Best Rotation In The AL

[HollywoodLeo]

And Buchholz started 15 games last year.

That's about half a season.

[cjkalt]

Wow, he did... okay, well he had a sophomore slump, he's still a top spec, but still the HOF Smoltz is def better than Andy Sonn.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Wow, he did... okay, well he had a sophomore slump, he's still a top spec, but still the HOF Smoltz is def better than Andy Sonn.

that could be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard

[Providence A's]

CJ's posts today are sponsored by the word "homer"

[Lets Go Rays]

that could be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard

Do you cheer for the Rays?

[HollywoodLeo]

Do you cheer for the Rays?

Nope. He's a fan of the evil empire otherwise known as the New York Yankees.

[love_that_reefer]

I cheer for the Rays but am not a Rays fan per se. I did see them clinch their very first playoff berth last year in Tampa Bay. I also saw them plat their three game set in St. Louis. Awesome experience and fun to watch them play.

[cjkalt]

I didn't realize that one bad half season suddenly makes you a bad pitcher all the sudden, he's still got an electric curveball. Is Phil Hughes not a top spec anymore cause he had one bad sophomore year? Of course not.

Look at one of the games best SP in Roy Halladay. Roy Halladay in his rookie campaign had an ERA of 3.92. In his sophomore season he had an ERA of 10.62 in about 70 IP like Buchholz. He then recovered the next year with a 3.12 era and became one of the games best SP.

Now I'm not saying this is a sure thing, but when I compare Buchholz vs. Sonnastine, you know what you are going to get from him. An ERA in the 4-5 range and an innings eater. Buchholz has the upside to be a legit #2-3 on a staff and showed it his rookie year.

I'm just saying I'd rather have the upside in Buchholz then the consistent average guy in Sonnastine.

[love_that_reefer]

No one said he was a bad pitcher, just no longer a "stud".

[Kingdom]

Since Sonnanstine is only 26, how could you even know his ceiling CJ? If Buchholz and Sonnanstine switched places, you'd be saying Sonnanstine was the stud and Buchholz was some average guy.

[cjkalt]

Absolutely not, if the Rays were offered Buchholz for Sonnastine they'd pull the trigger in a millisecond. Sonnastine doesn't have the stuff that Buchholz has. Sonnastine would have to add another great off-speed pitch and gain 4-5 MPH on the fastball to be as good as Buchholz. I'd also rather have Phil Hughes as my 5 guy over him for the exact same reason.

[realmofotalk]

He's not wrong that Buchholz's upside is a lot higher. Kid's got a great arm.

[Kingdom]

Shades of Paul Wilson. Or maybe Jason Isringhausen.

[Foster]

You can't compare anyone to "Doc" Halladay in his early years. His numbers in 200 were based on 19 games, and was sent to single-a as a way to rebuild himself. He was also playing behind some good talent at the time in Wells, Carpenter, Loazia, Escobar...thats a lot of pitching for a team, and having Darren Fletcher as your catcher wasn't gonna win the at the time kid many games.

[cjkalt]

You can't compare anyone to "Doc" Halladay in his early years. His numbers in 200 were based on 19 games, and was sent to single-a as a way to rebuild himself. He was also playing behind some good talent at the time in Wells, Carpenter, Loazia, Escobar...thats a lot of pitching for a team, and having Darren Fletcher as your catcher wasn't gonna win the at the time kid many games.

That is exactly what the Red Sox did with Buchholz last year, the similarities are there. He started 17 games for the Sox and was sent to Triple A to work on his fastball and mental confidence.