Clearwater Notes: Tomorrow’s Line-Up, Big Piece on Twitter
PHILLIES PREPARE FOR FLORIDA STATE
The following information comes from a variety of outlets, including our friends David Hale and Todd Zolecki.
The Phillies announced their line-up for tomorrow’s exhibition against Florida State University. It is as follows:
1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Juan Pierre, DH
3. Shane Victorino, CF
4. Hunter Pence, RF
5. Ty Wigginton, 3B
6. Domonic Brown, LF
7. John Mayberry Jr., 1B
8. Michael Martinez, 2B
9. Tuffy Gosewisch, C
Of note: Mayberry will be at first with Wigginton at third; Zolecki says the absence of Polanco at third is part of Manuel’s plan to routinely rest Polanco and Chase Utley during the spring. Similarly, Gosewisch behind the dish is to reduce wear and tear on Ruiz and Schneider. Brown in left and Pierre at DH signal that the Phillies are interested in seeing what each left-handed outfielder can do.
I am curious to see if Victorino-Pence is the 3-4 order going forward; on a lot of levels, it makes sense with Rollins and Utley hitting 1-2 in Howard’s absence.
Both Hale and Zolecki noted that Jim Thome will receive at-least one at bat and Zolecki stated that Manuel will attempt to get every position player in the game. Hale relayed that Charlie Manuel sees Martinez as having the best shot to win the utility role.
In case you missed our recap from a few days ago, here is the announced pitching order for tomorrow’s game as well:
RHP Austin Hyatt (2 innings)
LHP Jacob Diekman
LHP Jeremy Horst
RHP Michael Schwimer
LHP Joe Savery
RHP JC Ramirez
RHP BJ Rosenberg
RHP Phillippe Aumont
Aumont will look to extract some revenge on FSU after a not-so-nice encounter in 2010.
BIG PIECE UPDATE
Jim Salisbury reported that Ryan Howard will return to camp Wednesday, noting that the Phillies will not receive updated information about Howard until that time. Salisbury noted that Scott Sheridan, the Phillies head trainer, said the skin over the Achilles is notorious for not healing well.
Also of note: the Big Piece joined Twitter today and the entire greater-Philadelphia mediasphere nearly exploded. You can follow Howard at @RyanHoward.
LEE FEELING BETTER
Salisbury also reported today that Cliff Lee threw a “pain-free, incident-free batting practice session” and that his “early-camp abdominal issue is no longer a problem.” Great news.
