Hey everybody, I’m Eric, and “A Look Ahead” is my new fiefdom. I have relatively little experience as a feudal lord, so please bear with me through my growing pains. Unless I figure out something better, this article will keep its familiar format from the past. 

Now for this week’s siege against the redoubt of Conventional Wisdom:

TWO-START PITCHERS

Being as it is the first week of the season, when searching for a quality two-start pitcher, you have at your disposal the entire coterie of staff aces and their capable sidekicks.  Next week, I’ll begin recommending two-start pitchers in each league that can help your team, as well as pointing out the pestilent ones that you’ll want to boil first and handle with tongs.

QUICK HITS

Chad Cordero was held out of the ninth inning on Sunday night against the Braves due to “stiffness”. The seriousness of his injury is unknown, but despite blowing the save in Cordero’s stead, Jon Rauch will likely be the interim closer if Cordero is forced to miss any time.

Detroit’s Denny Bautista has always thrown hard, and after an excellent spring and a Fernando Rodney trip to the DL, he finds himself as Detroit’s de facto setup man. He could get some saves if Rodney takes longer than expected to return and Todd Jones pitches like Todd Jones.

Other candidates to pick up saves should the questionable closers in front of them falter are San Francisco’s Tyler Walker and Tampa Bay’s Al Reyes.  Walker is setting up for the relatively unproven Brian Wilson, despite having closed for the Giants in the recent past, while Reyes lost his closing job after the Rays signed Troy Percival, who has to be considered a serious injury risk.

Despite the Dodgers’ best attempts to bury him, Andre Ethier clawed his way off the bench and officially wrested the job of starting left fielder from the cold, dead hands of Juan Pierre’s corpse. In Ethier, Andruw Jones, and Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are going to have a very nice outfield.

There’s still hope for Joey Votto, Starting First Baseman. Despite Scott Hatteberg getting the nod at first base on Opening Day, manager Dusty Baker was quoted as saying “The regular first baseman is who is playing that day”. The fact that Baker is his manager shouldn’t exactly fill Votto or his fantasy owners with optimism, but it’s a start. Both Votto and Hatteberg are left-handed, ruling out a straight platoon, so except one of the two to win a substantial majority of the playing time in relatively short order.

Keep an eye on Jeff Baker. The Rockies’ utility man could end up as the starting second baseman if rookie Jayson Nix struggles; he provides excellent power for the position and will also see time in both the infield and outfield corners.