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Message: [QUOTE="dbmill, post: 3472010, member: 2504"] I don't know if it will actually happen, but the earliest projection for the return of Justin Willis to active duty that I know of was the spring break trip. Well, the Richmond spring trip starts this coming weekend. So it would seem that Willis should be back fairly soon, even if it isn't actually this weekend. There are 10 weekends left in the regular season. UConn only needs a fifth starter for five midweek games. It is hardly as if the fifth starter is a full time job, whoever it is would probably get at least semi regular work out of the bullpen as well. One freshman pitcher who has not gotten much mention here is Andrew Marrero. The coaching staff seems to be pretty high on him, and as the season progresses he could get more and more late inning assignments as as one of the guys who get the ball to Wurster. It doesn't sound like he is a candidate to start games. Unlike Gallagher who has already had two three inning relief stints, I've gotten the impression that Marrero is a short stint guy, maybe an inning or two at most. I'm inclined to think that if it were not for the back problem and illness that kept him out of some games, Jimmy Wang would most certainly start the Hartford game tomorrow. I don't know if recovering from these problems would actually keep him from getting that start. At any rate, it would not surprise me if tomorrow turns into something of a staff day. The main reason I mention Kenny Haus as a possible starter is that he got some starts last season, plus the fact that his pitching has definitely shown improvement over last year as well. That being said, the more I think about it, I would favor Patrick Gallagher to get the midweek starts. He started a few times in summer ball and had some success with it. Also, he has already thrown three innings twice this season with the Huskies, so it is not total stretch to think that he could do four or five innings if and when he gets his first start. He also looks like someone who is going to contribute to this team from the mound. One other reason I like the idea of Gallagher getting midweek starts. To me midweek games are something of a training ground for younger and more inexperienced pitchers, and they are also a time and place to try some experiments. Of course, you also want to win these games, so there is only so much experimenting that the coaching staff is going to do. Still, it is really the time where less used pitchers get the time to possibly show what they can do. A young guy who gets midweek starts this season could very possibly end up as a weekend starter later in his college career. A perfect example of this would be Wills Montgomerie, who was a midweek starter his freshman season, and got a few midweek starts his sophomore year before he finally got settled into his weekend starting role. Wills Montgomerie certainly had control issues, but he remains one of my favorites due to his ability to eventually learn to walk the tightrope and often get out of the trouble that he often created for himself. Of course, aside from Jimmy Wang, there has been no mention from interviews with the coaches on who might be getting stretched out for possible use as a starter. [/QUOTE]

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