Jearsy... Don't know why you don't even consider the Pirates in the top 5. Maby their not among the top 5, but now much below. In a couple of years they might be there as they get a rotation with an age avg of 26 years and a lot of potential...
1. Paul Maholm (This should be a top ace in 2-3 year. He got a razor-sharp command of a deep arsenal of pitches. Can throw his fastball, change-up, curve and slider for first-pitch strikes. He only pitch that he struggles a bit with is his fastball who needs some work so he need to be good to mix up pitches vs the big-league hitters.)
2. Zach Duke (Havent ended up as the big star as alot of people tought, but stil got potensial. Got a great curveball to get lefties out, but need to improve the changeup to get out righties. If he manage that he might be a tough pitcher to face.)
3. Ian Snell (Snell should have moved up one place in the rotation IMO as he is quality #2 starter who can deep into his starts and is fearless on the mound. If he manage to gain better command of his pitching repertoire and keep the # of HR's down he might soon be a top ace, just my opinion..)
4. Ross Ohlendorf (Got a good array of pitches who he can thor with good pace and a realy nasty sinker. Got the right thing to be a realy good pitcher if works hard and get more Major innings under his belt. The problem with him is that he sometimes gives up to many hits. )
5. Jeff Karstens (Clearly the weekest picher in the rotation who is dragging it down as they don't have a
reliable 5th spot starter, even tho he got his bright spot sometimes. Jeff's two biggest problems who is a bad mix is that he is realy hittable and lacks the ability to strike batters out with consistency.)
Like Ginders list too...
1. BOSTON RED SOX 1. Beckett (A solied pitcher who can fight for the Cy every year as long as he can stay healty who has been a problem for him. He got a nasty strikeout repertoire including mid-90's heat, a knee-buckling curve and good change-up. Also he doens't give up a lot of walks. His problem lately have been injuries and cause of that he got problems with going deep into outings..)
2. Matsuzaka (Another Cy candidate. He's a smart and competitive strikeout pitcher, he owns fluid mechanics and
a wide arsenal, including a plus fastball, curve, slurve, forkball and
a 'gyro ball'.
He always get a lot of K's but cause of that his endurance has been an issue as he tends to throw too many pitches early and wears down after five innings. Also he got some problems with walks.)
3. Lester (A talented lefty with a nice fastball and a good slider and change.
Shows good composure on the mound and makes good adjustments.
He's not overpowering on the mound and can give up too many walks and hits. Also he isn't very deceptive with his delivery.
)
4. Wakefield (Not a big fan of Tim, but he can be a great change-of-pace in the rotation thanks to his fluttering
knuckler. A master of his craft and can eat up innings and pitch on short
rest.
The reason for that im not liking betting on him is tha he gives up too many hits, walks, and ultimately runs. His fastball isn't
quite good enough to keep batters from sitting on the knuckler and he's one of the easier to steel bases on because of the knuckler...)
5. Penny (This shows the strengt of the Sox rotation when they got one who is good enought for the 3rd spor in their 5th, even tho I ould have placed him above Wakefield. He brings heat and a nasty sinker to the mound, plus a big, sweeping curveball. He can be especially tough on right-handed batters, but he have had control trouble in the past. Because of that he tends to wear down
after the fifth inning and needs to find a greater level of consistency.)
2. NEW YORK YANKEES1. Sabathia ( Maby the best leftie in the game. What makes Sabathia so devastating, aside from the intimidation factor,
is his ability to change speeds effectively after introducing a
fastball that reaches the high 90s. He can work himself out of jams, but he got some lack of endurance, fading in the later innings, though he has improved. Also he occasionally battles control problems.)
2. Burnett (He's a solide #2 starter when healty. He got three main pitches that he throws quite effectively: A mid-90's
fastball, change-up and a dizzying curve. The think that I love with him is that he strikes out a ton of batters and can get out of trouble that way. But his command has been an issue at times. His biggest flaw is a tendency to
lose concentration. He's also injury-riddled, which would weaken the Yanks rotation
considerably. They got pitchers to take over the spots, but not one of Burnetts caliber to fill in the 5th spot..)3. Wang (Even tho he's at the #3 spot he's a quality #2 and a good replacement for Burnett if he get hurts. He boasts a mid-90's fastball, along with a solid sinker, slider and
splitter.He induces a myriad of groundballs against hitters from both
sides of the plate and need his share of DP's to be
efficient as he's not a great strikeout pitcher. He needs to work better from the stretch
and tends to get hit hard whenever his command is a little off.)
4. Pettitte (Has one of the best pick-off moves in the history of the game. Owns
tremendous movement on all his pitches, especially his cutter that
moves in on righties.
The dangerous thing with him is the numbers of base-runners he lett on as he consistently averages over one hit per inning, which keeps him out of the elite class of starting pitchers.)
5. Chamberlain (Boats an overpowering fastball that can easily blow hitters away. For a
power pitcher, he has very good controland got a warrior's mentality on
the mound. He needs to improve his secondary pitches in order to become a dominant
starter and must keep his weight in check in order to maximize his
potential)
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