Reading something earlier I was intrigued by doing this...listed below are the projected rotations for the 5 NL Central "contenders" per MLB.com info in the order listed on each team's site:
Astros:Oswalt/Jennings/Williams/Rodriguez/Albers
Brewers: Capuano/Sheets/Suppan/Bush/Vargas
Cardinals:Carpenter/Wells/Reyes/Wainwright/Looper
Cubs: Zambrano/Lilly/Marquis/Hill/Prior
Reds:Harang/Arroyo/Milton/Lohse/Belisle
Here's the challenge: Rank each spot in the rotation by team...the best #1 starter earns your team 5 pts, the 2nd best #1 starter 4 points, etc...
Here's what I got:
Aces: STL/CC/Reds/HA/MB
#2's:MB/CR/HA/STL/CC
#3's:MB/STL/HA/CR/CC
#4's:STL/MB/CR/HA/CC
#5's:CC/MB/CR/HA/STL
My thoughts: 4 incredible aces...I have Zambrano slightly ahead of Harang only for his sustained excellence and ability to have "special" outings...as much as I don't like him, Carpenter is amazing...
#2's: Sheets, Arroyo and Jennings are the class here...I know Sheets is injury-prone but I'm not factoring that in...Kip Wells as the Cardinals #2...yikes!!
#3's: Kept Milton in this spot though he's probably our 5th best pitcher...Interesting mix of guys...if Suppan duplicates, Brewers have the edge...Reyes of course could be very, very good...I think Marquis is simply God-awful...
#4's:Wainwright's potential earns him top spot...I like Bush, think he's a great inning-eater and a very solid #4 starter...Lohse could be anywhere from 1-5 on this list...he is the key (IMHO) to the Reds' rotation...
#5's: Prior when healthy would be the 2nd best pitcher in the division...I really like Belisle, and am certainly viewing him with "Reds vision"...but I think his stuff and ability merit him being ranked 3rd...Looper is interesting...I didn't know he was projecting as a starter...
Also: Did not factor in that Clemens guy...I really can't see him going back to Houston this year (NYY or Boston)
So, my final tally:
Brewers: 19
Cardinals: 17
Reds:15
Astros:12
Cubs:12
This of course, means nothing more than the fact that I have an opinion
Let's see what you guys get