http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...yson&id=1710604

what gets me is this quote about the Sox..."But our panel ranked the Red Sox anywhere from first on their ballots to off the ballot completely."

I swear to god, sometimes the people at ESPN just don't think.

The Astros' rotation this year is comparable to the Yankees' rotation last year. Pettitte and Clemens are holdovers, Oswalt is comparable to Mussina (injuries factored in and all), and while Miller is admittedly better than Wells, Robertson is not that good (the W-L is misleading). But don't forget Pettitte and Clemens are now both a year older. Did the Yankees enter the race for best rotation LAST year? I don't think so.

The fact of the matter is that Clemens and Pettitte are heavily overrated. Both really rate as #2 starters, and in Boston/New York/Oakland/Cubs rotations, rank as #3 starters or worse. Miller is good if healthy, although he's got nothing on Zito/Brown or maybe even Lowe.

Last year rotations would've stacked up as such:
Oakland, Cubs, LA, Seattle, Arizona, NYY.

This year, IMO:
Oakland, Boston/NYY, Cubs, Astros

I'm shocked at how ignorant some sports writers can be.

However, of all aspects of a baseball club, IMHO, the performance of the pitching is the most difficult to predict. The most obvious example of this, would be the Red Sox bullpen last year. Around this time, it was expected to be sensational, but we all know how it turned out.

That in mind, it is extremely difficult to predict how one pitcher will do during the season, let alone a group of 5. At least, that's why I think the Sox aren't higher. Its pretty much a given that Schill and Pedro (if healthy) will be dominant, but there are more question marks when you get to Lowe (2002 a fluke?), Wake, and BK (can he handle the pressure?).

Ask in May which team has the best rotation, and then it will be much more clean cut.

But personally, I would take the Sox rotation over any other in baseball.

I guess another thing to note here is that it only takes into consideration starting 5's and not the bullpens. If that were the case, and sure I am biased, with the resiging of Swilly for a year, gives us the best all around staff in the league..

The "experts" as Espn are entitled to their opinions, and I can almost understand putting us at 3, as Wake, although he's been solid through and through, is a knuckleballer, and if it ain't dancin, it's being blasted all over the place. But I don't agree with putting the MFY's ahead. Contreras pitched well in relief down the stretch, but he is still relatively unproven as a starter. "But he's worth the $8m he's being paid.." How do you figure. Whatever. As Green Monster said..we'll see in May..

It's ESP-NY.
That's their market.
They say good things about Boston teams with some reluctance.

It's clear to me the Sox rotation was penalized for having Wakefield on it. Most people find the knuckleball to be an unreliable pitch (in terms of control). Those of us who have had the good fortune of watching Wake pitch over several years. The folks doing the rating probably were concerned with his consistency (He had a 5.00+ ERA in 3 of his 9 seasons with the Red Sox). They obviously didn't discount as much for the injury concerns for the Yanks. After all, doesn't it usually take 2 seasons to fully recover from TJ surgery?

Am I the only one that thinks that Pettitte will give Jose Guillen a run for the title of 'biggest bust of the off-season'? Last time I checked (please correct me if I'm wrong), Pettitte is a flyball pitcher and Minute Maid is a hitter-friendly park. I have a $5 bet with my friend that he wont win more than 14 games this season, if that. I really don't feel like citing the stats to back up my claim right now, I'm really just wondering if anyone feels this way.

I like Houston's rotation, but I don't think there is a rotation in the ML that Jimy can't ruin. That said, I see the arguement for putting the MFY's rotation ahead of ours, but I don't agree with it. I'm assuming that the people at ESPN have questions about the health of our big two. Thats great, because I have questions about John Lieber's health; Kevin Brown's health; and Contreras' ability to start in the major leagues, or for that matter start, period; How will Vasquez adjust to the AL? ...I could go on forever.

I'm in Houston, and I'm accustomed to seeing the Astros make poor decisions on FA pitching (Drabek/Swindell). I don't know if Andy will be a bust, but I know he won't be an ace, if for no other reason than his questionable elbow. As far as being a fly ball pitcher, he is not. He had the fifth best grounder/fly ball ratio in the AL last year. Understand, however, that Mike Hampton was sure to succeed in Coors because he was a ground ball pitcher as well.

I think the wild card is the health of Carlos Hernandez. If he is throwing as well as has been reported, he will be a huge boost and among the best 5th starters in the league. In my opinion, Jimy should never scrawl the name "Jeriome Robertson" on a line-up card again, as Tim Redding (almost Roberston's opposite in terms of run support) has earned the spot in the event that Hernandez isn't ready.

The bottom line is that, while I love the Astros, you cannot crown them the best rotation in the league until you see how Minute Maid will affect them. Oswalt has proven that they can pitch there successfully, but Miller has been inconsistent (due, perhaps, to injury last year). No one can guess how Pettitte and Clemens will handle it. That ballpark will always have the final word over scouts and GMs.

Wait 'till you see this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1692140

It's their Power Rankings. They list Boston as having held their ground, neither improving, nor getting worse. They list the MFYs as the only team in the division as having improved.

Bizarre.

"Rankings are based on moves made following the 2003 season."

From this quote, I believe that these are rankings based purely on the teams moves in the offseason.

The arrows (improving, getting worse, staying the same) I believe just reflect whats happened since the last update.

i don't agree with naming redding the 5th starter....jeriome robertson is amazing!...and he's not afraid...he's always ready and up for anything...those of you who pay attention to what i write know that emotion and fear don't agree well with me...i'm predicting now they are going to trade him and/or he will be the 5th by july 31...