Training Camp: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

It's double-dose Friday. Hey I've gotta finish these before the season starts, right? And with only 12 more games left on the pre-season schedule, that means we have about a week until Opening Day!

Hillsborough made great strides and finally made it over the hump and into the playoffs last year. This team looks about as strong as last year's, so they should at least be contenders for a playoff spot this year.

Positional battles: Russell Martin and Kelly Shoppach have been battling over the starting catcher job, with newcomer Shoppach taking an early edge over incumbent Martin. Though Shoppach's .250/.286/.469 line doesn't inspire a lot of awe, it is light years ahead of Martin's awful .179/.319/.205. Shoppach's absolutely destroyed lefties in spring training, but he's been just as bad as Martin against righties.

How about the battle royale for the third base job? Aubrey Huff was protected by the Hitmen, but they went ahead and drafted three more third base-eligible players. Veteran Mike Lowell and journeyman Ty Wigginton will provide a lot of competition for Huff. So far in the preseason, Huff has played the most at the hot corner, doubling the combined games of the other two contenders. Wigginton has an advantage in that he can also play in the outfield. We did say three more, right? In case you were wondering, Ron Belliard is eligible to play third, but is more likely to play second for the Hitmen.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Huff has taken the challenge to heart and has been ripping the ball so far (.400/.492/.800). First-round pick Shin-Soo Choo has claimed a starting spot with his fast start (.325/.460/.550). The rest of the outfield is also on a tear - Nick Markakis (.322/.446/.559) and Carlos Lee (.322/.355/.661) seem ready for the season to start. Ryan Howard is the weak link right now, outside of the catching platoon. The slugger is off to a poor .227 start, but has 3 homers and 8 RBIs in his 14 games.

Everyone is still waiting for young Felix Hernandez to step up and fulfill his potential, but things aren't looking so hot right now for him. King Felix is off to an 0-1, 16.20 start in his 2 games and has been sent back to AAA Motown for some instruction. Justin Verlander is ready to take his place, however. Verlander, who seemed like he could lose his rotation spot, has been brilliant in 2 spring starts, giving up only 3 runs in 15.1 innings for a 1.76 ERA.

Roster outlook: Finally a team with an interesting roster. The Hitmen have a near-maximum 38 players on the roster, which will leave 8 looking for jobs come opening day. The Hitmen have 5 ineligibles, some of which will likely be gone. Max Scherzer, a protected ineligible, seems to be the only one assured of staying with the team. The club has 10 relievers, plus swingman Seth McClung on the roster. At least 3 of them, and maybe 4 will likely be sent packing. On the offensive side, Mike Lowell and Juan Pierre shouldn't start shopping for homes in Jersey just yet.