September battles for playoff roster spots

This is what the Cubs did for the 2007 playoffs: Starters (3): Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill Relievers (8): Ryan Dempster, Howry, Marmol, Wuertz, Hart, Eyre, Kerry Wood, Marquis. Infielders (6): Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Ryan Theriot, Fontenot, Cedeno. Outfielders (6): Jones, Pie, Murton, Alfonso Soriano, Cliff Floyd, Daryle Ward. Catchers (2): Soto, Jason Kendall. If they go with a similar distribution of talent this year, there are only a few spots left on the roster. If they go with 3 starters, there's no question they go with Zambrano, Harden, and Dempster. The only question here is if Lilly is used as a starter or out of the bullpen. That leaves room for 7 or 8 relievers (depending on Lilly). Wood, Marmol, Samardzija, Cotts, Gaudin, and Marshall are locks. That leaves Lilly, Marquis, Howry, Guzman, and any other callups fighting for two spots. Lilly seems to be a lock. That would leave 1 spot, and if Guzman looks healthy both Marquis and Howry could be on the outside looking in. (Here's hoping!) Note that Guzman doesn't have to be activated from the DL before September 1st, as he's currently rehabbing on the 60-day DL and could is thus exempted from the requirement of being on the active roster. The infielders will likely be the exact same ones used last year: Lee, Ramirez, DeRosa, Theriot, Fontenot, and Cedeno. At catcher, it will be Soto and Blanco. If there are six outfield spots, 4 appear set: Soriano, Fukudome, Johnson, and Edmonds. That would leave two spots for Ward and all the callups (Pie, Hoffpaiur, DuBois, etc.) to fight for. I'd guess Pie has a good shot at the roster, as he'd be the best late-inning pinch runner and OF defensive replacement on the roster. The question is who will be the thumping stick on the bench. The other thing to look for here is the potential for Pie to have a hot September and make a push to start over Fukudome, pushing him to the late inning replacement role. Such a thing would have been unthinkable two years ago, but Lou has shown a willingness to go with a hot September callup in the playoffs (Soto, last year). Again, one can hope… So, basically, the roster seems set (excluding injuries), and only a few questions remain: Will Lilly start? Can Guzman pitch at a high level and stay healthy? Will the team decide they need another LOOGY (both Marshall and Lilly have reverse splits, leaving Cotts as the only option… and now that i look at it, Cotts also has reverse splits). Who will be our late inning, pray-for-a-HR guy? Some of the answers will come soon as the "September" callups will only be eligible for the postseason roster if they're on the active roster or MLB disabled list at midnight, August 31st. This means that for any of those callups to make the postseason, they'll need to be on the IR or active roster before the rosters expand to 40 players. Because this has to happen before the expansion, that means other people will have to be moved to the DL, reassigned, or released to make room for that player. Expect to see Ward and Howry moved to the DL (maybe Lee, as well) before the end of next weekend to make room for the guys the Cubs want to have as options for the playoffs. This also means that we'll have a better idea of whether or not any of the callups have a shot at playing in the playoffs next Monday, when the rosters expand. (I think) Guzman doesn't have to be activated by that point, as he's currently on the 60-day DL. The others - Pie, Hoffpauir, DuBois, Hart, etc. all will have to be added by that point. So we'll know whether or not they're even options by the end of the day next Sunday. The other exception (and how KRod made the Angels playoff roster a few years ago) is you can make a replacement for someone that has to go to the DL for the playoffs, but the replacement has to play the same position. So if Howry is sent to the DL at the end of the season or (more likely) Fox and/or Lieber are moved to the 60-man DL, you can't replace those guys with Pie… it would have to be Guzman or Hart or some other pitcher. Anyways, given the roster constraints, the available options, and Lou's history, this is what i think the playoff roster will look like: Starters (3): Zambrano, Harden, Dempster Relievers (8): Wood, Marmol, Samardzija, Cotts, Gaudin, Marshall, Lilly, and Guzman Infielders (6): Lee, Ramirez, DeRosa, Theriot, Fontenot, Cedeno Outfielders (6): Soriano, Edmonds, Johnson, Fukudome, Pie, and Ward Catchers (2): Soto, Blanco