| Joe Gutierrez. 9th February, 2006 - 3:15 pm
 If the season were to begin tomorrow, general manager Ned Colletti would probably be confident enough in the starting pitching staff he assembled this off-season. He signed right-hander Brett Tomko, and traded for Mets’ Jae Seo in what will most likely be the 4 and 5 pitchers in the rotation. Odalis Perez figures to be commanding the third spot in the rotation since he is the only left-handed starter, mixing the right to left handed pitcher ratio.
Los Angeles’ two top starters Derek Lowe and Brad Penny are coming off disappointing seasons with Lowe sustaining fifteen losses and Penny struggling with command issues. Lowe is known as a sinker ball pitcher making the infield busy most of the time. Penny depends on his over powering four-seam fastball to punch batters out, and will regularly throw a speedy curveball to change his pitching sequence. Both are fully capable of being regarded as the ace, but will need to prove with high quality pitching performances. Perez was injured most of last season with nagging problems to his arm, however he is able to throw a vicious changeup that drops considerably to right handed batters.
Last season the starting pitching took a major blow due to the offense missing more run production. This year’s Dodger offense ought to be able to carry a pitcher should the time come when a shaky start happens.
Newcomers Seo and Tomko aren’t your every day top of the line pitchers although each has their strengths, and will obviously have weaknesses that will need adjustments this season if they want to maintain a spot in the rotation. Seo can command his direction of pitches well enough, except has a tendency to give batters too much acclaim. He needs to put a scare into the batter every so often, making them feel intimidated. Seo didn’t fit into the Mets’ plans for the future therefore this deal could benefit the Dodgers, while a new scenery change could help the pitcher feel more comfortable. Tomko had his share of difficulties especially last season with San Francisco suffering in what was most likely his worst year. Being booed off the field at SBC Park would probably make matters even worse for the nine year veteran however the offense that attempted to help wasn’t exactly perfect either. On the brighter side, Tomko was the Giants best pitcher the last two months of the season. Now in pitcher friendly Dodger Stadium, Tomko has his eyes set on bouncing back from a dreadful ’05 season.
A combination of starting pitchers was used last season, most notably D.J. Houlton filling the opening left by Perez. Houlton should be prepared for a pitching role both in the rotation and bullpen. He has the skills to be an effective pitcher but more work on his control is needed. His ERA is as high as a kite and is in dire of assistance. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Colletti call up a prospect during the season as an experiment. A name like Chad Billingsley automatically comes to mind as well as Greg Miller.
The offense will serve as a vital source of energy the starting pitching will feed off of. The 2006 starting rotation could possibly come in this order come opening day: Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Odalis Perez, Jae Seo, Brett Tomko. The season hasn’t started so a trade for another starting pitcher may happen, but most likely not. Should Colletti trigger a deal from now until opening day, it would have to be for an outfielder as J.D. Drew and Jayson Werth are still recovering from injuries. Opening day is drawing nearer and the starting pitching appears to be set, ready to go. |
