..."Go back to sleep Bud, I wake for the next real crisis ".

Chew on that for awhile.

Who is on first ?

Or who should be on first base, in Toronto.

Currently Lyle Overbay holds down that job, and I sense no panic in Cito Gaston to make any changes after 1 month of the season.

After all Lyle is a a veteran, and deserves the opportunity to display his talents despite his early struggles.

All the while Rome burns, and Nero fiddles away nailing Randy Ruiz's butt to the pines. So Ruiz was asked about any apparent frustration, and he was quoted as saying, " after 11 years of playing in the minors, you develop patience, and I will just be ready when called on".

What did you think he was going to say, "Play me or trade me" no, Randy has no choice, and he is clearly either not in favour with the manager, as displayed on certain situations when a pinch hitter is required, and John Buck's or John McDonald's name gets announced. Hey Randy, change name to John, perhaps Cito will yell out for John to grab a bat, and you beat Buck or McDonald to the rack before anyone notices.

Also perculating down in Nevada is youngster Brett Wallace, who was as of yesterday hitting .282, with 8 long flies so far. Now it is the PCL league, and while I do not fully suscribe to the theory that all the parks are band boxes, with warm Southwest breezes blowing out, or rarified air in Colorado assiting those power numbers, his .671 Slugging % is something to keep an eye on.

So Lyle labours on in May hitting .165, with 2 home runs, hitting 5th in the order. Of course the naysayers would say, so Ruiz is only hitting .111, but c'mon, the kid has 18 at bats, and few actual starts, while Overbay has 79 at bats, he hit over .300 last year , and if given time , he might have caught Overbay for extra base hits, but he only showed up in late August.

I have this hunch that as we watch the year unfold, the manager, Mr. Gaston will be faithful to the vets, giving them long stretches of rope and patience, because what can anyone do, it his Cito's swan song, and he is stubborn enough not to care what the media, or idiot bloggers like moi think of his batting order.

Who will be on 1st next year is the greater question, and I think it will be Brett Wallace, becasue the next manager of the Jays will have a mandate of "play the kids, develop the talent, and grow the brand ", and not placate the vets, but for Randy Ruiz, this should have been his year, at least to platoon. At the rate Overbay is hitting, he will not garner muck trade deadline interest, BUT, if Cito changes his mind in June, and Ruiz catches fire, Ruiz might showcase himself for future duty here or elsewhere.

A Dry April concludes

April is coming to a close with a remarkable achievement, and that is we've been spared multiple rain outs across MLB.

Oh, it's been cold, and there has been the wet stuff, but Annie Lennox can save her voice, we have no need of "Here Comes the Rain Again".

By now, stadium mangers and schedule makers would be pencilling in make up dates in July or August, potential double headers would be possible, and the oh crap, the circus is in town, so let's go back to the drawing board.

Weather can be a great leveller of teams , if double headers begin to mount up, it depletes your pitching staff, the vast majority of double dips are split, and it creates travel headaches. But this year not so much. Of course ask the fans you sit in rain slickers or bundled under blankets whether they would prefer a nice mid August double header, and you would get a different answer. And Bud know sit, but not even Bud Light can control the elements, heck he can't control much of anything, but let's save a Bud Bash for another blog.

Another Jays bullpen meltdown, Downs and Gregg followed up a great Shaun Marcum outing by there late inning "spring giveaway" of walks and gaffs. Was that the mighty RedSox manufacturing runs last night, the same club that ratta tat tat out 17-18 hits and 13 runs.

Oh, and when Paul Beeston are you giving the official Okey Dokey to Rogers Centre crew to let the roof open. I know it has been rather nippy of late in T.O., but I watched the Mets and Dodgers play at new Citi Field, and it looked liked folks were stuffed in a meat locker. Joe Torre's eyebrows actually froze !!! C'mon Paul, you get 12 , maybe 13,000 family and friends show up, at least remind them the roof opens. After all, as I said, there has been little rain.

Let's hope we get a few raindrops in May, creating a few double dips, and that they get a can of WD40 out of the locker and open the roof at the Dome, just let the patrons see the stars in the sky rather than the stiffs on the field.

4 losses in a row, c'mon, we need the Orioles to come visit, and cure our ills. I guess any thought of a 27-14 start like last year is just about gone, especially after that 6-2 start.

I had a great response to my Baseball & Music ( One person applauded it ) that I may revisit the mixture. Songs I would banished to a desert island, and baseball players I would like to banish as well, at least to give Tom Hanks a break.

Cheers !

Baseball and Music

Recognise this dude ?

Former member of the Punk group called the New York Dolls ? Still no connection ?

How about Buster Poindexter ?

Getting warm , hey remember "Hot Hot Hot".

When I came across this fictitious baseball card, a mid 1950's version, it touched my 2 biggest loves, music and baseball.

With a long train ride to Montreal last week, armed with Ipod and a new baseball book to read, I was in a great mood.

Heck I even like the organist at the ballgame churning out cheers to the faithful. So if you will indulge me a diversion from strictly baseball writings, I will offer some of my favorite tunes.

So, I am on the desert island, and I can have 50 songs to keep me from going nuts. Of course if I have a radio and I can pull in a ballgame, even better.

Here, in no particular order are the 50.

Centrefield - John Fogarty

Cannonball - Supertramp

Desolation Row - Bob Dylan

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Layla - Eric Clapton

Paint it Black - Rolling Stones

Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughn

Walkin on the Sun - Smashmouth

Another Brick in the Wall ( Part 1 ) - Pink Floyd

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

Satisfaction - Rolling Stones

Tom Sawyer - Rush

It's my Life - Talk Talk

8 Days a Week - The Beatles

People are People - Depeche Mode

Magic Bus - The Who

Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil

Thunder on the Mountain - Dylan

Rocket Man - Elton John

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group

Have a Nice Day - Bon Jovi

Hey notice no Celine Dion or chick singers......okay just checked on the Jays, wow, they were down 5 doughnut, now it is 6-6....okay now we head back to the Casey Kassem top 50 desert island extravaganza.

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

Money - Pink Floyd

Story in your eyes - The Moody Blues

You can't always get what you want - Stones

Oh Christ it is 8-6 for the Red Sox, see what happens if you change channels too fast.

Taxi - Harry Nilsson

Idiot Wind - Bob Dylan

I went 3-3 in my AL Brett fantasy team, I got like zero offense and great pitching staff so far.

White Wedding - Billy Idol

Walk this Way - Aerosmith

Street with no Name - U2 ( what ? did you think there would be no U2 ) C'mon folks

Sultans of Swing - Dire Straights

How many is that ? 33 , gotta bare down now...

Hotel California - The Eagles

Clocks - Coldplay

A Day in the Life - The Beatles

Comfortly Numb - Pink Floyd

China Grove - The Doobie Brothers

Damn that Vernon Wells, 2 on , none out, swingin at that damn 1st pitch.

Oh Boy, looks le the Habs are forcing a Game 7 , up 3 doughnut with 12 minites left, but I digress, I hope I catch fish on this desert island ?

One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer - George Thoroughgood

Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings

Okay only 10 more, and guess what, them damn Jays have tied it at 8-8.....

Light my Fire - The Doors ( and you know Jimmy loved baseball )

Long and Winding Road - The Beatles

Won't get fooled again - The Who

Purple Haze - Jimmy Hendrix

Candle in the Wind - Elton John

Beautiful Day - U2

Hells Bells - AC DC

Burning down the House - Talking Heads

Bloody Well Right - Superttramp

Lunatic Fringe - Red Rider

Oh one bonus track, Limelight by Rush, needed one last bit of Canadian content.

Now I hope the batteries last more than an hour........ oh and the Jays are still in the top of the 5th, now 9-8 for the Rosy Red Hoisery .

Time to speed up Time

Bud Selig thinks umpire Joe West may be onto to something. Apparently Joe decided to chastise the Yankees and Red Sox for slow play in there recent 3 game set. Bud just wishes Joe West had not gone out and actually said it to both teams so openly.

Ah c'mon Bud, not everyone can shove their head up their own arse as well as you do. The average time was 3 hours and 22 minutes, easily about 40 minutes more than all other games.

It seems that when the New Yorks plays the Bostons, it becomes this move / counter move, excessive trips to the mound, team huddles, chess like manouevers with pitchers.

It is made worse because ESPN, and the other networks decide to fill all the dead air non playing time with inane babbling, internal promotions, where is Dan Schulman when we need him. Good Canadian boy describes the game, and gets out of the way.

I an afraid of these extra long games will become a norm, as the Mets and Nats just played a 3 hr plus National League version, and those teams just stink, so lousy teams are getting into the act.

It is a perverse "time displacement", like a Salvador Dali reflection of time being bent by the baseball gods. Games that exceed the 3 hour mark had better be a barn burner, because no matter how good your seats are, your ass is going to get sore after awhile.

After week one we have some expected results,

KC still stinks

So do the Orioles, especially their bullpen.

Astros on their way to record worst year

Yanks adding Grandy and Vazquez should cruise

Angels plug in Matsui, Vladdy Who ?

So I sit watching the Jays play their Opening Day, and in the top of the 8th, and some nights wishing I had had a way to speed up the game, why, well I always hope we will start to see more doubleheaders on the schedule. Oh I want more baseball, I just want it in the right proportions.

Runners now on 1st and 2nd, and Rios already 3-4, we might just have that dreaded 3 hour game. Where is Joe West ??

Time to speed things up, it's not chess guys ! It's baseball.

Grand Opening

Time to make those excuses to the boss, those last minute visits to the dentist, or hell, just take a vacation day.

It's Opening Day all over the baseball world, Jays in Texas, Braves and Cubs, Astros home to the Giants and the Cards and Reds.

Fat Albert cranked out 2 long flies, and rookie of the year Jason Heyward went 2-5, a homer, and 5 ribbies.

Verlander and Grienke faced off, after Beckett and Sabathia battled last night at Fenway.

Actually that's my pet peeve today. Opening Day should be "day", not this Sunday Night ESPN regular routine. It should 12:55 pm in Cincinnati, with their parade through by the mayor, the owner, all the way to Riverfront Stadium.

For over 80 years baseball maintained that tradition, and allowed Cincy to be "the 1st pitch" thrown. Somehow we have let the networks take yet another tradition away.

Despite their efforts the great thinkers cannot screw it up, baseball still has opening day heroes and stories to tell.

Stories so far,


Halladay awesome in Philly debut
Albert Pujols jacks 2 dingers, goes 4-5.
Jays closer implodes
Linecum tosses gem
Red Sox out slug Bronx Bombers , with Big Youk leading the way.
Carlos Zambrano shellacked by Atlanta
Jack Cust dropped to make room for Eric Chavez
USA Today reports 14 teams have reduced their 2010 payroll.

Still come Angels vs Twins and A`s -M`s

You just can`t beat Opening Day, even when it`s night, right Yogi !

My All Time favourites

Let's start on the mound.

If I have to build a rotation, let me start with Koufax.

I will go to battle with the man with the golden left arm said the prophet. He must have known about Sandy, he could defeat the enemies of the Dodgers, the Reds, he Braves, and especially the Giants.







The great "Catfish" Jim Hunter is my number 2 starter, he another hunter of big game, in BIG GAMES. I also preferred Catfish with his handle bar mustache in that A's uniform.









The Great Bob Gibson, he would knock down his grandmother one coach said about Bob. Asked the question , Gibby replied, well it would depend if she was crowding the plate, and if there were runners on.










Was he great, no, was a world series hero, no. Was he my favorite Blue Jay, you bet your ass he was. No one , save for Halladay has ever equaled his intensity. Was he a pain in the ass, sure as, well enough of about that. Taking him out of a game was admitting failure, and he rarely wanted to admit failure. He had one helluva slider, and he had out pitches, more than he usually needed. I believe that if he had Henke & Ward in the time he was starting, and just a smidgen of offense, 2-3 20 win seasons were very possible.








Just in case we decide a 5 man rotation is needed, I will have Wilbur the Wonder Arm, Wilbur Wood, the left handled knuckler, who could start, relieve, pitch over 250 innings, whatever you need, the Chi Sox lefty could deliver.








In the pen, well I am going to give you 3, and the next blog will be the players by position, and the manager.

Rollie Fingers
Tom Henke
Tug McGraw

A New Target

Target Field / Minnesota



"Where's the roof ? "

In April of 2010, the Minnesota Twins will play in a new playpen. This one has no baggy outfield wall. Or speakers suspended on high to deflect high pop ups.

Just blue sky, fresh air, real grass, yes, real grass and dirt cut outs, red clay along the warning track, plus the usual smell of popcorn, cold beer and yelling of vendors.

It's a new ballpark for the Twinkies and it has been awhile since the played at the Met, no not the Opera House. They played outdoors at the Metropolitan Stadium. Killebrew, Carew, Blyleven, and Mitterwald, and Tony Oliva. These were the heroes who patrolled the Met, in April when the temps hit a lusty 40 degrees F. Now thanks to global warming, they expect 50 degrees or better next week. Well it was not all that warm in South Florida, so what the heck.

Now they will be led out by newly Twin for life Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span, the O Dog, and Jason Kubel.

I guess there may be a spot in the outfield where a new Target sign will signify " Hit it Here ", win a shopping spree. Maybe just a sign of the times, but the sun will shine on it, the air will be rank with the smell of outdoor baseball, and I for one applaud more daylight than den-light.










I just hope come October they have warm weather in Minnesota, otherwise there will be many who pine for the Dome, the baggy and the 72 degree indoor comfort. But those are not true fans, and Minnesotans are made of sterner stuff, oh cannot wait till they play football outdoors in Minny in December. Good old Bud Grant weather.

Bernie Carbo - High on Life

A big game player usually gets high off his performance, but Bernie Carbo was high before he hit the field.

I probably smoked two joints, drank about three or four beers, got to the ballpark, took some [amphetamines], took a pain pill, drank a cup of coffee, chewed some tobacco, had a cigarette, and got up to the plate and hit,’’ Carbo said.

The Sox were four outs from elimination against Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in Game 6 when Carbo came off the bench to smash a three-run home run into the center-field bleachers, tying the score at 6-6. The blast set up Carlton Fisk’s arm-waving, 12th-inning walk off home run for the ages.

Drugs, alcohol, and temptation were his downfall.

“I played every game high,’’ he said. “I was addicted to anything you could possibly be addicted to. I played the out field sometimes where it looked like the stars were falling from the sky.

“I played baseball 17 years of my life and I don’t think I ever missed a day of being high, other than when I went to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait [for a baseball clinic] in 1989. And the only reason I didn’t do any drugs there was that I was afraid that I would lose my life.’’

Carbo, who said he hasn’t touched alcohol or drugs in 15 years, travels throughout New England every summer preaching at youth camps, 12-step programs, prisons, and churches. He uses the nominal money from his fantasy camp to pay expenses.

The Sox acquired the left handed-hitting Carbo and Rick Wise in October 1973 from the Cardinals for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.

“When I first met [Red Sox owner] Mr. Yawkey, he was shining shoes in the clubhouse,’’ said Carbo, “and I went up to him and gave him $20 and told him to get me a cheeseburger and fries.’’

Carbo was one of the most popular Red Sox players. Charismatic and colorful, he was part of the fun-loving “Buffalo Heads’’ with Bill Lee and Ferguson Jenkins.

He had a giant stuffed gorilla named Mighty Joe Young and traveled with him. The two were inseparable. The gorilla sat next to him in the middle seat on planes. Carl Yastrzemski wanted the gorilla placed on the bat rack in the dugout.

“Yaz said we were winning and hitting,’’ said Carbo.

In the 1975 Fall Classic, the Sox were underdogs against the Reds of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez.

Carbo was on the bench for most of it. His old Cincinnati teammates were sympathetic. Pitcher Clay Carroll inscribed a picture for him: “Good luck in the World Series.’’ But when Carbo blasted a pinch-hit homer off him in Game 3 at Cincinnati, Carbo returned later to find his locker ransacked.

Carbo couldn’t break his addictions.

“I just kept druggin’, druggin’, and druggin’ and contemplating suicide,’’ he said.

Eventually his old Buffalo Head teammates came to the rescue.

“Bill Lee called me and he said, ‘Are you doing OK?’ And I said, ‘I’m tired and I don’t want to live anymore.’ ’’

Jenkins, a Hall of Famer, put him in touch with Sam McDowell, who is a counselor for the Baseball Assistance Team, which provides emergency assistance to baseball players in dire straits.

Carbo entered rehab in Tampa, but had a panic attack.

“I ended up in a Tampa hospital,’’ he said. “Five hundred beds in a hospital and I’m in a room with a Baptist pastor.’

Carbo, who conducts a fantasy camp each year at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Ala., that combines baseball and gospel, in 1993 founded the Diamond Club Ministry, a Christian evangelical organization. He played for six major league teams in his 12-year career, and he batted .264 with 96 home runs and 358 RBIs in 1,010 games. But he was out of baseball by age 33.

Carbo, who said he hasn’t touched alcohol or drugs in 15 years, travels throughout New England every summer preaching at youth camps, 12-step programs, prisons, and churches. He uses the nominal money from his fantasy camp to pay expenses.

Bernie Carbo, now is getting his highs from helping others.

Way Out West

LINEUP:

1. SS Erick Aybar

2. RF Bobby Abreu

3. CF Torii Hunter

4. DH Hideki Matsui

5. 1B Kendry Morales

6. LF Juan Rivera

7. 2B Howie Kendrick

8. C Mike Napoli/Jeff Mathis

9. 3B Brandon Wood

ROTATION:

1. RHP Jered Weaver

2. LHP Joe Saunders

3. RHP Ervin Santana

4, RHP Joel Pineiro

5. LHP Scott Kazmir

In order to be the best they can be — and continue their dominance of the division — the Angels will need their quintet of starting pitchers to stay healthy and lead the way. Free agent Hideki Matsui should be able to replace Guerrero's offensive numbers. But replacing the spark Figgins provided at the top of the lineup will be more difficult. Youngsters like Erick Aybar and Kendry Morales will have to prove their breakout seasons in 2009 were no flukes and possibly take on even more of the offensive load in 2010.

THE ANGELS WILL CONTEND IF ...: The rotation is as deep and consistent as the Angels expect it to be and the offense is able to replace the spark provided by departed free agent Chone Figgins. Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders have all been 16-game winners within the past two seasons, with Santana and Saunders making the All-Star team in 2008.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: 2B Howie Kendrick. The ball is jumping off Kendrick's bat again the way it has for most of his career. A .300 hitter at every stop in his pro career including his first three major league seasons, Kendrick regressed in 2009 and was demoted to Class AAA in midseason. He came back in July and is ready to resume his everyday role in 2010.

ON THE DECLINE: OF Bobby Abreu. The Angels got one of the best bargains in baseball last season when they signed Abreu as a free agent on the eve of spring training. His plate discipline and consistent approach were particularly valuable as he emerged as a mentor for some of the Angels' younger players, prompting the Angels to sign him to a two-year extension. At age 36, though, Abreu's power numbers are in decline and his overall productivity began to sag in the second half of last season.

I would not bet against their repeat.

LINEUP:

1. CF Coco Crisp

2. LF Rajai Davis

3. RF Ryan Sweeney

4. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

5. 1B Eric Chavez/Daric Barton

6. C Kurt Suzuki

7. DH Jack Cust

8. 2B Mark Ellis

9. SS Cliff Pennington

ROTATION:

1. RHP Ben Sheets

2. LHP Dallas Braden

3. RHP Justin Duchscherer

4. LHP Brett Anderson

5. RHP Trevor Cahill

Oakland's issue this season might be power, or lack thereof. Jack Cust is the team's top home run hitter, and the other regulars with power are Chavez and, to a lesser extent, new third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and catcher Kurt Suzuki.

So the A's will run this season, after picking up the pace in that department last year, when they were third in the league in stolen bases. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson came in during the spring as a special baserunning instructor, and during the winter, the A's signed free agent Coco Crisp, who should team with Rajai Davis to be a potent running threat at the top of the Oakland lineup.

The A's also added Kouzmanoff and outfielder Gabe Gross during the winter, along with infielders Adam Rosales and Jake Fox. Rosales played so well during the spring, there was some thought he might even get a shot at the everyday shortstop job rather than the utility infield spot. Chavez has said he can be the utility infielder, despite a right (throwing) shoulder that has had two surgeries; he has won six Gold Gloves at third, and he was drafted as a shortstop.

There is depth everywhere, and there are some prospects to keep an eye on, too: first baseman Chris Carter and outfielder Michael Taylor (from the Cliff Lee/Roy Halladay trade) have a good shot to be called up this season.

THE A'S WILL CONTEND

IF ...: Eric Chavez's back holds up and Ben Sheets returns to All-Star form after several years of arm trouble. With a $56 million payroll, Oakland will need to avoid the extreme DL use of the past three seasons and also will have to get some breaks in order to stay in it. And the A's must figure out a way to score runs; the projected lineup has few power threats.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: 1B Daric Barton had a terrific spring, more like what the team had expected the past two years. However, h

e's getting pressure from all sides. Eric Chavez is expected to get regular time at first, and the A's top prospect, Chris Carter, is also a first baseman. Barton also had laser eye surgery during the winter. He had better put up numbers, or the A's have many other options.

ON THE DECLINE: RHP Michael Wuertz made 74 appearances last year and he throws lots of sliders, which aren't easy on the arm. The team scheduled its primary setup man for a light spring, and he still had some shoulder soreness. It would be difficult for Wuertz to top last season no matter what: His 102 strikeouts led AL relievers.

LINEUP:

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki

2. 2B Chone Figgins

3. 1B Casey Kotchman

4. LF Milton Bradley

5. DH Ken Griffey Jr.

6. 3B Jose Lopez

7. CF Franklin Gutierrez

8. C Rob Johnson

9. SS Jack Wilson

ROTATION:

1. RHP Felix Hernandez

2. RHP Ian Snell

3. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith

4. LHP Jason Vargas

5. RHP Doug Fister

Despite the addition to the lineup of three veteran performers — Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley and Casey Kotchman — the Mariners have fewer homers among the members of their 40-man roster (134 hit by them last year) than the 2009 total of 160 the club actually put up.

So more than in 2009, the Mariners are going to have to score runs by skill and stealth. The free-swinging club hit well enough in the clutch last year but had trouble getting runners on base in the first place.

That should change this time around with Ichiro Suzuki, Figgins, Bradley and Kotchman all having histories of high on-base percentages.

The other part of the equation is the defense. Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez are both among the best in the business, as is shortstop Jack Wilson. Figgins is a serious improvement at his new position, second base. And the former incumbent there, Jose Lopez, has spent the spring working hard to take in the nuances of play at the hot corner.

If all the pieces are in place, then the Mariners have the look of a contender, particularly if Erik Bedard (left shoulder surgery) can come back in May and give the team three strong starters.

But if not, it's hard to see this team competitive deep into the season because the offense just isn't there. The loss of power potential in the persons of Adrian Beltre and Russell Branyan can't be overstated. The Mariners simply don't have the power to compete in the American League West, and if Lee is out for a substantial period of the season, they won't have the starting pitching, either.

THE MARINERS WILL CONTEND IF ...: LHP Cliff Lee is back and effective in mid-to-late April, LHP Erik Bedard is back and effective in late May or early June, and if the Mariners can come up with RBI bats that will knock in RF Ichiro Suzuki and 2B Chone Figgins consistently. The underlying assumption here is that the defense will be among the best in the league. If it's not, the pitching will suffer and the Mariners will have trouble winning more games than they lose. Teamwork and camaraderie got the Mariners back to playing winning baseball last year. That's tough to do two years running, and if that fades, so will the Mariners.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: RHP Ian Snell has never pitched for a winner before, but he may get the chance this year. He'll enter the rotation as the No. 2 man until LHP Cliff Lee is healthy, and for once he has a chance to be pitching for something big past April and May. He went 5-1 in his final nine starts last year, giving a hint that he likes pitching when there's something at stake.

ON THE DECLINE: DH Ken Griffey Jr. hasn't shown the Mariners the kind of bat speed that he had as recently as 2008 with the Reds and White Sox. It may still be there, but unless he finds it again — and he hadn't through the first three weeks of Cactus League games — he could be in for a long summer.

Do not forget these guys, if they get starting pitching...well I think I have said that for the last 15 years, but it continues to be true.

There line up is too dicey to guess right now, so I have settled for what are key areas.

While it hasn't been a pretty spring training, the Rangers believe that the injuries have been minor and that the rotation is deep and balanced. They may have learned to expect the unexpected, but they still expect to contend in 2010.

THE RANGERS WILL CONTEND IF ...: The middle of the order has bite. OF Josh Hamilton must return to close to the All-Star form he displayed in 2008 and must be on the field for more than the 89 games he played last year. Hamilton, who will hit third, will be helped by the presence of cleanup hitter Vladimir Guerrero — if Guerrero is healthy. Guerrero played only 100 games for the Angels in 2009.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: 1B Chris Davis was sent to Class AAA Oklahoma City last July after hitting just .202 through the first three months of the 2009 season. After returning six weeks later, he hit .308 over the final six weeks of the season. He has bonded with hitting instructor Clint Hurdle, who also helped Colorado's Brad Hawpe adjust to the big leagues, and Davis seems much more comfortable with his swing.

ON THE DECLINE: RHP Darren O'Day was a key part of the Rangers bullpen last year, but a reliever's performance from one year to the next is notoriously unpredictable. Add in that O'Day has missed a significant portion of camp with soreness in his right elbow (blamed on a bone bruise) and that he is a side-arm pitcher who relies on perfect technique, and it might be a long y

ROTATION ANALYSIS: The Rangers believe they have more depth and balance to the rotation than in a number of years. The potential is there, but there are questions all over the place. Harden has not pitched 150 innings since 2004. Wilson is transitioning from the bullpen after an abortive attempt at starting in 2005. Feldman has only one full year in the rotation. Harrison is coming back from surgery to improve circulation to his arm, and Lewis hasn't pitched in the United States since 2007.

That said, the Rangers had six legitimate contenders for the rotation midway through camp, but RHP Tommy Hunter suffered a ribcage strain and will open the season on the disabled list. He should be ready by mid-April, which should make for some interesting decisions.

The rotation could be quite good, but it depends on Harden reaching that elusive 150-inning threshold. The Rangers aren't looking for 200 innings. If they got 150 out of him, they would consider his signing a success. They got 949 innings from the rotation last year, up 80 from the previous season. It's important they at least duplicate the 2009 innings. If they do so, they'll be in a lot of games.

BULLPEN ANALYSIS: While LHP C.J. Wilson has demonstrated his worth to the rotation, pulling him out of the bullpen leaves a lot of potential holes. He was awesome as the primary setup man last year, but he was also versatile enough to fill in ably for Francisco during the regular closer's three stints on the disabled list.

Feliz and Oliver likely will share the eighth-inning role, but Feliz has never pitched on back-to-back days in the majors, and Oliver, 39, has never been a team's primary setup man.

The potential key to the bullpen is Ray, who was a successful closer in Baltimore before blowing out his elbow. As he continues to come back (he pitched last year after missing 2008), he could grow into the Wilson role of MVP (Most Versatile Pitcher).