What I think our rotation will look like in 2009

[realmofotalk]

Two years ago, Jason Schmidt was supposed to be a big part of our rotation. Instead, his arm was shit the moment he arrived. A year ago, Brad Penny was supposed to anchor the staff. Instead, his arm became like Schmidt's, which was shit, and now he's part of Boston's dumpster diving collection of ex-Dodgers. The point is, pitchers are unreliable and fragile, and we shouldn't be counting on five regulars to last us through the season. Billingsley might not recover from a broken fibula or broken confidence, and Kershaw might pan out as much of a stud as Jesse Foppert was. Sadly, we could be looking at a pitching staff next year consisting:

Hiroki Kuroda
Shawn Estes
Claudio Vargas
Eric Stults
Alfredo Bastardo

That's just terrible. Where's the help from the farm system? Where's Stan Conte with the box of Band-aids and bottle of Advil when we need it?

[love_that_reefer]

Another reason why I think the Giants will definitely be contenders.

[realmofotalk]

Umm, no. Not unless the Giants sign Manny or Pablo Sandoval hits 50 home runs next year.

[love_that_reefer]

Ummm, yes since they have a better offense, bullpen and rotation and the Dodgers have a rotation like that. Every team is weaker except for the Giants.

[realmofotalk]

Oh, sorry, I forgot all about the addition of Edgar Renteria's powerful bat to your lineup. Our advantage in Juan Pierre's offense has been negated.

[love_that_reefer]

Renteria compared to what we had last year is a huge upgrade. Plus you forgot Sandoval and Ishikawa playing a full season. Compared to last year, that too will be a huge upgrade. Dodgers need Manny more than the Giants do. They have to do something to make up for that poor pitching staff.

[realmofotalk]

Like I said, Sandoval would have to be the next Bonds for the Giants to be competitive on offense. And that poor pitching staff I listed is just about the worst case scenario. Whatever happened to your opinion that Billingsley and Kershaw were pocket aces?

[love_that_reefer]

I was going off your list of starters. I still like Billingsley and Kershaw but as you pointed out, Billingsley is coming off a broken leg. The rotation is still weak and the offense is weaker without Manny. The Giants have upgraded in every facet of the game. They will be contenders in the weak NL West.