As we approach the end of spring training, teams will be focusing on the unresolved questions surrounding their opening day lineup. Despite efforts to solidify an entire roster in the excruciatingly baseball-free four month period otherwise known as the offseason, front offices are sometimes forced to let the month of March determine who will trot out onto the field in the first regular season game. While the 161 games that follow will undoubtedly go further in determining the success of their respective team, the idea of being in an opening day lineup is a great source of pride for those who aren’t guaranteed a spot going into spring. As a follow up to my piece on the National League position battles, the focus now turns to the American League. As always, teams planning on competing for playoff spots are looking for any way to gain a competitive edge on their perceived rivals going into the season. A case can be made that almost every AL contender has made at least one significant improvement over the 2010 version of their squad. In some cases, like the Red Sox and Athletics, multiple moves have been made that will greatly affect the opening day lineup compared to last season. In the interest of keeping this column short enough not to be considered a brief novel, I will only focus on teams with a realistic chance of competing for a playoff spot. So, if you feel your team is being slighted by getting left off of this list, I apologize and hope your rooting interest goes the way of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. I must also note that I am fully aware a lot can shake out over the course of a season and situations like the ones below could evolve into platoon situations, but all I am trying to forecast is whose name gets penciled in on the lineup card in Game 1. Let’s have a look-see: Chicago White Sox Position in question: Third Base Candidates: Mark Teahen (2010 wOBA: .309, Career UZR: -14.2) and Brent Morel (.305, -8.4) The White Sox had plenty of things to address in the offseason, what with signing Adam Dunn, re-signing Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski and extending Alexei Ramirez among other things, but one position they felt okay with was third base. Teahen was undoubtedly a major disappointment in his first year with the ballclub in 2010, having compiled an OPS of .709 in a season that was shortened by injuries and ineffectiveness. More and more, it appears as if Teahen’s 2006 campaign was a mirage and not an indicator of things to come. Moreover, the defensive metrics available to us suggest that he is quite the butcher at the hot corner, further complicating his chase for starts there. The alternative in this competition, like so many other position battles, is a young up-and-comer that the White Sox organization has high hopes for. Despite being only 23 years old come opening day, it appears as though he would be the logical choice to supplant Teahen as the starter. Morel’s minor league numbers suggest that he could hit for a decent average and supply somewhat limited power, but the aspect of his game that should push him over the top is his defense. Even though his bat may not be completely ready for full time duty at the major league level, his glove is elite. On a team with more than enough offense, going with the defensive wizard at this position seems to be the direction in which Ozzie Guillen is leaning, and rightfully so. Verdict: Brent Morel ------------------------------------------------------- Detroit Tigers Position in question: Second Base Candidates: Scott Sizemore (.284, -13.7) and Will Rhymes (.329, -2.0) Now, the only reason this is a competition is because of Carlos Guillen starting the season on the disabled list. Nevertheless, one of Sizemore and Rhymes will have the pleasure of sharing the field on Opening Day for a Tigers team intent on winning the AL Central in 2011. Sizemore was given the opportunity to start to begin 2010, but this proved to be a short-lived experiment as he was sent down to AAA in mid-May and spent the majority of the rest of the season there. It will be hard to call Sizemore a prospect for much longer given that he recently turned 26 years old and has yet to realize the all-around offensive force he appeared to be in his minor league career. He will need to make much more frequent contact at the plate to win this competition. No spring chicken either at 28 years old come opening day, Rhymes’ 2010 season proved to be the opposite of Sizemore’s. After toiling in the minor leagues for six seasons, Rhymes made the most of his 2010 debut by posting a slash line of .304/.350/.414. Seeing as Detroit had him playing at AAA Toledo for the past three seasons, it didn’t appear as is they viewed him as a future regular on the big club. Will the impressive stint of last season be enough to make the Tigers ignore his less than stellar spring training? Only time will tell. Verdict: Will Rhymes ------------------------------------------------------- Boston Red Sox Position in question: Shortstop Candidates: Marco Scutaro (.319, -3.5 ) and Jed Lowrie (.393, 14.9) When the Red Sox acquired Scutaro via free agency prior to the 2010 season and signed him to a 2 year deal that runs through 2011, I don’t think anyone within the organization thought that he would be challenged for his position. However, if you were to determine the 2011 starter based on 2010 numbers alone, that is likely a battle that Scutaro would lose. Boston management can’t really say that they expected anything more out of Scutaro last season than what they got, as Scutaro was solid defensively and one of the better offensive shortstops in the AL. This competition is going to be one in which the loser shouldn’t fret too much, as the two players are destined to split time throughout the season. However, Lowrie has an excellent chance at wresting the lion’s share of the starts in 2011. For example, over the last 17 games in 2010, he posted a 1.128 OPS as the team’s starting shortstop. Scutaro is making roughly 12 times as much in salary and that could be the impetus to stick with Lowrie and ship Scutaro to a contender in need of a productive shortstop midseason. For the purpose of our exercise, though, this kind of battle usually goes to veteran, which is most likely what will happen in this case as well. Verdict: Marco Scutaro ------------------------------------------------------- Tampa Bay Rays Position in question: Almost all of them Candidates: Everyone except for Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton I definitely didn’t have the Tampa Bay Rays in mind when I came up with the, “I’m only determining who will start on opening day and not necessarily the rest of the season,” rule. As I was going over the Rays’ starting lineup in my head and cross-checking it with their roster, I realized that this could be a mind-rattling exercise. They could possibly run out 162 different lineups over the course of the season given the flexibility Joe Maddon will have with his lineup. The only players guaranteed to be in the same position day in and day out are Longoria and Upton. Everyone else is at the mercy of the lineup card being posted. Manny Ramirez should see the bulk of the starts at designated hitter, but recent history tells us that he will ultimately miss an undetermined amount of games due to injury, days off or simply Manny being Manny. Johnny Damon should be the starter in left field, but will also rotate between DH and even play some first base. Dan Johnson looks to have a stranglehold on the regular first base job, but Damon, Casey Kotchman and others could be plugged in there in the event that he struggles. Ben Zobrist has proven that he can play a multitude of positions, and play them well for that matter, but he will probably begin the year as the regular right fielder. John Jaso and Kelly Shoppach should be able to hold down the catcher position, as they are a natural righty/lefty platoon, but newly acquired Robinson Chirinos could factor into that situation as well. The starter at shortstop will likely be either Sean Rodriguez or Reid Brignac with the other playing second base. However, when Zobrist moves to second base, one of those two will sit and Matt Joyce will likely take over in right field. Verdict: Basically, these two paragraphs were a long-winded way of saying, “I have no freaking clue.” ------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles Angels Position in question: Entire infield, except for shortstop Candidates: Brandon Wood (.174, 18.6), Maicer Izturis (.307, 14.0), Howie Kendrick (.317, 3.0), Alberto Callaspo (.295, 7.7) and Mark Trumbo (n/a, n/a) Since the Angels decided to part ways with offensive igniter Chone Figgins last offseason, their infield has been nothing short of a mess. First base was supposed to be the home of Kendry Morales, a switch-hitting, middle-of-the-order power hitter, for years to come until he broke his leg in a walk-off home run victory celebration. It was one of the most contradictory moments to watch in recent memory. Couple this with the disaster of a season for Brandon Wood, for whom the organization had high hopes, and the infield situation is left in shambles. Wood is in the mix for time at first base, but Rookie Mark Trumbo will likely get the bulk of the starts there until Morales is 100% ready to return from injury, as it has been determined that he will start the season on the disabled list. Trumbo had an excellent season at AAA in 2010, posting a .394 wOBA with the hopes of cracking the big league roster this year. Izturis may not tear the cover off of the ball at the plate, but he has nonetheless proven his mettle defensively at all of the infield positions. This will go a long way in getting into that Opening Day lineup, with his best chance being at third base. Second base will likely be the property of Howie Kendrick, but with Izturis and Callaspo having the ability to play the position well, he will need to step his production up to hold onto it. Chances are that the Angels infield will be a fluid situation throughout the season, but Opening Day will give us a good idea of how manager Mike Scoscia plans to approach things going forward. Verdict: 3B: Maicer Izturis, 2B: Howie Kendrick, 1B: Mark Trumbo