The Tides open their season at Charlotte tonight, and as of this morning the final roster had not yet been set. We do know that Brad Bergesen will be the starting pitcher tonight, and that Chris Tillman will be starting sometime in the series. The best guess is that Jason Berken will start the home opener on Monday.

For yesterday’s exhibition game, the Tides roster was at 28, which increased to 29 when Zach Phillips was optioned to Norfolk. So four players still need to be assigned elsewhere. The Tides won the exhibition against the Orioles, 6-4, but don’t read too much into that. Although the Orioles did start their regulars, they weren’t exactly going all-out, as it was more important not to get hurt than to win. The Orioles gave all their starters two at-bats before a parade of reserves and low-level minor leaguers finished the game.

It appears that Xavier Avery, whom I thought would go to Bowie for more seasoning, will start the season with the Tides. He dropped a very nice bunt that he beat out for a single, and showed good speed. It remains to be seen if he has the drive and all-out effort of Kyle Hudson, but he’s the same type of player.

Finally, an inside note for you minor-league geeks. It’s fairly well-known that Dave Rosenfield, former general manager and current holder of a position roughly equivalent to “semi-retired legend”, makes out the International League schedule every year. The original draft schedule had the Tides opening at home tonight, but when it became clear that the Orioles would be visiting he switched things around, moving the Tides to a road start and bringing Charlotte in some other time.