Good articles, every one. When I'm not feeling completely miserable (darn this ridiculous cough), I shall have to add some Gilbert & Sullivan verses to my Mariners article...

If the Jays won't need a fifth starter for the first two weeks of the season, why carry 12 pitchers? (In fact, why carry 12 pitchers at any time?)Seems like a wasted roster spot.

ESPN correspondents are paid approximately $0.0004 (Can.) per hit, and we earn it.

For every tenth column I post, Dan Patrick sends me a bag of dryer lint.

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Carrying 12 pitchers doesn't make much sense, especially if the reason behind it is just to allow for a second lefty specialist.
Bill James made some good points about this in his latest historical abstract. Basically, the number of times you gain the platoon advantage isn't worth the roster space, not when it could go to another bench player.

Personally, I'd just as soon take my chances with Politte, Lopez and Escobar in the late innings against a tough lefty, rather than waste a spot on a Kershner.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Bruce Aven snag a bench role as 4th OF and Catalanotto's platoon partner, thus allowing Werth to play everyday in Syracuse and up his value.

For every tenth column I post, Dan Patrick sends me a bag of dryer lint.

Always knew that boy's brains were going to be worth something someday.

The 12th pitcher in this case is Aquilino Lopez, who has to stay on the 25-man roster all year or be returned to Seattle. Based on what he did in AAA last year, and in winter ball, Lopez is more ready to be a contributor in a big-league bullpen than Corey Thurman was at this time last year. He's far more valuable as a long-term asset than a third C or fifth OF anchored to the end of the bench, so it's worth the temporary inconvenience.

I think an extra arm is important in April, even if you don't need a fifth starter the first two weeks. Cold weather and extra-inning games can exhaust an 11-man staff. Let's say Walker is deemed #5; he'll make one or two appearances in long relief before April 14, when he'd start. So Miller/Linton, the other long man, might not get quite as much work, but they will still be needed. Escobar, Politte, Creek, Tam, and the other LOOGY have defined roles, and Lopez is the wild card, as he can be used in 2-3 inning stints. By the way, I'm not being consulted on these roster decisions, so this is what I believe J.P. has decided, and I could be wrong.

Looks like the unbeaten streak is over; 10-5 Cleveland in the seventh. Nobody's perfect. Back away from the bandwagon, people...

Just read your column, Coach. Good stuff as always. A couple of questions:

- Are you sure that the Jays are going to drop Huckaby? Is Myers' defense good enough for him to carry most of the catching duties? Can he stay healthy at his age? I don't see Wilson + Myers being enough, unless the Jays are confident that Huckaby will clear waivers and be available if one of them goes down.

- I hope you're right about Hendrickson. In my experience, low K numbers usually mean that a pitcher doesn't have big-league stuff. Big Mark's K numbers are much better than Lyon's or Michalak's (or Bob File's), so he has a shot at sticking. But those K totals put him on John Cerutti's career path (except for the broadcasting part). Mind you, Cerutti was effective for three or four years, and the Jays would probably settle for that.

I assume that Hendrickson chose baseball because he's lefthanded - lefties that are even marginally competent will get lots and lots of chances.

For every tenth column I post, Dan Patrick sends me a bag of dryer lint.

Hang in there, Scott. Now that I'min my fourth year, every fifth column, I get an autographed bag of Stu Scott's belly button lint. (He's an "innie.")

You know, even as I hit "Post This Comment," I realized that may have been the worst post in the history of blogs everywhere.

I apologize. Boo-yah.

Are you sure that the Jays are going to drop Huckaby? Is Myers' defense good enough for him to carry most of the catching duties? Can he stay healthy at his age? I don't see Wilson + Myers being enough, unless the Jays are confident that Huckaby will clear waivers and be available if one of them goes down.

Wilson appears to be healthy, as does Myers, so there's no immediate reason to think they can't share the job about equally.

Myers's defense is actually pretty good... he's slowed some but he was always capable on the defensive. His throwing is good and he's much better at blocking balls than Huckaby is. He's enough of a veteran that he should be able to handle the game-calling aspect OK.

Huckaby clearing waivers is a pertinent question. I don't imagine that the Jays will have a problem sending him down; remember, the end of March is when everyone else is trying to clear up space on their 25- and 40-man rosters in order to cram in their useful NRIs.

A catcher who hits like Huckaby (who anyone could have had last winter) isn't likely to capture too much attention amidst all that. If someone does want him, the Jays should be able to work something out with whoever claims him, or just let him go and live with bringing up Cash if either Wilson or Myers goes down, or just call him back (revoke the waiver) and go with 11 pitchers temporarily while they wait for the claiming team to fill up their roster with someone else. :)

Catchers being catchers, any one of them could easily get hurt between now and then anyway.

Cerutti was effective for three or four years

We're certainly not talking about broadcasting, are we Dave?

Hendrickson's an exception to several rules -- he's past the age where rookies are most effective, and the K rate is a concern. But there's nothing wrong with his control (he almost never leaves a pitch up) and you can reasonably expect his stuff to improve -- a little -- with more experience. For a while, I thought they might use him in middle relief this year, and go with five righty starters, but since his designation as #3 (the best anyone expected was #4) I've been convinced they're going to give him a regular turn. Could he flop? I suppose, but it seems more likely he'll seize the opportunity.

I agree with every word Craig wrote about the catchers, and will add only that "Doc's-Personal-Receiver-Ken-Huckaby" yielded to Myers yesterday, which I predicted would happen soon enough, and nobody's got on base against them yet.

I don't really know much about Cerutti as a broadcaster. Whenever he and Brian Williams were broadcasting a game, I turned the sound down and put Tom and Jerry on. Why curse the darkness when I can light a candle?

You've made good points in your post. Hendrickson is a unique talent, and it's hard to predict his career path. One advantage he has is that he's used to playing at a major-league level, thanks to his time in the NBA, so he's less likely to have rookie jitters. But if he has to hit his spots consistently in order to be effective, he'll be in deep trouble if he starts missing them.

You're right: if Myers can handle the workload, and if Halladay is happy with him, Huck is probably gone. And even if he gets claimed on waivers, it's easy to find another guy like that.

(And, Mick: your post was not the worst in the history of blogging, as it contained no reference to Mike Piazza's sex life or anyone named Ackbar.)