Spring Training - The Starters

40-Man Roster Players:

• Andrew Brackman (injured)
• Joba Chamberlain
• Phil Hughes
• Kei Igawa
• Jeff Karstens
• Ian Kennedy
• Jeffrey Marquez
• Mike Mussina
• Carl Pavano (injured)
• Andy Pettitte
• Humberto Sanchez (injured)
• Chien-Ming Wang

Non-Roster Invitees:

• Alan Horne
• Daniel McCutchen
• Darrell Rasner

As I said yesterday, there's a lot more going on with the pitchers than the catchers this spring. While the majority of the intrigue will be in the bullpen, there's still some questions to be answered in the rotation. The top three spots are, of course, set with Wang, Pettitte and Hughes. The fourth spot is ostensibly Mussina's, and he won't lose the job in Tampa, but considering how awful he was in the second half of the season, he'll be on a short leash come April.

The big question for now, however, is whether Joba Chamberlain is in the rotation or the bullpen. Hank Steinbrenner has said unequivically that Chamberlain is a starter, and I've got no doubt that that's where his future lies, but I don't think he's ready for a full season as a major league starter. Last year he threw 116 innings, most of them in the minor leagues, where he never had to struggle. If he starts all season for the Yankees, his workload will increase by at least half. That would be a terrible risk to take on the health of a very valuable player. Both Chamberlain and the Yankees would be much better served if he started the year in the bullpen and moved into the rotation a few months into the season. In the meantime, Ian Kennedy can take the final spot in the rotation.

While Chamberlain and Kennedy seem to be the only serious candidates for the fifth starter's job, that doesn't mean you should ignore the rest of the starters. If the Yankees learned anything in 2007, it's that there's no telling how many pitchers you're going to end up needing. Jeff Karstens figures to be the first one called upon in an emergency, but strong spring performances by Kei Igawa (who the Yankees have invested a lot of money in) or prospects Alan Horne and Jeffrey Marquez could put one of them at the front of the line.

Of course no matter who ends up taking the mound, I'm certain Carl Pavano will step up and pull his hamstring.

Spring Training - The Catchers

I've been away for a while, but it's February now and that means roses, chocolates and baseball. It's just three days until pitchers and catchers report, with all the other players reporting just five days later. For the Yankees, that'll be a whopping 69 players altogether:

Player	Position
Bobby Abreu	RF
Jonathan Albaladejo	RHRP
Kyle Anson	C
Wilson Betemit	IF
Andrew Brackman	RHSP
Chris Britton	RHRP
Jason Brown	C
Brian Bruney	RHRP
Melky Cabrera	CF
Robinson Cano	2B
Bernie Castro	IF
Francisco Cervelli	C
Joba Chamberlain	RHSP
Justin Christian	OF
Colin Curtis	OF
Johnny Damon	CF
Eric Duncan	1B
Shelly Duncan	1B
Morgan Ensberg	3B
Kyle Farnsworth	RHRP
Brett Gardner	CF
Jason Giambi	DH
Dan Giese	RHRP
Alberto Gonzalez	IF
Nick Green	IF
LaTroy Hawkins	RHRP
Sean Henn	LHRP
Alan Horne	RHSP
Phil Hughes	RHSP
Kei Igawa	LHSP
Austin Jackson	CF
Steven Jackson	RHRP
Derek Jeter	SS
Jeff Karstens	RHRP
Ian Kennedy	RHSP
Jason Lane	OF
Jeffrey Marquez	RHSP
Hideki Matsui	LF
Daniel McCutchen	RHSP
Mark Melancon	RHRP
Juan Miranda	1B
Jose Molina	C
Jesus Montero	C
Mike Mussina	RHSP
Eduardo Nunez	SS
Ross Ohlendorf	RHRP
Scott Patterson	RHRP
Carl Pavano	RHSP
Andy Pettitte	LHSP
Heath Phillips	LHRP
P.J. Pilittere	C
Gregory Porter	OF
Jorge Posada	C
Edwar Ramirez	RHRP
Cody Ransom	IF
Darrell Rasner	RHSP
Mariano Rivera	RHRP
Alex Rodriguez	3B
Austin Romine	C
Humberto Sanchez	RHSP
Scott Strickland	RHRP
Jose Tabata	RF
Billy Traber	LHRP
Marcos Vechionacci	3B
Jose Veras	RHRP
Chien-Ming Wang	RHSP
Steven White	RHSP
Chris Woodward	IF
Chase Wright	LHSP

That's a full 40 man roster, 29 non-roster invitees and a lot of names for anyone to keep straight. So, over the next couple of days I'm going to break it down for you, starting with the catchers:

40-Man Roster Players:

• Francisco Cervelli
• Jose Molina
• Jorge Posada

Non-Roster Invitees:

• Kyle Anson
• Jason Brown
• Jesus Montero
• P.J. Pilittere
• Austin Romine

As usual, the Yankees are bringing nearly every catcher in the organization to camp, for the simple reason that there's a lot of pitchers who need to throw to someone. Obviously, only Posada and Molina will be on the team come April, but keep an eye on Francisco Cervelli. Posada and Molina are both getting old, especially for catchers, and its very possible that the 20 year-old Cervelli would be called up if either was injured.

Among the non-roster invitees, Montero and Romine stand out as the prospects to watch. Both appear on my list of the Yankees' top prospects (which I'll be sharing here over the coming weeks), and both are players with loads of raw talent. I'm especially interested in seeing how Montero handles himself behind the plate, as defense said to be his biggest weakness. As for the other three NRIs, there's not much to say. Anson, Brown and Pilittere are all decent minor league catchers, but it's hard to imagine any of them having an impact on the major league level.

Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the starting pitchers, where there's a lot more players, questions and competition.