Okay so I pilfered this from ESPN.com, but was interested in what you all thought. Which of the following is the best 1-2-3 rotation in baseball today? Maybe rank them all in order of preference. Here are the choices:

Braves-Maddux, Glavine, Millwood

Yankees-Clemens, Mussina, Wells

Athletics-Hudson, Zito, Mulder

Diamondbacks-Johnson, Schilling, Batista

Red Sox-Martinez, Lowe, Burkett

I'd vote for the Athletics. Those three are pure eye candy too!

UH?
What about Moyer, Garcia and Pineiro,
all three could win 20 on their current pace.
Oh yeah, YANKEEES SUCK!

1. A's
2. Diamondbacks
3. Red Sox
4. Braves
5. Yankees - The pitchers are too inconsistent, and besides, [quote] YANKEEES SUCK!

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[quote] What about Moyer, Garcia and Pineiro

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Since you asked, I would rate them after the Red Sox.

My top 1-2-3 rotations:

Oakland
Arizona
Atlanta
Red Sox
Yankees

Of course, it is all predicated on all pitchers involved being healthy. As our grandmothers used to say: "Without your health, what good are you?"

~Adam

I have to agree with gp on this. Moyer, Garcia, And Piniero are starting pitchers that should not be overlooked. Jamie Moyer(10-4)should have been in the all-star game. As for the yank$$$$$$$; since I can't stand george(the ka-billionaire)and the fact that he goes out and buys all-star type players to fill in the gaps on his team, I will NOT vote for the three yankee pitchers. Oh yeah, yank$, you really showed the tigers something wednesday night. Being an All-star type team you should have won the game by more than 1 run!!! For the yank$$ fan$$, you can't honestly think it's a legitimate win. You have a freakin' ALL-STAR TEAM!!!!!! It's pathetic that they don't win every game considering all of the players they have on the team. As for the choices that I have, I would have to go with Johnson, Schilling, Batista for the best 1-2-3 starting pitching rotation. One reason is that they embarrassed george and the yank$ in the WS01.

Yep. Seattle's rotation is being way underrated. I'm not sure the Yankees even have the best top 3 in New York. It's just not that hard to win a lot of games when your teams scores nearly 6 runs/game.

I rank 'em:

1. Boston (based on performance to date--not sure I believe in Lowe over the long haul)
2. Atlanta
3. Oakland (their ERA's benefit from a terrific pitcher's park)
4. Seattle
5. Arizona - Their top two aren't THAT much better than Boston & Atlanta and their #3 is much much worse than the others.

Do you mean for this season? Time will tell. Oakland probably, even if the A's trio can't dominate the way they have the last 2 weeks.

Quite a few of those staffs have a shaky #3. And how can Boston be there when Pedro can only throw 6 innings per start?

I can't find the stats on-line, but Pedro's been going more like 7-8 innings most of the season. Sure, he got a quick hook in a couple of starts early in the season, and those poor outings might have brought down his average innings per start. But iffy shoulder and all, you can still count on Petey to go pretty deep into a game.

The guy I'd be worried about in the Sox 1-2-3 is John Burkett. Even though he's 9-3 with a respectable 3.75 ERA, I can't say I'm a believer in Burkett. He's been awfully lucky with run support this year, and he notched up a lot of those wins against some pretty creampuff opposition.

My rankings:
1. Atlanta: Maddux and Glavine are as good as it gets, and I think Millwood's better than his stats indicate.
2. Boston: even with Pedro's iffy shoulder and Burkett's all-around iffiness, a combined 33-10 record (with an ERA ~3) speaks for itself.
3. Oakland: three young studs, with Ted Lilly to back them up
3. Seattle: with Moyer, Garcia, and Pineiro, they're pretty much tied with Oakland
5. NYY: Yeah, Clemens is out, but this staff has enough depth to still make the top 5.
6. D-backs: Combined, as many wins and just 2 more losses than Boston, but Batista is so unconvincing that I couldn't rank them any higher.

[ July 18, 2002: Message edited by: BoSoxRudy ]

Pedro has pitched 48 innings in his last 7 starts--and hardly anyone averages more than 7 IP/start anymore. Even over the year as a whole P. Martinez is averaging 6.40 IP/s, more than Mussina or Clemens.

And, I'll take a pitcher who gives up 2 runs in six innings over one who gives up 3 or 4 in 7 anyday.

Having watched many of the Braves games lately, I have to say I am no longer convinced of the idea that a strong 1-2-3 rotation is what matters.
The Braves middle relief is putting on a show the likes of which I don't recall seeing. A six or seven inning starter's appearance has become the norm in ATL. But that's not so much a dispersion on the starters. Cox is using a five-man middle relief squad that is unprecedented. And the sixth man is Smoltz. Smoltzie happens to lead the leagues in saves, which is what I had predicted him to do this year.
I've always believed that the team with the best bullpen wins in the playoffs. This could be Atlanta's year, as no one else out there has impressed me as greatly as the Braves bullpen.

[quote]Originally posted by AU Tiger in LA:
Having watched many of the Braves games lately, I have to say I am no longer convinced of the idea that a strong 1-2-3 rotation is what matters.

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Excellent point AU! The Twins were thought to have one of the best starting rotations in the AL at the start of the season. But injuries have ravaged the unit (Joe Mays and Brad Radke missed most of the first half) and their ERA is among the lowest in the league. But thanks to amazing middle relief and closers, the Twins are running away with their division.

The best two would have to be Schilling and Johnson in the NL, and Martinez and Lowe in the AL. As for 3-somes, I would give it to Boston, Seattle, and Atlanta.

Having several great starters really can take you all the way. Schilling and Johnson demonstrated this last year, and the Yankees have over the last few years had superb starting pitching during the season and playoffs. But good relief pitching and timely hitting are also crucial.

Three starters I give incredible credit to are rookies Jason Simontacchi and Travis Smith, and Matt Morris, who have helped keep St. Louis atop their division even after the death of Darryl Kile.