Apologies for the pessimism....

Back in November, a person could do anything with their offseason mock roster. A six-team swap to get the Giants a starting shortstop? Sure. Barry Zito to the Mariners for one of their top prospects? Not plausible, but mock rosters rarely are. The point of the mock roster isn't to be realistic; it's to say "Loooookitme! I could totally run this team and junk!" It's our right - nay, our duty - as baseball fans to flood the interwebs with this crap. And, yes, I'm painfully aware that I'm the guiltiest party of all.

In January, though, there isn't that much freedom. Most of the free agents have been picked over. A team that needed a starter in the fall might have already made their trade. The mock roster loses a lot of its appeal.

So instead of doing a crazy mock roster - Jonathan Sanchez to the Orioles for Edwin Encarnacion, after a blockbuster Erik Bedard deal goes down, for example - I'll do two simple Opening Day lineups:

I don't think Velez would be a good leadoff hitter, but he'd be interesting. I'll take interesting. And even if he's starting for the South African national team, I don't think Molina should ever hit cleanup, but I've conceded that Bochy would do just that if he were starting the above eight. Look into your heart. You know it's going to happen. After a spring training slump, Ortmeier will sit on the bench. Durham and Roberts aren't being paid to sit on the bench. Bruce Bochy has proven that he thinks his veterans give him a better chance to win. Feliz will be back on a two-year deal with a vesting player option. The total revamping of the team will be complete. The problem with last year's offense (Bonds) will be gone, and that'll be the only significant change.

Now it's your turn. Predict the starting lineup on Opening Day. Contrast it with what you'd like to see on Opening Day. Get really discouraged. Visit the Sabercats home page. Print out a schedule. Cry a little. Take out your anger and disillusionment on undeserving people at inappropriate times.

But start with the Opening Day roster predictions.