Projecting the playoff roster
The Angels are expected to have 10 pitchers and 15 position players on their postseason roster, with some spots still in doubt. Here is our projection for what the roster will look like for the first round.
Pitchers: Justin Speier, Jered Weaver, Darren Oliver, John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Dustin Moseley and Scot Shields.
Position players: Jeff Mathis, Maicer Izturis, Chone Figgins, Garret Anderson, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Rivera, Kendry Morales, Gary Matthews Jr., Vladimir Guerrero, Erick Aybar, Casey Kotchman, Robb Quinlan, Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick and Reggie Willits.
On the pitching side, Bartolo Colon and Chris Bootcheck are left out. Moseley gets the nod over Bootcheck based on his four shutout innings against the Rangers on Tuesday. On the position player side, Nathan Haynes finds himself on the outside looking in. This, of course, is the projected roster. The actual roster is due before the first playoff game. And remember, the roster can be changed again for the ALCS and the World Series.
I'd say ditch Aybar for Haynes, he should be the better pinch runner. But with GMJ*'s knee injury, maybe he's on anyway.
You're gonna leave Bartolo 'bloated' Colon off the playoff roster? Probably a smart move. Also, leaving Ervin Santana off the roster and adding Nathan Naynes makes some sense to me. Though Haynes and Reggie Willits have similar speed and are likely to be used only in pinch-running situations given Vlad Guerrero plays right field at all.