Two of the more intriguing stories in camp are possible "diamond in the rough" castoffs Jerome Williams and Edgar Gonzalez, who are trying to steal the #5 spot in the rotation from youngsters Josh Outman and Gio Gonzalez. Williams looked strong in his effort on Friday, and today E. Gonzalez takes the mound to start against his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With a career 5.97 ERA, it's not hard to see why Arizona cut Gonzalez loose. He has been quite hitable, with a career BAA of .305 over 258 IP, but has generally thrown strikes (85 BB against 168 K). The competition for the #5 spot is strong, so Gonzalez will have to stand out to win that job, or even to earn the consolation prize of long reliever. He seems like a better candidate for the Kirk Saarloos, Brad Halsey, Lenny DiNardo role of "Sacramento starter ready for the call," but he'll try to move himself up on the depth chart throughout March.
The lineups:
Buck - LF
Sweeney - CF
Giambi - 1B
Cust - RF
Suzuki - C
Barton - DH
Crosby - SS
Hannahan - 3B
Patterson - 2B
Roberts - 2B
Upton - RF
Drew - SS
Jackson - LF
Tracy - 1B
Reynolds - 3B
Clark - DH
Montero - C
Watson - CF
