I've taken a look at our starting rotation and now it's time to look at the guys who look to make up the pen. Our closer is firmly in place for another year with Trevor Hoffman. We all saw what Hoffman could do last year and the dozen years prior in San Diego, he will be solid again. Our setup role has also been locked up with the addition of LaTroy Hawkins. Hawkins has been pretty good while in Houston and should add some consistency in the setup role. This is a spot that has been lacking  in our organization for a while. Bullpen roles by committee don't work and we have kept trying to use them for the last couple years, hopefully this year some roles can be locked up. Some of our pen issues have been due to injury and some due to boneheaded trades (Scott Linebrink) and free agent signings (David Riske). We have some strong middle relievers with Carlos Villanueva and Chris Narveson, who is looking great starting but probably won't make the rotation. Narverson is out of options so, he will probably be in the pen at the start of the season. Claudio Vargas could also be a help again this year. In the late innings we have guys like Todd Coffey, who has been one of our most consistent pen guys since coming over from Cincy and of coarse Mitch Stetter, a good lefty specialist since taking over for Shouse. These guys will do a better job setting up for the late inning guys than the rotating carousel of pitchers we had the last couple years. David Riske is another possibility to make the team coming off surgery (surprisingly it wasn't vagioplasty). I hope Riske doesn't make the team, he is a bum and a coward. When we were in Milwaukee a couple of years ago, we were giving some of he players crap and Bryan really gave Riske some shit, Riske called him fat (which he is not) and wouldn't walk by us to the clubhouse, he took the other way around the field. Chicken shit, just like on the mound. This guy is a bigger waste of money than Gagne was. Speaking of Gagne, he was pitching for the Dodgers the other day and looked like he lost some weight and he was sans glasses due to some lasik. He pitched one inning allowing three hits and two earned runs, he'll have to work harder than that to make it to the bigs.

Keep an eye out for the up and coming Zach Braddock, he has shown a lot of improvement since moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen last year. He has what it takes to make it up by this summer. Don't count of Capuano either, he is now throwing without restriction for the first time in years and tossed two scoreless innings the other day.

Thats all for today, lets hear your thoughts on the pen. Up next, I'll give my preview of the other teams in the division.