There are some teams out there that have some issues but so far they are being downplayed because it’s spring training. The 2010 season opens April 5th so the time for experimenting should almost be over.

St. Louis Cardinals – They have small nagging injuries to players like Matt Holliday (who they obtained this winter), Brendan Ryan (who had a good first outing yesterday, even though they are counting on him to play shortstop this season), and starter Chris Carpenter, who got rocked the other day. Good thing the season is a few weeks away.

New York Mets – Skipper Jerry Manuel admitted he doesn’t know who his 8th inning setup guy will be, call that Strike One. They don’t know who their center fielder will be, it could be Angel Pagan or they could move Fernando Martinez there (somebody has to replace Carlos Beltran), but he doesn’t look totally comfortable at that position, call that Strike Two. With Jose Reyes out, Alex Cora and a bevy of light hitting infielders will attempt to play shortstop. Omar Minaya had all winter to get a premier utility player and they didn’t. Call that Strike Three. BTW, John Maine, still seems to have trouble with his focus. On the plus side, Ike Davis, is the Mets best hitter this spring and if his fielding improves he can win the first base job for sure.

Philadelphia Phillies – It seemed like every BIG hitter the Tigers had were knocking around ace pitcher Roy Halladay yesterday. He gave up three runs but some of those shots were corraled by his fielders or he may have given up more than the three runs and six hits. Closer Brad Lidge won’t be ready for the opener and AA hitters knocked him around pretty good so the fact that he claims he is two weeks behind means it could be a bit longer than that. Placido Polanco was helped off the field a few days ago with a “right knee strain”. Oh-oh! Without Pedro Feliz there, Polanco needed to become reacquainted with third base, a position he hasn’t played in many years. Greg Dobbs is the backup third baseman.

Washington Nationals – The Nationals sent Stephen Strasburg to AA Harrisburg to fix his delivery. I am usually the first guy who says that all prospects need to pitch a certain amount of innings in the minors to make sure they are ready for the majors but not this time. He struck out eight batters in four innings the other day and he’s been stellar this spring. He’s 21, so he’s developed as a man, and the Nationals are sending him down because he loses some velocity while holding runners on base? That’s it? That’s all that’s wrong? I think that can be fixed at the major league level instead of robbing the Nationals fan base of seeing the most exciting young pitcher in the game.

That’s all for now.