What will our rotation look like in the second half?
Scioscia said RHP John Lackey would start the second half of the season and the rest of the rotation would depend on how Saunders and RHP Ervin Santana are used in the All-Star Game
Unless one of them throws more than 2 innings (Ervin also unlikely to pitch since he started July 12th), this shouldn't really affect the rotation. So we have Lackey penciled in as the #1 starter, but who is number 2? I think that so far Joe has been the better pitcher, but I think that Ervin should pitch second to lighten the load on Saunders. Last season, between AAA and the MLB, Saunders pitched something like 230 innings. That was the second year in a row (2 years ago 70 in the bigs, 160 in the minors). I don't want to put too much wear and tear on Saunders, and I think he should only pitch around 200-220 innings max this year. Santana on the other hand has never pitched more than 215 or so innings in a year. He can handle the work load with out any real injury concerns. Last year, Saunders also broke down in his final 6 starts with a 6+ ERA. Ervin had a sub 3 ERA in his final 27 innings pitched. So who will be the #4 starter, WTY, or Judy. Garland continually puts up league average numbers while pitching 220+ innings a year. He's not spectacular, but overall, he gets the job done consistently (minus a game here or there where he blows up). Weaver on the other hand is alot less predictable. He has never pitched more than 161 innings in the Majors in any year. He also had some arm troubles last year. He did finish strong last year (2.5 or so ERA in his last 6 starts) but he has had a .3 higher ERA in the second half than in the first. I think we should rest him and keep his innings relatively low, so he can be effective without causing much strain on his arm. So to sum, if i were Scioscia (which im not) my rotation would look like this...
1. Lackey
2. Santana
3. Saunders
4. Garland
5. Weaver
Poll
What should the rotation be?
Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Garland, Weaver (12 votes)
Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Weaver, Garland (23 votes)
Lackey, Saunders, Santana, Garland, Weaver (10 votes)
Lackey, Saunders, Santana, Weaver, Garland (23 votes)
Something else (please specify in a post) (3 votes)
71 total votes




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