Kings of the Mountain

A quick roster analysis for the 2006 defending World Series champions... A few NRIs to be named later could upset the applecart a bit, especially at the back end of the bullpen.

Positions

• Locks (11): Paul Konerko, Tadahito Iguchi, Juan Uribe, Joe Crede, Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, A. J. Pierzynski, Chris Widger, Rob Mackowiak, Pablo Ozuna
• Likely (1): Brian Anderson
• Questionable (4): Timo Perez, Willie Harris, Joe Borchard, Ross Gload
• Possible (3): Chris Young, Jerry Owens, Chris Stewart
• Long Shots (2): Casey Rogowski, Pedro Lopez

As everybody points out, we don't know how many pitchers they'll carry, probably 12 as a baseline, which squeezes out Willie Harris and, probably, Timo Perez. The "questionable" list doesn't include anybody with minor-league options left. One advantage to carrying a Jerry Owens on the roster is he can be optioned regularly as part of the pitching load balancing act.

On paper, the offense has returned to the level it was at in 2004.

Pitching

• Locks (8): Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Neal Cotts, Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, Dustin Hermanson, Bobby Jenks, Cliff Politte,
• Likely (3): Orlando Hernandez, Brandon McCarthy, Luis Vizcaino
• Possible (3): Jon Adkins, Jeff Bajenaru, Arnie Munoz
• Long Shots (4): Felix Diaz, Charlie Haeger, Paulino Reynoso, Sean Tracey

The likelies here are all pending possible trades.