This Chicago team looks dangerous. The pitching staff is deep with an impressive front 3 in Ben Sheets, Lee Meadows, and Joe Lake and the offense has a ton of top tier talent, especially if Mike Fiore or Duffy Lewis can continue their Spring production.
Final Roster
SP: Ben Sheets, Lee Meadows, Joe Lake, Mark Buehrle, Tricky Nichols.
RP: Herb Pennock & Ed Walsh; Koji Uehara; Akinori Otsuka & Ken Sanders; AJ Minter.
C: Carlton Fisk; Dave Nilsson
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Eddie Collins; Damian Jackson
3B: Dick Allen; Robin Ventura
SS: Luke Appling
LF: Duffy Lewis; Kevin Mitchell
CF: Mike Fiore; Cristobal Torriente
RF: Shoeless Joe Jackson
DH: Frank Thomas
Notes
It’s not clear how permanent it is, but for now Tricky Nichols will fill the 5th spot in the rotation … in a shock move, the American Giants promoted IF Damian Jackson from AAA to the big league roster despite him not seeing a single AB in the Spring: the performances of 2B Nellie Fox and SS Julio Gotay were that bad … Bob Watson did well, the problem for him was he offered little Kevin Mitchell didn’t, and Mitchell hit just that much better … the final position player was harsh, as Avisail Garcia did everything asked of him all Spring, slashing 326/408/372. But he was at the bottom of the OF pack, with Cristobal Torriente offering more both at bat and with the glove … Victor Cruz pitched quite well, but was sent down with Chicago’s decision to go with 11 pitchers …
RP Koji Uehara is one of the oldest players in the league at 39 while OF Cristobal Torriente is one of the youngest at 17.
Frank Smith is likely to be recalled if the pitching staff needs reinforcements while Bob Watson would be first in line to help offensively from AAA. Three players have been turning heads at AA: 21 year old 2B Rickie Weeks, who got an extended look in Spring Trianing, and a pair of 23 year olds, OF Magglio Ordonez and RP Scott Radinsky.
