EHSPN Around The League: Starting Pitchers (East)

Mark Mulder has some extra time on his hands after the Weasels decided that his services were no longer needed in Bridgewater. He has more time to spend on his golf swing, while former teammate and best friend Tim Hudson is still stuck in the rotation for the struggling Weasels. The question is, who's happier?









By: Max Powers/Reno Weekly Rag and Jim Phalis/Baseball Tri-Weekly


The East has more story lines set in their pitching staff than any other position. Between the disdain felt by Bridgewater pitchers to the ongoing feud between Josh Beckett and Mark Prior that can never seemed to be resolved, even though Prior can't seem to put together a full season. Here's a look at the league's starting pitcher situation going into the 2007 Draft and how each team is taking care of their issues on and off the field.

Arlington Warriors

Starting Five: Diasuke Matsusaka*, Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, Zach Grienke, Tom Gorzelanny
Wildcard: The Draft
Future: None

The Warriors boast the craziest team in baseball, but don’t let their low rank fool you. Arlington’s staff is young, inexperienced and lacking any depth. I even cheated and put Dice-K on the roster despite not being on the roster yet. Still, their top four have ace potential and Gorzelanny looks to be a 5th or 6th guy in the EHCC for a long time. Arlington reminds me of Tokyo in 2005, lacking depth but having a few studs like Dontrelle Willis, Zach Duke and John Patterson. Matsusaka and Wainwright have the natural talent to be top pitchers in the East, while Harang has used the last two seasons to make himself into an underground superstar. Matsusaka killed a man, Grienke almost killed himself and Wainwright sounds like a guy who killed the radio star.
*It has been widely assumed that Matsuzaka will be chosen by Arlington with the #1 overall pick in the upcoming MaDraft. Even if he isn't, it's still the last place staff in the division.

Peoria Cardinals

Starting Five: Chris Capuano, John Patterson, Chris Young, Cole Hamels, Chuck James
Wild Card: The Draft
Future: None

With just five starters on their roster, Peoria easily has the smallest staff in the EHCC. Not only that, but John Patterson has been rumored to be out for the beginning portion of the season as well. This doesn’t bode well for the Cardinals, as it will put a lot more pressure on them to draft pitchers. Unfortunately for them, after the 11th pick in the draft, they don’t have another pick until the 4th round. One thing in the Cardinals favor is youth, as no starter in their rotation is over the age of 28. With a few decent moves this season, they could have a decent enough pitching staff on their hands by the end of the year. As of now however, things aren’t looking good compared to the rest of the league as they just don’t have the depth most teams have.

Las Vegas Doggs

Starting Five: Ben Sheets, Roy Halladay, Barry Zito, Curt Shilling, Oliver Perez
Wildcard: Mark Prior and Roger Clemens
Future: Matt Garza

A strong pitching team a year ago, a series of trades beginning in June of 2006 has nipped away at the Doggs’ staff, leaving them barely able to field a 5-man rotation. Sheets and Halladay are clear top of the rotation guys, but Zito and Shilling are shakier than they should be given the lack of supporting cast in Las Vegas. Oliver Perez is the only other non-reliever pitching in the pros to start the season. Unreliable Mark Prior and Matt Garza will start the season in the minors, and Roger Clemens will be watching the new season of American Idol. All three will be taking up valuable roster spots. When most of the contending teams having starting corps seven or eight strong, Las Vegas has chosen to fill their rotation in the draft. Unless they have an exceptional one, Las Vegas won’t be blowing out teams the way they used to.

Bridgewater Weasels

Starting Five: Chris Carpenter, John Lackey, Vincente Padilla, Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina
Wild Card: Tim Hudson, Jon Garland, and Jeff Suppan
Future: None

Tim Hudson has been very vocal about not enjoying his time in Bridgewater, and now he’s even more upset. When him and best friend Mark Mulder came over to the Weasels from Vegas they made a bet. A bet that revolved around which of the two could get cut first from the Bridgewater roster. Tim Hudson now owes Mulder ten thousand dollars, a six pack of Budweiser, and peach flavored Philly Blunt. Not only that, but Hudson, along with Chris Carpenter and John lackey have to try keep the Weasel starting pitching staff a float while the compete with the rest of the East in 2007. Will he go back to his Ace-ways? Or will he do everything in his power to get the Weasels to cut him as well?

Rakeville Rockets

Starting Five: Roy Oswalt, Felix Hernandez, AJ Burnett, Josh Beckett, Bronson Arroyo
Wild Card: Pedro Martinez, Javier Vazquez, and Ian Snell
Future: Phillip Hughes, Mike Pelfrey

The Rocket’s staff has a lot of storylines going into this season. Will Josh Beckett be able to perform with Mark prior starting the season in AAA? Will team captain and first overall draft pick in team history Pedro Martinez return to form to pitch over 100 innings in 2007? Will King Felix live up to the title he bestowed upon himself when he joined the EHCC? Will Rakeville GM Jack reed learn Ian Snell’s first name or just continue to yell out “SNELL!” at opportune times? They have the aces up their sleeves, the depth, and the youth to back it all up down the road. Also, their average major league age (w/o Pedro) is 28. All things considered, the Rakeville staff should be in for a big year.

Weymouth Shaddupu

Starting Five: Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, Jeremy Bonderman, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana
Wildcards: Jeff Francis
Future: Jered Weaver, Nick Adenhart, and Humberto Sanchez

The best starting five in the EHCC, Shaddupu’s rotation is tough from top to bottom. Santana and Zambrano are elite hurlers, Bonderman’s strikeouts more than make up for the slight bump in whip, and Haren and Santana are solid backends. Jered Weaver could easily be put in the rotation, but the 24-year-old’s will be allowed to continue his development without the pressure thanks to the team’s other top pitchers. Jeff Francis is an excellent fill-in pitcher, and though he hasn’t emerged as an ace, he is a reliable starter who eats innings and notches wins. Of the four pitcher’s in Nantucket, the team’s minor league affiliate, Nick Adenhart and Humberto Sanchez stand out the most. More young arms for a loaded Shaddupu staff.

Max Powers writes for the Reno Weekly Rag. Jim Phalis writes for Baseball Tri-Weekly. The two never met face to face while collaborating on this article, but both drank Killians while drafting their portions, which unlike this article, is never rushed.