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When pitcher Phil Haig was dismissed from the Illini baseball team last week, it raises several questions about the makeup of the 2010 starting rotation. Who will succeed the junior left-hander as the No. 1 starter? And who will fill out a rotation that now has another hole?
Illinois coach Dan Hartleb says it's premature to speculate and he isn't giving it much thought as the team wraps up its fall practice period this week.
"I don't know at this point," Hartleb said. "To me, the fall is very much a teaching time. I don't base anything that happens in the fall on final decisions."
Since most Illini pitchers were involved in summer leagues, Hartleb and pitching coach Ken Westray are limiting hurlers to two innings or 40 pitches in any simulated games and in the Orange and Blue World Series.
"We haven't extended anybody out to see who has that (starting) durability," Hartleb said. "We'll have to see where guys are in the spring."
Haig was dismissed after being arrested for theft of property valued at more than $300, according to a Champaign police report. The left-hander made a team-high 16 starts and won a team-high seven games last season. The Illini also must replace 2009 senior Ben Reeser, whose 11 starts were the second-most on the team.
Illinois has two returnees with significant starting experience: sophomores Bryan Roberts (10 starts) and Will Strack (9). Versatile junior Lee Zerrusen also might be in the 2010 mix. Another intriguing possibility is senior Kevin Manson, who went 8-2 as a sophomore but disappeared last season after a rocky start. Manson's decline is another reason Hartleb is loath to speculate now on his 2010 rotation.
"What you've done one year doesn't necessarily mean you're going to do that the next year," the UI coach said.
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