Links from the NL Central as Brewers fans learn that Manny Parra could miss the start of the regular season with a back issue…
- ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick examines an unheralded Astros rotation and one of the keys to its success: pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.
- Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com places Jordan Lyles atop his list of Astros prospects and says the right-hander will arrive in Houston at some point this year, even if he starts off in the minor leagues.
- Cincinnati VP Bob Miller told readers at MLB.com that the Reds have one of the deepest rotations he has ever seen. “While some will argue that we don't have a true No. 1 starter, I feel we have the potential for three or four guys to become true No. 1s,” Miller said.
Not surprised to see a VP grossly overrate his own team.
Isn’t that a fact. Bronson Arroyo sure does not inspire fear into anyone, ditto for Cueto whom he is probably seeing as his top 2?
You know though.. That weak central division probably won’t take more than 90 wins tops to win, so he is looking at maybe a repeat of a 91-71 record of last year and his Cincy team can walk away, cause nobody else in that division really awe inspiring to say the least…
Oh I don’t think any NL Central team is more than 85 wins on pure talent, one will step up and win like 89 or 90 but none of them are great. Brewers defense is too cruddy, Cardinals lost too much with Wainwright. Reds may step up and win it again especially if Bruce breaks out.
True the Reds don’t have a #1 starter but you can make up for that with a rotation of #2 and #3 all the way through your 3 and 4 spot. Yes of course a VP will play up his team but this is a very talent pitching staff with almost nothing but upside to them right now.
Besides, if Chapman can become a starter, he could end up being the ace the team needs in a year or two. Volquez has the stuff to become an Ace. Not every team can have a CC or Halladay, but not every team needs one either.
Oh and the weak NL Central argument is getting weak to be honest.
“Oh and the weak NL Central argument is getting weak to be honest.”
Probably the nicest way to put it when a division will end up being won with 90 victories, maybe less. This is not the AL East, NL East, or even the NL West of the last couple years that actually has powerful teams, rather has ho-hum teams from top to bottom, especially with the Cardinals losing Wainright.
Cueto doesn’t inspire any fear with his pitching, but his cletes will have back-up 36 year old catchers trembling for months.
Cueto doesn’t inspire fear with his pitching, but his cletes will have 36 year old back-up catchers trembling for months.
Blah blah blah
6 straight years of 200+ innings, three straight years of 15+ wins and 2 straight with sub-4.00 ERA… he might not be as sexy as a halladay or felix, but Arroyo is absolutely solid. Cueto and Volquez both clearly have what it takes to be a #1. Bailey has the raw stuff if he ever could put it together, and Leake and Wood have solid stuff. And then there’s some lefty who throws 105 MPH. Four guys who can be a #1? Maybe optimistic. But eight guys with good to great stuff? I wouldn’t call that overrating.
Bronson is definitely a good pitcher. He’s a consistently successful pitcher. But your assessment of Cueto is over rated. He’s got decent stuff for a number 2, but he’s an outstanding 3. Volquez has filthy stuff, and in time he can be an ok 1, and a great 2. I see Volquez turning into a lesser version of Matt Cain with more k-outs. I think Wood will be the only one to really become an ace. I say slightly less dominating than jon Lester, with a average ERA of about 3.50.
The Astros rotation is “unheralded”? So is the food at Denny’s. Same reason in both cases.
Nothing wrong with what the man had to say. Considering the meat bag 5 man rotations of the last 10+ years that the Reds have run out there, it must feel very much like they all have #1 ace potential. So its relative. No one is kidding themselves about the NL Central either. They play the hands they are dealt. Other then Chicago, the rest are all mid to low market teams. No one is going to compete with the AL East because no one can spend the kind of money those teams can. Reverse the markets and make any of the NL Central teams big market regions and you would have the Central being the power houses of baseball. So poke fun at how weak that division is … but just realize it is 100% due to the economic differences that the teams in the AL East are stronger. If MLB were more like the NFL where parity was more valued and all revenue was split up evenly between all teams … the game would be a lot better off IMO.
As for the Cubs … they have no excuses. Just really bad management/ownership decisions over the years.