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The 2008 season brings a lot of change to starting pitching including some good pitchers moving to new teams and even a few aces going to greener pastures. Now that most of the free agents have been signed and it is only a few months from the start of the season, we will rank the top 5 starting pitcher rotation.

#5 The Atlanta Braves

The Braves have always have big name pitching and this year the role with 2 over 40+ in age pitchers. They don’t have the youngest starting pitchers but these veterans are all big time names that should be able to win with Atlanta improving on offense. The big three, Smoltz, Glavine, and Hudson should have a good year in a tough division. Chuck James seems to be improving and if the dark horse, Mike Hampton, can get back to where he was and stay healthy than the Braves will be a team to rival the Mets and Phillies.
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Jose Canseco actually appeared like the one who came on top during the release of the Mitchel report on steroids and HGH in baseball. Conseco was on of the first to be recognized as a big steroid user and his book “Juiced” implicated both Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi who both used some enhancing product. His second book, set to be titled “Vindicated” and tod be published March 31, 2008, is supposed to mention more names and even more details.

However Jose Canseco could become the next Senator Joseph McCarthy. For those who do not know who Joseph McCarthy is, he was a Senator from Wisconsin during the late 1940s and his rise to fame came from his push that there were Communist and Soviet spies who had infiltrated many government organizations. He also claimed to have a list of names which he presented but was never able to provide substantial proof which resulted in him being discredited and censured by the United States Senate. This finally led to his downfall and loss of respect by colleagues.

I say Jose Canseco could be the next Joseph McCarthy because the state of baseball has essentially become a two group faction of athletes who work hard to get where they are and those that use some enhancing product that is deemed illegal to league rules. Jose Canseco and his books are essentially a list of names and details of athletes that possibly have used steroids, HGH,  or other enhancing products. It is hard for Conseco to prove these details and accusations in his book and we all know they guy does not care about respect from his teammates or friends.

What really shows Canseco selfish personality and ability to take advantage of the situation is the article in New York Times of Canseco offering to keep former teammate Magglio Ordonez out of his upcoming book if Ordonez invested in a movie project promoted by Canseco. Of course Canseco avidly denies that he or any of his lackies asked for the money. He is not stupid enough to ask directly for money but I am sure the hint was dropped to Ordonez and shows how far Canseco can drop in morals.

The Times also reported that the issue was forwarded to the FBI but Ordonez did not go forward with the matter. Ordonez is quoted as saying “I didn’t want to press charges against him,” and “I don’t want any problems. He is probably desperate for money. I don’t understand why he is trying to put people down.”

I would never buy the book and those people who do are stupid. Just let ESPN release an article mentioning who he mentioned. Don’t support this scum bag by buying his book and know that baseball will eventually find a way to get over this situation.

The Mets have won the race on obtaining two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, beating out both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox without having to give their best players. Pending a physical and contract issues, the Mets will have obtained Santana for four players: OF Carlos Gomez,RHP Phil Humber, RHP Deolis Guerra, and RHP Kevin Mulvey. The Mets definitely stole Santana here without having to give up Fernando Martinez or other top prospects. The deal definitely is lopsided and favors the Mets unless one of these players just breaks out.

For the Minnesota Twins, GM Bill Smith took a gamble by dangling Santana out too often and throwing away the fish he caught he hopes of a bigger haul. Premium prospects including Jacoby Ellsbury, Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Justin Masterson, and John Lester all were mentioned somewhere and were better deals if taken. Instead the Twins end up with Guerra and Gomez who have potential in being decent players if they meet their projections.

For the Mets, they add Johan Santana in the pitching rotation which includes Pedro Martinez for a tough one-two punch which will create more favorable pitching matchups for John Maine, Olver Perez, and Orlando Hernandez and allow the bullpen to relax more and be utilized more effectively. If the Mets would have kept Tom Glavine, they would be solid from 1 to 4 but they still have a pitching staff that should rival other great rotations.

I personally thought that either the Yankees, Red Sox, or some other team willing to give away top prospects would land Santana but not the Mets and never by giving away these four players with at least one premium prospect that could return high dividends later on. This gives the Mets one of the best pitching rotations along with the Diamondbacks and makes them competitive with AL teams like the Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians that have strong pitchers. Sorry Twins, the players your team received are considered decent players who have the possibility to exceed expectations but most likely not.

Former ace pitcher Mark Prior has signed with the San Diego Padres in a deal worth $1 million for one year with $4.5 million in performance bonuses. Prior was looking at several teams including the Astros and Mariners after being released from the Chicago Cubs. Injuries have side tracked him for the last couple of years but if he can get back to his 2003 numbers where he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA and 245 strikeouts then the Padres have won on a gamble.

I love Prior as he had good stuff before the injuries and at 27 he should be able to come back and get to a higher level of pitching. He was born in San Diego and should be a great fit in the strong pitching rotation. Prior joins ace Jake Peavy, Greg Maddux, and Chris Young and the team led the major leagues with a 3.70 ERA. If Prior can become an ace again, the Padres would have an outstanding one-two punch in Peavy and Prior. This is a great signing for the Padres and should help them reach the postseason. As for the Cubs, they let go a good pitcher who could become just as good as Carlos Zambrano but have resigned Kerry Wood. Ted Lilly is also itching well for them but to let go of Prior is just not sensible.

There have been some changes in the offseason in 2007 Major League Baseball and this has created some great rotations that could equal the pitching staff of the Atlanta Braves back in the 90’s consisting of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz. The big three were all ace pitchers and good pitchers were added throughout the years like Kevin Millwood and Jason Schmidt. There are a few teams who have made some trades and free agents signings to develop a rotation with at least 3 that are very capable of winning more than 10 wins during the season. Read the rest of this entry »

In a weak free agent market for high quality pitchers, the Seattle Mariners look desperate to bolster their rotation by signing Carlos Silva to a deal worth somewhere around 10 million a year for four years. Silva can be considered mediocre to slightly above average at best and is not worth that kind of money. Last year Silva went 13-14, yes a losing record, had 89 strikeouts, and 4.19 ERA. He is not a fast ball throwing, strikeout pitcher but more of a sinker and defense guy.  Once again the Mariners have wasted money on pitching. Mark Prior or Erik Bedard are much better potentials.

The LA Dodgers have acquired one of Japan’s better pitchers in 32 year old Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda was one of the highly sought after players in the off season and brings a strong pitching game much like Daisuke Matsuzaka. Kuroda’s has a 3.69 career ERA and 103-89 record and his 2006 ERA of 1.85 was outstanding in a hitting league. The deal for Kuroda was worth $35.3 million for 3 years and includes a $7.3 million signing bonus. The move should help the Dodgers pitching staff who already have Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, and Chad Billingsley.

One of the top pitchers available this offseason is no longer on the market as Dan Haren was traded by the Oakland A’s to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Haren had an outstanding year going 15-9 with a 3.07 in 34 games. He was considered an ace for the A’s and will definitely be a great 1-2-3 combination with Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson in Arizona. This definitely makes their pitching rotation one of the best in the league if Johnson can get back to being fully healthy. The trade involves 8 players all together with the Diamondbacks getting Haren and fellow pitcher Connor Robertson and the A’s getting outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, pitcher Brett Anderson, pitcher Greg Smith, and 3 minor league prospects as well. This trade definitely works out for the Diamondbacks who get another ace pitcher and the 2nd best one this offseason next to John Santana. The A’s get some major talent prospects as well and will have much to work with in the future.

The Chicago Cubs continue to build a power hitting club by adding Japanese star Kosuke Fukudome, who is considered one of the best outfielders in Japan. The deal is worth $48 million for four years. Fukudome gives the Cubs and outstanding hitter in right field who bats left, can play defense as well, and will compliment the Cubs right handed power hitters Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

What are those crazy Chicago Cubs doing by not giving a 2008 contract to former star right-hander Mark Prior. He is still a very talented pitcher who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. Prior is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in the majors and can still contribute to any team. His win numbers would be much better if he didn’t pitch during the Cubs anemic offense. Some team will surely pick Prior up real quick.