where it would have been with or without Strider. 5-man rotation, an occasional stretch start from a prospect, and they seem intent on riding with Elder for the time being. They have to be ecstatic with what Lopez is giving so far.

Sale is getting his standard number of starts, and they are keeping him to around 100 pitches or less, which is pretty standard.


Sales injuries over the last few seasons are almost all non-pitching related. Hopefully he can stay away from the freak accidents.


I'm more concerned with Fried getting back to being an ace, and then finding who will be that #3 guy. Uncle Charlie is who he is at this point. He can still pitch an absolute gem of a game, and he can be absolutely average (or a little below average). Just never know. Lopez is on fire right now, but it feels like he's eventually gonna come back down to earth. Is the #3 guy gonna be one of them, or is Alex gonna pull off a trade deadline deal?

My best guess is we'll see some bolstering of the bull pen as it isn't quite as strong as hoped for, but Alex and Snit are gonna ride with the SPs we've got (and we'll see pretty much every SP currently in the minors make at least two starts during the regular season).