Olney's ten best starting rotations in MLB

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Gammons just said on ESPN that the Nats could really be a contender with the rotation this year.   "World turned upside down."  *

*  As Cornwallis' 8,000 man force became prisoners-of-war (Yorktown), the British band played the The World Turned Upside Down, a tune that underscored the strange turn of events which had brought defeat at the hands of the provincial forces of America, to the most powerful country in Europe.

And Washington's Band played "We Will Rock You / We are the Champions."  Queen later covered the tune.

[mitlen]

And Washington's Band played "We Will Rock You / We are the Champions."  Queen later covered the tune.

That was the Bullets' theme in '79.

[HalfSmokes]

That was the Bullets' theme in '79.

What this year, It's Friday?

[MarquisDeSade]

What this year, It's Friday?

With the new lyrics:

"It's Friday, Friday, gonna suck azz on Friday."

[PatsNats28]

Olney has had us in his top 10 rotations, bullpens, and infields...

Are we a top 10 team this year?

[cmdterps44]

Olney has had us in his top 10 rotations, bullpens, and infields...

Are we a top 10 team this year?

Infield? hmm. I guess I can see that.

[Nathan]

So Ryan Zimmerman is good enough all on his own to make the infield one of the top 10 in baseball?

[epic_phalanx]

Olney has had us in his top 10 rotations, bullpens, and infields...

Are we a top 10 team this year?

Teams I see as definitely better:

Phillies
Braves
Yankees
Red Sox
Rays
Rangers
Angels
Tigers
Cardinals

Teams that may be better, on par, or slightly worse:

Blue Jays
Giants
D'Backs
Reds
Brewers
Dodgers

So I think the Nats have a real shot to be a top 10 team. Adding Strasburg and NatGio to the rotation (not to mention a full season from JZimm), plugging in a 1B bat while keeping Morse in the lineup, getting a better season from Werth, and better health from Z-man could add in the neighborhood of 8-10 wins in my opinion. There's also a chance that we see notable improvement from Espinosa, Ramos, or even Desmond. The bench will be better. 90 wins is not out of the question if things break right (which, granted, they rarely ever do).

[HalfSmokes]

Teams I see as definitely better:

Phillies
Braves
Yankees
Red Sox
Rays
Rangers
Angels
Tigers
Cardinals

Teams that may be better, on par, or slightly worse:

Blue Jays
Giants
D'Backs
Reds
Brewers
Dodgers

So I think the Nats have a real shot to be a top 10 team. Adding Strasburg and NatGio to the rotation (not to mention a full season from JZimm), plugging in a 1B bat while keeping Morse in the lineup, getting a better season from Werth, and better health from Z-man could add in the neighborhood of 8-10 wins in my opinion. There's also a chance that we see notable improvement from Espinosa, Ramos, or even Desmond. The bench will be better. 90 wins is not out of the question if things break right (which, granted, they rarely ever do).

throw cards into may after losing pujols, but throw fins into may along with maybe the twins

[epic_phalanx]

throw cards into may after losing pujols, but throw fins into may along with maybe the twins

My thinking on the Cards was Wainwright coming back and adding Beltran makes up for most of what they lost in Pujols. The Marlins could be feisty, agreed, but can you name a Twins pitcher besides Francisco Liriano? Because I can't.

[Nathan]

My thinking on the Cards was Wainwright coming back and adding Beltran makes up for most of what they lost in Pujols. The Marlins could be feisty, agreed, but can you name a Twins pitcher besides Francisco Liriano? Because I can't.

Jason Marquis.  Matt Capps.

[MarquisDeSade]

Jason Marquis.  Matt Capps.

CARL PAVANO FTW!!!!

[HalfSmokes]

My thinking on the Cards was Wainwright coming back and adding Beltran makes up for most of what they lost in Pujols. The Marlins could be feisty, agreed, but can you name a Twins pitcher besides Francisco Liriano? Because I can't.

Berkman's not getting any younger

[epic_phalanx]

Berkman's not getting any younger

True, but it's not like he's under contract for the next five years. Bill James has him penciled in for a .279/.396/.491 line in 2012. He was easily one of the best hitters in the game last year, and moving him to 1B will save them some runs defensively.

[HalfSmokes]

True, but it's not like he's under contract for the next five years. Bill James has him penciled in for a .279/.396/.491 line in 2012. He was easily one of the best hitters in the game last year, and moving him to 1B will save them some runs defensively.

I'm just talking about next year, he was good last year, but awful in 09, so who knows what you're getting

[KnorrForYourMoney]

My thinking on the Cards was Wainwright coming back and adding Beltran makes up for most of what they lost in Pujols. The Marlins could be feisty, agreed, but can you name a Twins pitcher besides Francisco Liriano? Because I can't.

Scott Baker's pretty good.  Stop relying on ESPN.

[epic_phalanx]

Scott Baker's pretty good.  Stop relying on ESPN.

I don't even have cable and rarely visit their website now that Simmons is at Grantland. Stop making assumptions.

Upon further review, Scott Baker appears to be a pretty decent pitcher. So apparently the Twins have Liriano, Baker, Pavano and Nick Blackburn as the front four? Not exactly a playoff rotation on paper, and Liriano is the youngest at 28 years old.

[DPMOmaha]

So Ryan Zimmerman is good enough all on his own to make the infield one of the top 10 in baseball?

Haven't read the article but is it in terms of defense of is offense included?  If it's d based, I can absolutely see us being high on that list. Zim, laroche and Espinoza are all as good as it gets and desi was decent last year.  Not many teams have 3 defenders like that on the infield.

[Nathan]

You could be right, I didn't read the article either, but I was going in terms of offensive ability.

[PatsNats28]

We already ranked the best starting rotations and best bullpens in Major League Baseball. Today is Part III of our look ahead to 2012: the best infields for overall production -- offense and defense.

9. Washington Nationals


It's hard to know what the composition of this infield will be in two or three years, or maybe even next year. Some rival executives strongly believe that Washington will be the eventual landing place for Fielder.

Between Ryan Zimmerman, Danny Espinosa, Mike Morse, Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon, the Nationals have a lot of options.

[Lintyfresh85]

One of those names doesn't belong with the others.

[PatsNats28]

I know

[Nathan]

One of those names doesn't belong with the others.

Whichn'?

[Tyler Durden]

Ha - LaRoche didn't even warrant a mention there.  And Morse and Rendon might not play in the infield at all this year.

[PatsNats28]

LaRoche > Desmond