April 6

Just to hold onto a 6-1 lead with only four outs left on Opening Day in Seattle, the White Sox needed four relievers to secure a 6-5 win. The next night they took a 4-3 lead into the seventh, and five relievers later they had lost the lead and eventually the game, 7-4. In the third game, closer Keith Foulke allowed four runs in the ninth and lost, 7-6. The three-game bullpen totals: 12 appearances, 7 2/3 innings, 12 runs allowed.

	Keith Foulke allowed four runs in the ninth inning in the White Sox's loss on Wednesday.

Florida had a 6-1 lead in the eighth inning of its opener in Montreal, and lost 7-6. The next night they were up 6-0 with four outs to go, and four relievers went on to give up four hits, two walks, two homers and five runs before getting the fourth out for a 6-5 victory. The Marlins' three-game bullpen totals: 2 2/3 innings, eight runs allowed.

The Texas bullpen allowed 12 runs in 12 innings in their first five games, losing 3-2 in the second game of the season on a Carlos Pena homer off Dan Miceli. The Rangers' bullpen also nearly blew a 7-2 lead with three outs to go, eventually holding on for a 7-5 win. Oakland's middle relief allowed eight runs in 8 1/3 innings in their four-game series against the Rangers. Detroit (11 runs in 12 1/3 IP), Milwaukee (10 runs in 11 1/3 IP) and Los Angeles (10 runs in 14 1/3 IP) also had first-week bullpen problems.

Now, we all appreciate that it is very early and in some cases there are cold-weather aberrations. But it does appear alarming that in the first week of the season, pitching depth apparently became an issue.

"There are some outstanding young staffs and pitchers coming along," says one AL GM, "like Houston, Philadelphia, Oakland, Florida, Cleveland and the Cubs. But some teams have some serious depth issues. What happens to the Braves if Greg Maddux is out for awhile? They already have serious depth questions, with Albie Lopez in the rotation and Chris Hammond and Darren Holmes in their bullpen. The Mets have depth issues. But when you watch the White Sox, then look at the pitching depth that the Twins and Indians have, you wonder if they aren't going to be in for a tough fight in that division. Hey, if the A's lost any one of their three big starters, they would be a very different club."

"What makes all contending GMs think right now is the fact that there may not be much of anything available later this season," says one NL GM. "That's why you saw the Mets move as quickly as they did on Scott Strickland (getting him in a trade with Montreal on Friday). They wanted to hold onto Bruce Chen for depth in their rotation, but they knew they eventually would need a power strikeout setup man for Armando Benitez, and they got an exceptional one in Strickland. They paid the price because they realize it is a weak free agent pitching crop among the teams that may be looking to look towards 2003 come June and July."

Of the significant potential free-agent starters for 2003, the following pitch for teams trying to win and likely will not be moved: Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Chuck Finley, Pedro Astacio, Al Leiter, Jason Bere, Shawn Estes, Jamie Moyer, Robert Person, Shane Reynolds, Kenny Rogers and Woody Williams. That leaves Jeff Suppan, Wilson Alvarez, Jamey Wright, Esteban Loaiza, Joey Hamilton ...

And for free-agent relievers on teams that may struggle to contend: Esteban Yan, Roberto Hernandez, Dan Plesac, Felix Heredia ...

Colorado might eventually move the contracts of Mike Hampton or Denny Neagle (who looks great). The Padres would move one of their veterans, and Florida might market Ryan Dempster by midseason for a sizeable package. But there isn't going to be much out there. And add in the threat of a loss of revenues this winter as the owners try to declare an impasse and implement their last offer, which will be followed by Players Association litigation (after they challenge the 60/40 rule as a restraint of trade), that after a winter when owners essentially tried to depress revenues and salaries by threatening contraction and crying poverty.

So, without a big trade market, Seattle GM Pat Gillick says, "I think we'll go the year with what we have." The Mariners already had their own depth problems, as manager Lou Piniella felt he had to get another power arm into the setup role to replace the departed Jose Paniagua, which meant taking Joel Pineiro out of the rotation and putting him in middle relief. Gillick says they only need a fifth starter three times in the first four or five weeks, and that in time they'll decide if Pineiro goes back to starting after having such a promising spring.

If the Mariners decide they're going to need another starter, most likely they won't trade, but rather they'll likely turn to 22-year-old right-hander Rafael Soriano at Triple-A Tacoma; Piniella had hoped that fellow righty Gil Meche would be able to bounce back from shoulder problems, but his comeback has been slow.

It appears that both Cleveland and Minnesota have depth on their staffs. The Indians' bullpen is deep and has three or four more potential major leaguers at Triple-A Buffalo; one AL scout says "David Riske is the biggest surprise I've seen this season, a potential closer who hitters can't pick up with the makings of a great split." The Twins already have good pitching, but also have Brad Thomas, Johan Santana, Matt Kinney and Grant Balfour waiting in the wings.

The Yankees obviously have pitching depth. So does San Francisco, with rookies Ryan Jensen and Kurt Ainsworth already in the rotation to go along with a deep bullpen. The Cardinals had enough depth to send young lefty Bud Smith down to Triple-A Memphis for a couple of weeks. Houston has pitching coming from every level and because of all their young pitching, the Cubs could end up having a deep staff as well. If Pete Harnisch makes it back as a fifth starter, the Rockies could even have decent depth, a must for Coors Lite Field.

But that's about it. Texas has had a lot of bad fortune, what with their closer (Jeff Zimmerman), their No. 1 starter (Chan Ho Park) and one of their two prime setup men (Jay Powell) all on the disabled list. The Rangers' offense did damage against Oakland's middle relievers, but after coming back two nights in a row, to tie and to take the lead, they ended up losing both nights. So, if they're going to win with their $100+ million payroll and four future Hall of Famers, GM John Hart is going to have to think about selling one or two of their best prospects to get a Scott Erickson, Dempster (actually, Hart wants Brad Penny, but that isn't likely to happen) or perhaps one of the Anaheim starters.

If the first week is any indication, it won't be easy. The good news is that if indeed pitching depth is this big a problem, the Rangers, White Sox, Red Sox, Mets, Braves and Astros lineups -- as well as Barry Bonds -- are going to put up some sick numbers in June, July and August.