Opening Day Lineups

If Matt Stairs can't play [hip], Shannon Stewart is expected to play leftfield. Hat tip to Ed Price:

TORONTO David Eckstein SS	NEW YORK Johnny Damon LF
Matt Stairs OR	Derek Jeter SS
Alex Rios RF	Bobby Abreu RF
Vernon Wells CF	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Frank Thomas DH	Jason Giambi 1B
Lyle Overbay 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Aaron Hill 2B	Jorge Posada C
Marco Scutaro 3B	Hideki Matsui DH
Gregg Zaun C	Melky Cabrera CF
Roy Halladay P	Chien-Ming Wang P

Good to see Cano traveling north in the lineup. I still suspect the young lefty bat will ultimately find a home in the five-spot this season.

Roster Set, Pettitte To DL

The roster is set, and my previous post's discussion has become a reality as Andy Pettitte has been placed on the disabled list and eligible to return Saturday.

Without further adieu, your 2008 New York Yankees:

Lineup
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF

Bench
Jose Molina C
Shelley Duncan IF/OF
Morgan Ensberg IF
Wilson Betemit IF

Rotation
Chien-Ming Wang
Mike Mussina
Phil Hughes
Ian Kennedy

Bullpen
Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
Kyle Farnsworth
LaTroy Hawkins
Billy Traber
Ross Ohlendorf
Jon Albaladejo
Brian Bruney

The Yankees will not have a long man to begin the season, but the extra relief spot during Pettitte's absence makes up for it. Joe Girardi says there will be a longman reliever in the Yankees bullpen at some point this season - probably sooner than later.

That's Offensive: The Detroit Tigers

Nothing groundbreaking here, but was pondering the top offenses in the American League. The Yankees and Red Sox are always prominent, but take a look at Detroit's potential lineup for 2008:

Curtis Granderson

Placido Polanco

Miguel Cabrera

Magglio Ordonez

Gary Sheffield

Carlos Guillen

Edgar Renteria

Ivan Rodriguez

Jacque Jones

That's about as scary a 1-8 as has ever been assembled. The Yankees offense is nothing to sneeze at, but the Tigers arguably have more firepower and consistency. Sheffield's health is a concern, but the real question mark is their pitching.

Can Dontrelle Willis return to form? Will Jeremy Bonderman ever put it all together? Is Nate Robertson able to emerge if Kenny Rogers continues to be an injury prone aging lefty? Justin Verlander can't pitch 600 innings.

The bullpen is just as porous with Fernando Rodney never able to stay on the field, Joel Zumaya recovering from shoulder problems and Todd Jones well still being Todd Jones.

Knowing Your Enemy

Travis Hafner turned it on in September, but Grady Sizemore slumped. Ryan Garko's defense worried the Indians, but his bat (.289/.359/.483) and walk-off heroics kept him in the lineup.

Franklin Gutierrez took Trot Nixon's job in June and refused to return it. Jhonny Peralta continues to decline, collecting half the homers and RBI post-all star break as he did pre-all star break: 14 HR, 50 RBI versus 7 HR, 22 RBI.

As is common with catchers, Victor Martinez did his best hitting during the first half of the season. However, he is still extremely dangerous, hitting .301 with 25 homers and 114 RBI on the season. Martinez leads Cleveland regulars in all three categories.

Probable Lineup

Sizemore
Cabrera
Hafner
Martinez
Garko
Peralta
Lofton
Gutierrez
Blake

The starting rotation, as everybody understands, is a two-horse race with Sabathia and Carmona leaving Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd in the rear-view. However, the bullpen is an interesting topic as Cleveland's two young setup men (Betancourt and Perez) totally outclass their closer.

Joe Borowski may have 45 saves on the season, but he also compiled an ERA over 5.00 and a 1.43 WHIP. He has a losing 4-5 record, blew eight saves, served up nine homers and allowed 11 more hits than innings-pitched.