FanShot

Buster Olney is an Idiot

77

Buster lists the top 5 rotations in baseball...guess who isn't one of them... "And keep in mind we're talking about pitchers No. 1 through No. 5, not just the top one or two, in which case my vote probably would go to the Mariners (with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee), the Cardinals (with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright) or the Giants (with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain). Here goes ... Getty Images Last season, Jon Lester was 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 94 K's in 89.1 innings pitched after the All-Star break. Momentum into 2010, anybody? 1.Red Sox: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, No. 6 Tim Wakefield. On paper, a strong group -- if Beckett has a season worthy of a contract drive, if Lackey succeeds in making the transition to the American League East, if Matsuzaka can finally get on the same page as the Red Sox staff and if Buchholz continues to improve. 2.Yankees: CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez, Phil Hughes. As usual, Burnett is the key for this group; it could be the best if he pitches at an elite level. 3.White Sox: Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia. Peavy looked great in his three starts down the stretch this past season. More on that in Wednesday's blog. 4.Angels: Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro. Lackey is gone, but if Santana is healthy, this could be an excellent group. 5.Cardinals: Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Kyle Lohse, Brad Penny, somebody else. Penny, by the way, appears to be in great shape and is motivated to have a big season. Let's add this: 5a. Phillies: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer. The Phillies would have been No. 1 if they had Halladay, Lee and Hamels 1-2-3. Others in the conversation: Braves (whom I probably would have placed at No. 3 if not for the trade of Javier Vazquez), Giants, Rays (depending on how Matt Garza and David Price develop), Diamondbacks (depending on what Brandon Webb does)."