Contreras, Colon Win Spots in Rotation

For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds Opening Day, and all the ensuing drama that comes with a late-game 3-run homer, this little nugget from the AP recap might have slipped past even the savviest of readers,

Ozzie Guillen said Jose Contreras would be the team’s No. 4 starter with
Bartolo Colon in the fifth spot.

This means Contreras and Colon will be pitching the first two games of the series with Minnesota; The Count facing Nick Blackburn on Friday and Bartolo Colon squaring off against Francisco Liriano.

Neither had a Spring that begs for much optimism; Contreras did go 3-0, but he had a 5.82 ERA in 17 IP while allowing 26 total baserunners and striking out 14. Colon, in 15 innings of work wen 0-2 and posted a 6.60 ERA. Both guys are coming off major injuries in the past year (frankly, its amazing Jose can walk pain-free at this point). And here we go, putting 40% of our games in their hands.

God help us.