Floyd sees East as wide open

As noted in comments, Wilson Betemit hurt his hamstring yesterday running out a ground ball, just as he was starting to hit and to get the team thinking strongly about him as the utility infielder. Right now, the race is down to two punchless wonders, Jesse Garcia and Jorge Velandia. Velandia’s played in the majors for parts of six seasons over the last seven years and has been singularly unimpressive, hitting .151/.231/.201 in 179 ABs. He has a career minor league slugging percentage of .350. How hard is it to find a utility infielder who won’t kill you at shortstop and can at least outhit Hampton and Ortiz?

Among the lefties, Andy Pratt seems to have a bullpen spot in hand and would have to lose it. Of course, one bad outing can savage your ERA, especially in spring. Armando Almanza seems to have the inside track for the second lefty spot, meaning Jung Bong is probably looking at starting the season in the Richmond rotation. I think that’s the best place for him right now.