Preview/Prediction

In my quest to post an article related to every Milwaukee Brewers player that I felt had a legitimate shot at making the 25-man roster to begin 2010, I knew this day would inevitably arrive.

The Reds have Scott Rolen locked in at third base which is the normal position for power-hitting youngster Juan Francisco .

Francisco gets a crack at joining the overcrowded group battling for left field on Tuesday. He has played third base and left field in his four-year minor league career.

The man can hit home runs, that is for certain. He hit two homers on Saturday against the Cubs and is batting .267 after wearing a size-three collar today against the Oakland A's.

On a freshly cut field in Sarasota, the sun is shining while four or five Orioles take batting practice. Adam Jones punishes room-service fastballs as Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis share a laugh. A new day shimmers as baseball is in the air. Little does this team know, they are the future.

The average baseball fan looks for success in their favorite team by simple facts. People want their stars to be home run hitters who hit 40 every season. They believe their relievers to be these fabulous athletes who can get 40 saves as well. A player is looked upon as a great hitter if he is able to hit 90 or more RBIs.

All those statistics that I just named are false tools. They ignore the true use of a baseball player and ignore what makes a star.

The White Sox lineup is filled with question marks, old guys, young guys, lots of strikeouts and low on-base percentages, but at the same time has the possibility of a solid statement, revamped turnarounds, breakout seasons and lots of speed.

It is is truly a perplexing lineup to predict.

The only two stable players you can truly predict to do what they have always done is Paul Konerko and A.J.

Yesterday I made my guess at which hitters will be named to the Tiger's opening day roster -- I'll finish up with the pitchers today.

The locks:
Justin Verlander (R)
Rick Porcello (R)
Ryan Perry (R)
Jose Valverde (L)

We're not quite halfway through the spring campaign yet, but I can already see that Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski will have some tough decisions to make before naming the 25 guys they'll take back to Detroit to begin the season.

We're probably looking at thirteen hitters on the opening day roster (12 pitchers), so let's try to figure out who it will be.

The locks:
Gerald Laird
Miguel Cabrera
Adam Everett
Brandon Inge
Johnny Damon
Magglio Ordonez
Carlos Guillen

Nearly locks:
Austin Jackson
Ryan Raburn
Ramon Santiago

Last year was pretty heartbreaking for Detroit Tigers fans, as they had to watch their team blow the seven-game lead they held at Labor Day. Detroit ended up tied with the Minnesota Twins but lost their one-game playoff in the 12th inning to miss out on the postseason. It was surprising that this team won as many games as they did when only two Tiger hitters had 275 at-bats and a batting average above .250. The pitching staff was a pleasant surprise though and should be strong once again in 2010.  Those hurlers give this team a real chance to compete for the division.

I realize that the title sounds a little arrogant, but it's true.  Allow me to explain to you how/why it's going to happen. 

The first reason is very simple: we have an easy starting schedule. Of the first 39 games we play, only six come against teams that had a winning record last year. We open the season with a three game series at Atlanta, and then host the Marlins for a three game series early in May.