In the week of January 14th, 2008, Sporting News, in their baseball section ranked each leagues starting rotation. Out of the 16, the Braves got ranked 8th, the Mets 9th, the Phillies 10th, Nationals 15th and the Marlins 16th.
Needless to say, they do not have much faith in the NL East's current rotations. That feeling is rightfully so at this point in time.
This says a few things. First, the inclusion of Santana, Blanton, or Bedard on either the Mets, Braves, or Philles would make them the best rotation in the divison (Luckily for us, the Mets are the only one with packages to do that, unless the Braves trade Jason Heyward which they would not do). That statement is obvious though.
Out of these three teams, the Mets have the best chance to be the best, or be the worst. Before we get to how they control their own destiny in this departement, lets look at the faults within the Braves, who are currently the top of the three. Their top pitchers are Smoltz, Hudson, and Glavine. When looking at Glavine it is important to note that in each of his last three seasons, his ERA has ballooned. He was a 3.53, then a 3.82, and last year a 4.45. Although he is known for winning even when giving up runs (he pitches for the win, not the low ERA) that will have to stop with the Braves who do not have an offense as potent as the Mets. On top of Glavine, they are hoping for Hampton to finish out their rotation and we all know he is injury prone.
On the topic of the Mets, the focus will go back onto Maine and Perez who can make this team into a dominate pitching force or at the same time just self-destruct. Last year was promsising for both and if Maine can have a strong season, for the whole season (similar to how he started last year) and if Perez can keep throwing strikes, the Mets could very well be the best of this trio. The main weakness with Mets rotation is the fifth pticher right now because currently its a question mark, but time will tell what happens.
When looking at the Philles, they will go as far (in terms of starting pitching) as Hamels and Kendrick. Sporting News says that Hamels is “becoming a true ace” which is absolutly true. If Kendrick starts to pitch better (he was a rookie last year), this rotation could become a little more trouble than they were before. The nice thing (if you are a Phillies fan) is that you know with the setup man and closer situation in Philly now, and their highly potent offense, it doesnt matter if the starting rotation is great, they just need to be above average to good in order to win.
On another note entirely, I really like the Texas Ranger's new slogan “You can use some baseball”
