Best Rotation 2005

[thedude]

Im really not that impressed with the Redsox rotation. Schilling and Clement are there only real threats. Wells is a sideshow. Miller is injured and hasent pitched well since 2002. Arroyo or whoever is just a tossoff anyway.

I really like that Braves rotation trev just posted - that looks damn good.

Im pretty sure noone will argue that the Cubs top 3 instantly make them the best rotation in MLB.

Therefore I rank the top 3 staffs like this:

Cubs
Braves
Yankmes

If NY gets RJ, they will compete with the Cubs for the best in baseball.

i really don't see how the yankees without RJ and with 2 unproven guys like wright and pavano (exactly the kind of players who play great until they pitch in NY and get booed and harassed by the press) are the 3rd best rotation in baseball. Lets not forget that the yankees did not have a 15 game winner last year...

also, i really like the cubs rotation, but saying without a doubt it is the best rotation in MLB is kinda silly. rember they are a NATIONAL LEAGUE team therefore thier pitchers will put up better numbers than AL staffs. MAdduax did have his worst season since Reagon was president last year. Finally, Lets see how well Prior and Wood rebound from thier injuries as well. I really like Zambrano. Rusch had a nice year, but i still am not comfortable with him.

[acsguitar]

Red Sox are diffenitly better than the Yanks without RJ...


I would just like to thank the Red Sox for bringing in a Miller whose name is actually spelled correctly

hahhah well said

[Nerfherders]

There's a big difference between projections and what really happens. Last year everyone agreed that the Cubs had the best rotation going into '04. It didnt work out that way. The Braves rotation actually performed better, and the Cubs suffered through injuries.

That said, my projections would look like this, barring injuries:

Cubs (Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, Rusch?)
Braves (Hudson, Smoltz, Thomson, Hampton, Ramirez)
Red Sox (Schilling, Clement, Miller, Wells, Arroyo/Wakefield)
Yankees (Vazquez, Mussina, Brown, Pavano, Wright)
Cardinals (Mulder, Morris, Carpenter, Suppan, Marquis)

And a possible sleeper:
Mets (Martinez, Glavine, Trachsel, Benson, Zambrano)

I dont like Houston's rotation sans Clemens. There's going to be a rotation that surprises everyone. There always is.

[Pogotheostrich]

#1 is the Cubs. No doubt in my mind. After that it gets a little cloudy. If NY get RJ they will be #2. My choice for the surprise rotation is Florida.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Im really not that impressed with the Redsox rotation. Schilling and Clement are there only real threats. Wells is a sideshow. Miller is injured and hasent pitched well since 2002. Arroyo or whoever is just a tossoff anyway.

I really like that Braves rotation trev just posted - that looks damn good.

Im pretty sure noone will argue that the Cubs top 3 instantly make them the best rotation in MLB.

Therefore I rank the top 3 staffs like this:

Cubs
Braves
Yankmes

If NY gets RJ, they will compete with the Cubs for the best in baseball.

i really don't see how the yankees without RJ and with 2 unproven guys like wright and pavano (exactly the kind of players who play great until they pitch in NY and get booed and harassed by the press) are the 3rd best rotation in baseball. Lets not forget that the yankees did not have a 15 game winner last year...

Well, I think Brown, Mussina, and Vaz are much better than they showed last yr - so I guess thats the start of my reasoning. Wright and Pavano aer solid 4-5s too I guess. Once again, Im looking past subpar 2004 season for some of these guys

[irishdude103]

The Cubs are no 1 imo and if the Yanks get RJ then they would be no 2

[NZF]

The Yankees even without RJ are close to the Cubbies in rotation quality and depth. No doubt though, Cubbies are No.1. But as good as their pitching is, their hitting is just as bad. Derrick Lee is the only guy in that lineup with any plate discipline and this will definitely hurt the value of their pitchers with the exception of Mark Prior. Maddux and especially Rusch have very little fantasy value in standard leagues.

[CubsFan7724]

When healthy, the Cubs rotation is #1 by a decent margin.

[Mustangs989]

Derrick Lee is the only guy in that lineup with any plate discipline.

Aramis Ramirez has pretty good plate discipline also, but point taken. They ranked 23rd in OBP, that's pretty damn bad.
Anyways My Top 5 starting rotations...
Cubs
Braves
Red Sox
Yankees
Astros

[dleoboyd]

I find it interesting that no one has mentioned the Florida Marlins yet. Josh Beckett and AJ Burnett has are just as talented as Prior/Wood and probably have just as good a chance of staying healthy next year. The Cubs rotation is still a bit better, but I'm surprised no one has these guys on their radar. Dontrelle Willis is a solid #3 SP and Al Leiter would be a great #4 on any team, he's even better in that ballpark.

IMO it goes like this:

1. Cubs
2. Marlins
3. Red Sox
4. Astros (if Clemens returns)
5. Yankees
6. Braves
7. Mets