Best in Baseball, Part II

This is the second installment in my four-part series. In this post, I'll pick the best starting pitcher from each team. I'll also include the best relief pitcher on each team. For most of the relief pitchers, the closer will be the de facto answer, but I'll include an explanation every time it's someone else. To me, potential counts a little bit more for pitchers than hitters, and defense is slightly less important for pitchers (although it's still important, just ask the Tigers pitchers). As usual, let me know when I'm wrong, which is bound to happen pretty often.

AL East

• Baltimore Orioles: Erik Bedard, SP and Chad Bradford, RP
  • Bedard's one of the best young arms in the game today, and he's only going to get better. The Orioles also have Steve Traschsel, who I'm well acquainted with from his Mets days. Let's just say he's a decent 8th starter.
  • Chris Ray's the closer in a revamped bullpen, but I love Bradford, who throws so far from the side his arm almost hits the ground. A little Mets bias, maybe, but Bradford's still the man.
• Boston Red Sox: Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP and Jonathan Papelbon, RP
  • It was easier than I thought to pick this one. Curt Schilling is still a good pitcher, but no longer a great one. Josh Beckett has yet to harness his potential (and I'm not sure if he ever will), so I'm going with the Japanese import.
  • For the reliever, I wanted to pick Joel Pineiro, but then I remember how terrible he was.
• New York Yankees: Chien-Ming Wang, SP and Mariano Rivera, RP
  • The Yankees better hope Clemens comes back and pitches for them, because their rotation is just awful. Wang will help once he gets off the DL, but Andy Pettitte's over the hill, and Pavano hasn't pitched in years (and wasn't really that good to begin with).
  • Mariano Rivera = best closer in the history of baseball.
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Scott Kazmir, SP and Al Reyes, RP
  • For a team with so much young offensive talent, the D-Rays have absolutely no pitching other than Kazmir. Maybe that's why they're never very good.
  • This Reyes guy is a 37-year-old relief pitcher closing for the first time in his life. Doesn't sound very smart to me, but the guy's 4-for-4 on save opportunities and hasn't given up a run yet, so what do I know?
• Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay, SP and B.J. Ryan, RP
  • Doc Halladay (cheesy nicknames are fun) is the number two pitcher in all of baseball right now, behind Johan. Halladay's palmball would always get me in MVP Baseball 2005. He was a killer.
  • The Jays better hope that Ryan didn't blow out his elbow, or else their season might be blown out. That's how important he is to the team.

AL Central

• Chicago White Sox: Jose Contreras, SP and Bobby Jenks, RP
  • This rotation was so strong during their championship run in 2005, but now I don't really like any of these guys anymore. I guess I'll take Contreras out of that mediocre rotation.
  • Like the starting pitchers for the White Socks, Jenks hasn't been the same since 2005, but he's still an above-average closer (and he's only 26).
• Cleveland Indians: C.C. Sabathia, SP and Joe Borowski, RP
  • Sabathia's definitely the ace of this staff, even though he doesn't bend the brim of his cap. It looks ridiculous, to be honest
  • I'll take the closer because I have to choose someone from this crappy bullpen. That's it.
• Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander, SP and Joel Zumaya
  • The reigning AL Rookie of the Year, while not the ace of this staff, is the best pitcher on this very loaded starting rotation. Would I have picked Kenny Rogers if he had been healthy? In a word, no.
  • Sure, Todd Jones does a good job closing, but everyone knows he's just keeping the seat warm for the flamethrower Zumaya.
• Kansas City Royals: Gil Meche, SP and Joakim Soria, RP
  • Meche has had a great start to the season, but he's got a ways to go before he vindicates KC from that ridiculous contract (5 years, $55 million) that they signed him for. Am I crazy to think he can do it?
  • I picked Soria because he's got the same first name as the basketballer from Florida. Of course, I'm guessing Soria isn't as terrifying in HD as Noah is.
• Minnesota Twins: Johan Santana, SP and Joe Nathan, RP
  • Best current starting pitcher in baseball.
  • Best current closer in baseball.

AL West

• Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of the Southeastern California Seaside Region: John Lackey, SP and Francisco Rodriguez, RP
  • Lackey is severely underrated. His record is pretty good (27-16, 3.50 ERA over the past two years), but he's even better than that. Bartolo Colon is over the hill, Jared Weaver and Ervin Santana aren't quite there yet.
  • Despite the whole "K-Rod's Cheating" thing a couple weeks ago, the guy has absolutely filthy stuff, and he's got 92 saves over the past 2 years.
• Oakland Athletics: Rich Harden, SP and Huston Street, RP
  • If Harden could stay healthy, he'd be terrific. Too bad he has never done that.
  • Huston Street's an OK closer, but he did blow 11 saves last year. That's way too many.
• Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez, SP and J.J. Putz, RP
  • King Felix is going to be an elite pitcher. I mean, did you see him in Boston last week? He keeps this up and he'll be better than Santana is. I'm serious.
  • Putz, like Huston Street, is an average closer. He also probably won't get a ton of opportunities in games that Jeff Weaver's starting.
• Texas Rangers: Vincente Padilla, SP and Eric Gagne, RP
  • This pitching staff just sucks something awful. I went with Padilla because he had the best stats for 2006 (15-10, 4.50 ERA). He’s off to a spectacular start so far in 2007 (0-3, 6.62).
  • Gagne wins this one because the Rangers bullpen is terrible. It’s got to be bad when your best pitcher is a guy who has appeared in 17 games in 3 years. Remember how awesome he used to be, when he had 152 saves in 158 chances from 2002-2004.

NL East

• Atlanta Braves: John Smoltz, SP and Mike Gonzalez, RP
  • Tim Hudson's looking like his old self so far this year, but I'm going with the known quantity with Smoltz. I mean, he's got 194 wins and 154 saves. That's ridiculous. If Hudson stays healthy all year, he'll be the ace of the Braves staff. Not just because he'll be that good, but because Smoltz is a free agent after this season and the Braves tend to let their great pitchers finish careers elsewhere (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, anyone?)
  • Bob Wickman's a good closer for the Braves, but he's 38 and basically just keeping the seat warm for Gonzalez. Gonzales is only 28 and was 24-for-24 in save opportunities for the Pirates last year. The Braves also have Raphael Soriano and Tyler Yates, both of whom are pretty good arms. They have a really good bullpen.
• Florida Marlins: Dontrelle Willis, SP and Jorge Julio, RP
  • Willis is obviously the ace of this very young Marlins rotation. I keep hoping he'll get traded to the Mets or an American League team, because he absolutely destroys the Mets (11-2 career record).
  • I picked Julio because he's got great stuff and he reminds me of Armando Benitez. That is, he can't handle pressure situations and I'm glad he's out of New York.
• New York Mets: Tom Glavine, SP and Billy Wagner, RP
  • He's 41 and he's got 292 wins and he's the undisputed ace of this staff, until Pedro comes back and starts dominating again (Ok, probably not happening, but still, I can dream...).
  • Wagner's probably the second-best closer in the National League (after Trevor Hoffman), and the Mets bullpen, while still good, isn't as elite as it was last year.
• Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Hamels, SP and Tom Gordon, RP
  • Hamels is going to be a great pitcher, and he's already a very good one and the ace of that staff. Brett Myers is good too, but he beats his wife, so he doesn't count in my book.
  • Flash Gordon is really the only good pitcher in the entire Phillies bullpen. That's going to come back and bite them on the ass.
• Washington Nationals: Shawn Hill, SP and Chad Cordero, RP
  • This was easy. Hill's the only pitcher on the Nats that has even come close to being successful this season. John Patterson, the supposed "ace" of that rotation, has been awful, and so have all the other retreads that the Nationals have run out there.
  • Cordero's a good closer on a very very bad team. He might get 30-35 save opportunities all year.

NL Central

• Chicago Cubs: Carlos Zambrano, SP and Ryan Dempster
  • Zambrano's one of the top-5 pitchers in the NL, and the Cubs are working on a long-term deal with him. They better get it done, or it's more of the Mark Prior-Kerry Wood DL Merry-Go-Round.
  • Dempster's been a closer for a couple of years, and he's slightly above average, although he did blow nine saves last year. He'll be good for about 30-35 saves this year. That's all I have to say about that.
• Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Harang, SP and David Weathers, RP
  • Harang was the National League leader in both wins (16) and strikeouts (216) in 2006, and he got exactly 0 Cy Young votes. That seems moderately ridiculous to me.
  • Weathers already has 5 saves this year, and he's...experienced, being 37 years old and all.
• Houston Astros: Roy Oswalt, SP and Brad Lidge, RP
  • I think Oswalt is the number one pitcher in the NL. I mean, his highest ERA for a season is 3.49, and he's got two 20-win seasons and one 19-win season. And he got a bulldozer for getting the Astros to the World Series in 2005. He's just the best.
  • Everybody knows about the problems that Lidge has been having, but I still think that he's the better pitcher in comparison with Dan Wheeler. Lidge will get it together soon, I think, and be the closer again very soon.
• Milwaukee Brewers: Ben Sheets, SP and Francisco Cordero, RP
  • Sheets has had trouble staying healthy the past couple of years, but when he's on, he is electric. See his Opening Day complete game 2-hitter for details.
  • Cordero is a vast improvement over the wildness and unpredictability that is Derrick Turnbow.
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Zach Duke, SP and Salomon Torres, RP
  • I could have gone with either Duke or Ian Snell here, as both are bound for the Oliver Perez-Kip Wells career path (reclamation project for another team).
  • Torres is a 35-year-old first time closer. On almost any other team, that would be a problem, but this is the Pirates. I could close for the Pirates and it wouldn't make much of a difference.
• St. Louis Cardinals: Chris Carpenter, SP and Jason Isringhausen, RP
  • Carpenter is an easy pick, unless his elbow problems are more serious than they seem. He better get back if the Cardinals are going to be successful this year.
  • The Cardinals bullpen is not nearly as strong as it was last year, and I would have put Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper ahead of Izzy, who's over the hill.

NL West

• Arizona Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb, SP and Jose Valverde, RP
  • Here's a new rule: If you win a Cy Young, for the following year you are the best pitcher on your team. That would include Webb, he of the nasty sinker.
  • I don't know too much about Valverde, but he's got 6 saves already this year, so he must be decent, at least.
• Colorado Rockies: Aaron Cook, SP and Brian Fuentes, RP
  • I'm going to be honest, I don't know too much about the Rockies organization (which led to my omission of Garrett Atkins in Part I). I went with Cook because of all the pitchers on the Rockies, he seemed to have the best track record.
  • I went with Fuentes as the best reliever because he's the closer. Also, keep in mind that it is Colorado, which means that no pitcher will have really good numbers.
• Los Angeles Dodgers: Brad Penny, SP and Jonathan Broxton, RP
  • It's the same thing with Penny as it is with Ben Sheets in Milwaukee. If he's healthy, he's a very good pitcher. Penny was the starter for the NL in the All-Star Game last year for a reason. That Jason Schmidt signing isn't looking so great right now, is it?
  • I know Takashi Saito is the closer, and he's a good one, but Broxton is a huge guy with tremendous strength. He'll be the closer soon enough.
• San Diego Padres: Jake Peavy, SP and Trevor Hoffman, RP
  • Peavy anchors an extremely solid Padres rotation, with Chris Young, David Wells, and Greg Maddux behind him.
  • As always, the Padres have a very deep bullpen, and as always, it's led by the all-time leader in saves, Hoffman. I don't really have to explain that one very much.
• San Francisco Giants: Barry Zito, SP and Armando Benitez, RP
  • Zito is horrendously overpaid, but he's still a good pitcher. You can do worse than a guy who takes the ball every fifth day and has never missed a start. He's just not worth 7 years and $126 million.
  • I went with Benitez for the exact same reason that the Giants do: I just don't have any other viable alternatives.

I'll be back later this week with Part III. Let me know what I screwed up.