How much of a competition is there this spring?

It seems like everyone has their eyes on two position battles this spring: catcher and center field. The main fight is in center field between Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan, where one of the two of them will certainly end up as the starting center fielder for the Pirates in 2008. The catcher fight is secondary and kind of two-tiered. The first question is whether or not the Pirates think of Ryan Doumit as a catcher or a swiss army knife and accordingly, whether Raul Chavez or Michel Hernandez will make the roster in addition to Doumit. The second question is whether or not Doumit could actually start over Paulino.

The thing is, I'm not really sure why there's a position battle at either of these places. I mean, what can we learn about McLouth, Paulino, Doumit, or Morgan from spring training this year? Definitely not much. We know McLouth has some pop, the ability to get on base, and great baserunning skill, though he likely won't be a terribly productive starter over a full season. We know Morgan is fast as hell, which makes him look like a good fielder (several of his circus catches last year were because he took a bad route and fixed it on sheer speed alone), and may help him hit for a high average, but we also know he's not good for much else. Doumit can hit, but he's pretty bad behind the plate and a huge injury risk. Paulino is adequate in a world in which Ryan Doumit has spider-web hamstrings (which he does).

My point is that the distance between these players is a lot more philosophical than anything. There's nothing in spring training that can happen between these four players that will change the differences that exist between them. Either the Pirates want Juan Pierre batting leadoff, or they don't. Either they're willing to risk Doumit's health and put him behind the plate, or they're not. That's really all there is to it.