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[nateistheshi]

Rank the top 5 NL starting rotations, and the top 15 NL starters with an emphasis on what you expect from them in 2011:

Teams:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Starters:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

 

[Smoke]

Reds. End/Thread.

 

[nateistheshi]

Teams:
1. Phillies
2. Giants
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Padres

Starters:
1. Halladay
2. Lincecum
3. Wainwright
4. Lee
5. Johnson
6. Jimenez
7. Greinke
8. Cain
9. Kershaw
10. Hamels
11. Latos
12. Carpenter
13. Oswalt
14. Bumgarner
15. Hanson

Anybody else?

 

[sfsportsfan]

nate - i agree with you except for two things

i put the giants one, simply because the phillies havent proven they're better. to be the best you gotta beat the best.

i'd also take the brewers off/grienke off because he hasnt proven anything in the NL yet. id replace brewers with braves

 

[calsnowskier]

I am not sure the Pads belong in the top anymore.

After Latos, who do they have? They lost Correia, Garland and Young. That would make their rotation something like Latos, Richards, Stauffer, LeBlanc and Luebke?? That is one stud, 1 solid, 1 OK and 2 rooks with question marks.

 

[TidrowThePitchingMaster]

Reds. End/Thread.

lol

 

[nateistheshi]

nate - i agree with you except for two things

i put the giants one, simply because the phillies havent proven they're better. to be the best you gotta beat the best.

i'd also take the brewers off/grienke off because he hasnt proven anything in the NL yet. id replace brewers with braves

Both very valid points, perhaps I'm starting to buy into the hype a bit myself. I do however think that Greinke deserves to be in the top starters since he has shown in the past that is more than capable of dominating, but perhaps the Braves still are a bit ahead.

 

[nateistheshi]

I am not sure the Pads belong in the top anymore.

After Latos, who do they have? They lost Correia, Garland and Young. That would make their rotation something like Latos, Richards, Stauffer, LeBlanc and Luebke?? That is one stud, 1 solid, 1 OK and 2 rooks with question marks.

Very true, but the real reason why I projected them to be in the top is because we've seen very good examples last season of how Petco Park can make a huge difference in a pitcher's numbers, so while they may not be one of the best, they still should put up great numbers.

 

[calsnowskier]

Very true, but the real reason why I projected them to be in the top is because we've seen very good examples last season of how Petco Park can make a huge difference in a pitcher's numbers, so while they may not be one of the best, they still should put up great numbers.

OK...

So is this a poll about best numbers or best staff?

 

[tzill]

Rank the top 5 NL starting rotations, and the top 15 NL starters with an emphasis on what you expect from them in 2011:

Teams:
1. PHI
2. SF
3. LA
4. ATL
5. STL

Starters:
1. Timmy
2. Doc
3. Lee
4. Wains
5. Johnson
6. Greinke
7. Kershaw
8. Hanson
9. Haren
10. Latos
11. Jimenez
12. Babs
13. Shotgun
14. Gallardo
15. Hamels

I think the doyer pitching is going to be a lot better than most think.

 

[tzill]

Reds. End/Thread.

10th best staff in the NL. Below average.

End/your participation here.

 

[tzill]

Anybody else?

I think you're overlooking the doyers and rating the padres waaaay to high.

 

[tzill]

nate - i agree with you except for two things

i put the giants one, simply because the phillies havent proven they're better. to be the best you gotta beat the best.

i'd also take the brewers off/grienke off because he hasnt proven anything in the NL yet. id replace brewers with braves

The phils starters HAVE proven that they're better -- look at their career numbers in the regular season. Hamels will probably be better than he was last year, and Oswalt worse. Their weak link is #5 (Blanton?). MadBum would be a #4 on thier staff and Chez a #5. They're elite.

I have the Brewers as #6. They have three solid starters and a mess at the back end of the rotation (Narveson and Wolf). Greinke is elite, don't kid yourself.

 

[tzill]

I am not sure the Pads belong in the top anymore.

After Latos, who do they have? They lost Correia, Garland and Young. That would make their rotation something like Latos, Richards, Stauffer, LeBlanc and Luebke?? That is one stud, 1 solid, 1 OK and 2 rooks with question marks.

+1. The Pads are a mess. Latos is excellent, and Richard is good. After that??? LeBlanc, Stauffer, and Harang will probably be a disaster. Even in Petco.

 

[tzill]

Anybody else?

You left out Haren, Billingsley and Rodriguez. I like your optimism with Bum, though.

 

[SFGRTB]

You left out Haren, Billingsley and Rodriguez. I like your optimism with Bum, though.

Haren is in the AL now (LAAAAAofA)

And I agree with you on the Dodgers, they have a deep rotation and if most of their guys in the pen have years closer to 09' than in 10' (or somewhere in between), they will have a pretty deep staff. Less star power, but solid.

 

[SFGRTB]

1. Giants
1a. Phillies
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Doyers
6. Braves
7. Padres
8. Marlins
9. Reds
10. Rockies
11. Astros
12. Cubs
13. D-Backs
14. Nationals
15. Mets
16. Pirates

 

[nateistheshi]

OK...

So is this a poll about best numbers or best staff?

Think of it as a combination of the 2. Use who you think has the most talent along with anything else that could have an effect on their overall numbers (park factors, strength of divisional opponents, and injury concerns,) to put them in the order that you think they'll end up being in at the end of the year for their overall production.

You guys are probably right about me having the Padres a bit too high, and I hope that you're all right as well.

 

[nateistheshi]

You left out Haren, Billingsley and Rodriguez. I like your optimism with Bum, though.

Bumgarner is very impressive, so I might be a bit too optimistic on him, but given that his velocity is up again I wouldn't be surprised to see him pass Cain for #2 in the rotation soon enough. It probably won't happen next year, but can you imagine how great that would be to have a legitimate ace as our 3rd best starter?

 

[calsnowskier]

Bumgarner is very impressive, so I might be a bit too optimistic on him, but given that his velocity is up again I wouldn't be surprised to see him pass Cain for #2 in the rotation soon enough. It probably won't happen next year, but can you imagine how great that would be to have a legitimate ace as our 3rd best starter?

I fully agree on Bum. I have said before that I think Bum has a good shot to be remembered as the best of the staff when all is said and done (15-20 years from now).

However, I think he has to show if for more than 3 months to be officially on a "top" list.