Originally Posted by
BLEEDS
Well, it's not very easy to move Cueto up two spots - which also pushes everyone else back a spot.
I like the rotation the way it is currently configured:
Harang
Volquez
Arroyo - except he SUCKS in day games, a stat I'm sure Dusty will continue to ignore
Cueto
Fogg
That's the way they lined them up for opening week - but the Tuesday day off meant Volquez's first start was Saturday.
IMO this is ideal, since Arroyo doesn't really match up well versus other teams' 2, he's more a natural #3 (or 4), so that's better for him.
Volquez or Cueto could man the #2, but splitting them up is the important thing. Volquez gets the nod since he's got more experience starting, but neither guy seems to feel ANY pressure taking the mound with little/no big-league experience.
Most importantly, it slots Fogg in the #5 - and puts his day off at the 14th. Volquez and Cueto get a day off on May 1 and May 8th respectively.
They'll probably need to mix it up a bit at some point, since Cueto probably needs more days off then anybody - IMO - since he threw A LOT of innings last year, and hasn't gotten past the "injury nexus" or whatever the heck the stats guys call it. I think we need to limit his innings as much as possible to avoid any dead-arm or excess wear and tear while he's still young. they'll probably try to mix in more off days for Fogg as well to limit his exposure.
A lot of it will depend on the match-ups too, and how other teams' adjust to impart those.
Again, it's no small task to move guys ONE position, let alone TWO, and especially when you're talking about a young guy. NO WAY does Cueto move up that much in the rotation - without some major tweaking and giving him an extra 3 days rest.
It should be interesting to watch how it is handled though as the season progresses.
PEACE
-BLEEDS