2002 National League Starters Rankings imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap imagemap
ATLANTA - Greg Maddux 36 R and Tom Glavine 36 L and Kevin Millwood 27 R and Albie Lopez 31 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MADDUX
1999 ATL 19 9 33 33 4 0 0 219 258 37 136 357
2000 ATL 19 9 35 35 6 3 0 249 225 42 190 300
2001 ATL 17 11 34 34 3 3 0 233 220 27 173 305
GLAVINE
1999 ATL 14 11 35 35 2 0 0 234 259 83 138 412
2000 ATL 21 9 35 35 4 2 0 241 222 65 152 340
2001 ATL 16 7 35 35 1 1 0 219 213 97 116 357
MILLWOOD
1999 ATL 18 7 33 33 2 0 0 228 168 59 205 268
2000 ATL 10 13 36 35 0 0 0 213 213 62 168 466
2001 ATL 7 7 21 21 0 0 0 121 121 40 84 431
LOPEZ
1999 TAM 3 2 51 0 0 0 1 64 66 24 37 464
2000 TAM 11 13 45 24 4 1 2 185 199 70 96 413
2001 TAM-ARI 9 19 33 33 3 3 0 206 226 75 136 481
      Maddux was in the race for the Cy Young Award until he hyperextended his elbow in August. He never recovered from that, but it was still a great season, winning 17 games with a crappy offense behind him.
      The Braves should score more runs this year. And, in case you missed it, Maddux had a strikeout/walk ratio of 173-27 last season. I still think he has a fifth Cy Young in that golden arm of his.

      Glavine had control problems and his team couldn't score runs, but he still managed to post a 16-7 record. There is good reason to believe that Glavine will struggle in 2002, but that has been said before, and he always has come back with a big season.

      Millwood is a great pitcher with a bad arm. Lopez has a great arm but is a bad pitcher.

      The Braves have had the best starting rotation in the league for over a decade now. But do they still deserve to rank as the best? Maddux and Glavine are getting older, Millwood still has injury problems, and the addition of 19-game loser Albie Lopez doesn't inspire confidence.
      Still, Maddux is Maddux and Glavine is Glavine, and they're both pretty great. Millwood could be great if he gets healthy, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lopez has a good season too. Jason Marquis is also a fine young pitcher. I wouldn't worry about the Braves' pitching just yet.
ARIZONA - Randy Johnson 39 L and Curt Schilling 35 R and Rick Helling 31 R and Brian Anderson 30 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
JOHNSON
1999 ARI17 935 35 1220 272 20770 364 248
2000 ARI19 735 35830 249 20276 347 264
2001 ARI21 635 34320 250 18171 372 249
SCHILLING
1999 PHI 15 6 24 24 8 1 0 180 159 44 152 354
2000 PHI-ARI 11 12 29 29 8 2 0 210 204 45 168 381
2001 ARI 22 6 35 35 6 1 0 257 237 39 293 298
HELLING
1999 TEX 13 11 35 35 3 0 0 219 228 85 131 484
2000 TEX 16 13 35 35 0 0 0 217 212 99 146 448
2001 TEX 12 11 34 34 2 1 0 216 256 63 154 517
ANDERSON
1999 ARI 8 2 31 19 2 1 1 130 144 28 75 457
2000 ARI 11 7 33 32 2 0 0 213 226 39 104 405
2001 ARI 4 9 29 22 1 0 0 133 156 30 55 520
      During the World Series, there was some discussion about whether Randy Johnson should go into the Hall Of Fame.
      This, I think, should have been an awfully short discussion. Why would you not think that Randy Johnson is a Hall Of Famer? Perhaps you are not impressed by the four Cy Young Awards, or the 3-0 record in the World Series.
      Johnson will be 39 this season, but he does not appear ready to decline.

      What's the greatest season (post-1956) by a pitcher who did not win the Cy Young Award? And I don't mean Roger Clemens in 1990, who should have won it except they gave it to Bob Welch instead.
      I'm talking about someone who was magnificent, but was clearly not the best choice. John Tudor in 1985 always comes to mind, as does Maddux in 1997. Juan Marichal had a bunch of seasons in which he was better than anyone except Koufax. Luis Tiant was awesome in 1968 but was overshadowed by Denny McLain. There was Fidrych in 1976, though some might argue that the Bird deserved to win that year.
      None of these guys were teammates. My guess is that Schilling and Johnson had the two greatest seasons ever by teammates; Johnson can hold his own with anyone, and Schilling was better than Johnny Sain or Rube Marquard or Waite Hoyt or Don Drysdale or any other #2 man I can think of. Maddux and Glavine would come close if they had their best years in the same season, which they never have.
ST LOUIS - Darryl Kile 33 R and Matt Morris 28 R and Woody Williams 36 R and Bud Smith 22 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
KILE
1999 COL 8 13 32 32 1 0 0 191 225 109 116 661
2000 STL 20 9 34 34 5 1 0 232 215 58 192 391
2001 STL 16 11 34 34 2 1 0 227 228 65 179 309
MORRIS
1999
INJURED - DID NOT PITCH
2000 STL 3 3 31 0 0 0 4 53 53 17 34 357
2001 STL 22 8 34 34 2 1 0 216 218 54 185 316
WILLIAMS
1999 SD 12 12 33 33 0 0 0 208 213 73 137 441
2000 SD 10 8 23 23 4 0 0 168 152 54 111 375
2001 SD-STL 15 9 34 34 3 1 0 220 224 56 154 405
SMITH
2001 AAA 8 5 17 17 0 0 0 108 114 28 78 275
2001 STL 6 3 16 14 1 1 0 85 79 24 59 383
      It's amazing what good health will do for a career. The Cardinals had to wait awhile for Morris' career to get on track, but last year he hit paydirt. He has always been a magnificent pitcher, but he has a fragile arm.

      I love Woody Williams. He should never have pitched in the majors, but only got a chance because the Blue Jays had no one better. Then they traded him for Joey Hamilton. And now here he is, 36 years old, winning 15 games and beating Randy Johnson in the playoffs. Long may you pitch, Woody.
FLORIDA - Ryan Dempster 25 R and AJ Burnett 25 R and Josh Beckett 22 R and Julian Tavarez
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
DEMPSTER
1999 FLO 7 8 25 25 0 0 0 147 146 93 126 471
2000 FLO 14 10 33 33 2 1 0 226 210 97 209 366
2001 FLO 15 12 34 34 2 1 0 211 218 112 171 494
BURNETT
2001 FLO 11 12 27 27 2 1 0 173 145 83 128 405
BECKETT
2001 A 6 0 13 12 0 0 0 66 32 15 101 123
2001 AA 8 1 13 13 0 0 0 74 50 19 102 182
      Dempster's season was a bit of a disappointment, though you can't complain too much about a 24-year-old pitcher who wins 15 games. Dempster is one of the best young pitchers in baseball, and should have better things ahead of him.

      The Marlins are, of course, famous for their young pitchers; Dempster is still one of them, though he has logged more innings than the others. Sonny Burnett made a splash early in the season, and ended up having a solid rookie year; he was quickly overshadowed by Beckett, who was brilliant in the lower minors and rose quickly to the majors.
      His record speaks for itself. There does not appear to be any reason why Beckett could not be as dominant as Oswalt or Sabathia or any other of last season's best rookies.
SAN FRANCISCO - Russ Ortiz 28 R and Jason Schmidt 29 R and Livan Hernandez 27 R and Kirk Rueter 31 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
ORTIZ
1999 SF 18 9 33 33 3 0 0 208 189 125 164 381
2000 SF 14 12 33 32 0 0 0 196 192 112 167 501
2001 SF 17 9 33 33 1 1 0 219 187 91 169 329
SCHMIDT
1999 PIT 13 11 33 33 2 0 0 213 219 85 148 419
2000 PIT 2 5 11 11 0 0 0 63 71 41 51 540
2001 PIT-SF 13 7 25 25 1 0 0 150 138 61 142 407
HERNANDEZ
1999 FLO-SF 8 12 30 30 2 0 0 200 227 76 144 464
2000 SF 17 11 33 33 5 2 0 240 254 73 165 375
2001 SF 13 15 34 34 2 0 0 227 266 85 138 524
RUETER
1999 SF 15 10 33 33 1 0 0 185 219 55 94 541
2000 SF 11 9 32 31 0 0 0 184 205 62 71 396
2001 SF 14 12 34 34 0 0 0 195 213 66 83 442
      The Giants entered the season with three would-be aces, Hernandez, Estes and Ortiz. Estes fiddled while Hernandez burned, but Ortiz had a great year, and was one of the best pitchers in the league. With three straight winning seasons and much improved control, Ortiz can perhaps be considered a legitimate ace. As for Hernandez, well who knows.

      Livan Hernandez is (apparently) only 27 years old, yet has already switched back and forth from hero to goat on numerous occasions. He began last year horribly, pitched better later in the season but not well enough to save the Giants' playoff hopes.

      I don't know how Kirk Rueter manages to keep winning every year, but he does, and at this point I'm not bold enough to suggest that he will start losing anytime soon.
NEW YORK METS - Al Leiter 36 L and Pedro Astacio 32 R and Shawn Estes 29 L and Steve Trachsel 31 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
LEITER
1999 NYM 13 12 32 32 1 1 0 213 209 93 162 423
2000 NYM 16 8 31 31 2 1 0 208 176 76 200 320
2001 NYM 11 11 29 29 0 0 0 187 178 46 142 331
ASTACIO
1999 COL 17 11 34 34 7 0 0 232 258 75 210 504
2000 COL 12 9 32 32 3 0 0 196 217 77 193 527
2001 COL-HOU 8 14 26 26 4 1 0 170 181 54 144 509
ESTES
1999 SF 11 11 32 32 1 1 0 203 209 112 159 492
2000 SF 15 6 30 30 4 0 0 190 194 108 136 426
2001 SF 9 8 27 27 0 0 0 159 151 77 109 402
TRACHSEL
1999 CHC 8 18 34 34 4 0 0 206 226 64 149 556
2000 TAM-TOR 8 15 34 34 3 1 0 201 232 74 110 480
2001 NYM 11 13 28 28 1 1 0 174 168 47 144 446
      I've said it before, I'll say it again, but I really didn't like the Appier trade. Yeah, the Mets have muscled up their lineup, but the pitching staff... well, for starters, Al Leiter is a terrific pitcher. But he's 36 years old. And Pedro Astacio, he didn't have such a great season, losing 14 games before shutting down the final two months with a torn labrum in his shoulder. Not good. Shawn Estes has mixed in two big seasons with a number of mediocre ones; I don't consider him a good pitcher, and I don't think he'll have much success in the future. And Steve Trachsel... I think his record speaks for itself.
      Well, I don't mean to badmouth them too much. They've got some young pitchers, Dicky Gonzalez and Bruce Chen, who can help. And while I'm not a big fan of Estes and Trachsel, they're better options than, say, Jose Lima and Wilson Alvarez. The Mets are okay, but I think they'll be wishing they had held on to Appier; maybe they'll trade for Hampton again.
CHICAGO CUBS - Jon Leiber 32 R and Kerry Wood 25 R and Jason Bere 31 R and Matt Clement 28
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
LEIBER
1999 CHC 10 11 31 31 3 1 0 203 226 46 186 407
2000 CHC 12 11 35 35 6 1 0 251 248 54 192 441
2001 CHC 20 6 34 34 5 1 0 232 226 41 148 380
WOOD
1999
INJURED - DID NOT PITCH
2000 CHC 8 7 23 23 1 0 0 137 112 87 132 480
2001 CHC 12 6 28 28 1 1 0 174 127 92 217 336
BERE
1999 CIN-MIL 5 0 17 14 0 0 0 67 79 50 47 608
2000 MIL-CLE 12 10 31 31 0 0 0 169 180 89 142 547
2001 CHC 11 11 32 32 2 0 0 188 171 77 175 431
CLEMENT
1999 SD 10 12 31 31 0 0 0 181 190 86 135 448
2000 SD 13 17 34 34 0 0 0 205 194 125 170 514
2001 FLO 9 10 31 31 0 0 0 169 172 85 134 505
      A note to all you kids out there. If you want a great predictor of a pitcher's future success, check out his strikeout/walk ratio. Leiber has had stunning K/W ratios the past few years, and last year he came through with a 20-6 record. Pitchers who throw strikes eventually start to win.

      Wood's recovery from shoulder surgery appears to be complete. He is set to emerge as one of the best pitchers in baseball; whether his arm will hold together is anyone's guess.

      Last year I wrote that Bere would "never have another winning season". It wasn't a nice thing to say; as things turned out, Bere didn't have a winning record, but he had a fine year. He looked like a completely different pitcher than he was two years ago, but I will reserve my enthusiasm for now. It's been a long time since Bere could be called a quality pitcher.
LOS ANGELES - Kevin Brown 37 R and Hideo Nomo 34 R and Andy Ashby 35 R and Omar Daal 30 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
BROWN
1999 LA 18 9 35 35 5 1 0 252 210 59 221 300
2000 LA 13 6 33 33 5 1 0 230 181 47 216 258
2001 LA 10 4 20 19 1 0 0 116 94 38 104 265
NOMO
1999 MIL 12 8 28 28 0 0 0 176 173 78 161 454
2000 DET 8 12 32 31 1 0 0 190 191 89 181 474
2001 BOS 13 10 33 33 2 2 0 198 171 96 220 450
ASHBY
2000 PHI-ATL 12 13 31 31 3 1 0 199 216 61 106 492
2001 LA 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 12 14 1 7 386
DAAL
2000 ARI-PHI 4 19 32 28 0 0 0 167 208 72 96 614
2001 PHI 13 7 32 32 0 0 0 186 199 56 107 446
      When he's on the mound, Brown ranks with Johnson, Schilling, Maddux, Clemens, the best of the best right below Pedro. He had some injury problems last year, and he's also 37 years old, so his durability for the future is a question mark. Though he has four years left on his massive contract with the Dodgers, there doesn't seem to be much point in babying him along; if this team is in contention, and Brown is healthy, they should probably work him as hard as they can.
      The Dodgers' rotation will also include Japanese hurler Kazuhisa Ishii, who is supposed to be quite good but I guess we will wait and see. We'll probably also see Eric Gagne back in the rotation before too long, due to injuries to either Brown or Ashby or both. Ashby was paid big bucks by the Dodgers last season, and won all of his starts - unfortunately, there were only two of them. Given that he is 35 years old and wasn't all that good before he was hurt, I'm not sure if he has much more to contribute.
PHILADELPHIA - Randy Wolf 26 L and Robert Person 32 R and Brian Duckworth 26 R and Terry Adams 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
WOLF
1999 PHI 6 9 22 21 0 0 0 122 126 67 116 555
2000 PHI 11 9 32 32 1 0 0 206 210 83 160 436
2001 PHI 10 11 28 25 4 2 0 163 150 51 152 370
PERSON
1999 TOR-PHI 10 7 42 22 0 0 2 148 139 85 139 468
2000 PHI 9 7 28 28 1 1 0 173 144 95 164 363
2001 PHI 15 7 33 33 3 1 0 208 179 80 183 419
DUCKWORTH
2000 AA 13 7 27 27 1 0 0 165 145 52 178 316
2001 AAA 13 2 22 20 2 1 0 147 122 36 150 263
2001 PHI 3 2 11 11 0 0 0 69 57 29 40 352
ADAMS
2000 LA 6 9 66 0 0 0 2 84 80 39 56 352
2001 LA 12 8 43 22 0 0 0 166 172 54 141 433
      Wolf had a weird season, was demoted to the bullpen at one point, but made a triumphant return to the starting rotation and finished the year with some very good numbers. He's about where Eric Milton is, a young lefty who is just inches away from breaking through with a big season.

      The rest of the rotation looks solid, too. Robert Person continues to make the Blue Jays look awfully bad for giving up on him. Brian Duckworth pitched exceptionally well in the minors, and looked pretty good in a Phillies uniform as well. Terry Adams was a saviour for the Dodgers, moving into the starting rotation when everyone else got hurt; he was remarkably durable for a guy who had pitched in short relief for several years.
HOUSTON - Wade Miller 26 R and Roy Oswalt 25 R and Carlos Hernandez 22 L and Tim Redding 24 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MILLER
2000 HOU 6 6 16 16 2 0 0 105 104 42 89 514
2001 HOU 16 8 32 32 1 0 0 212 183 76 183 340
OSWALT
2000 AA 11 4 19 18 2 2 0 130 106 22 141 194
2001 HOU 14 3 28 20 3 1 0 142 126 24 144 273
HERNANDEZ
2000 A 6 6 22 22 2 1 0 111 92 63 115 382
2001 AA 12 3 24 23 0 0 0 139 115 69 167 369
REDDING
2000 A 12 5 24 24 0 0 0 155 125 57 170 268
2001 AA-AAA 14 3 20 20 1 1 0 128 86 44 155 288
2001 HOU 3 1 13 9 0 0 0 56 62 24 55 550
      The Marlins get a lot of press about their young pitching staff, but the Astros have a bunch of kids in their rotation as well. An injury to Shane Reynolds has left Wade Miller as the old man, at age 26. Roy Oswalt was the best rookie pitcher in baseball last season. Carlos Hernandez made three dazzling starts with the Astros before arm soreness ended his season. Tim Redding had a fantastic season in the minors, and didn't embarrass himself with Houston.
      Is it wise to have so much inexperience in the starting rotation? Well, the Athletics have done OK, but it would obviously help to have another veteran, and I don't mean Dave Mlicki. Hmmm, how about... Steve Sparks? Or Brian Moehler? What are the chances that the Astros will acquire a veteran pitcher, and it won't be from the Detroit Tigers?
MILWAUKEE - Ben Sheets 24 R and Glendon Rusch 27 L and Jamey Wright 27 R and Ruben Quevedo 23 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
SHEETS
2000 AA-AAA 8 8 27 26 1 0 0 154 132 56 119 240
2001 MIL 11 10 25 25 1 1 0 151 166 48 94 476
RUSCH
2000 NYM 11 11 31 30 2 0 0 191 196 44 157 401
2001 NYM 8 12 33 33 1 0 0 179 216 43 156 463
WRIGHT
1999 COL 4 3 16 16 0 0 0 94 110 54 49 487
2000 MIL 7 9 26 25 0 0 0 165 157 88 96 410
2001 MIL 11 12 33 33 1 1 0 195 201 98 129 490
QUEVEDO
2000 CHC 3 10 21 15 1 0 0 88 96 54 65 747
2001 AAA 9 5 22 22 1 1 0 142 124 48 150 299
2001 MIL 4 5 10 10 0 0 0 57 56 30 60 461
      The Brewer hurlers are unproven, but this is an intriguing young group of pitchers. You know all about Sheets, who was having a fine rookie season under shoulder tendinitis slowed him down. The Brewers also acquired Glendon Rusch from the Mets; Rusch didn't have the season of his dreams, but I stubbornly continue to believe that he will be outstanding, and that he has a 15-18 win season inside him.
      Well, maybe not with the Brewers; make that 10-12 wins.

      Quevedo returned to the minors and pitched extremely well after a disastrous debut with the Cubs in 2000. Milwaukee picked him up in a trade, and he pitched well for the Brewers. He might be good, but there is a major worry: he is a big, big boy, carrying more than a little extra weight (he is listed at 245 lbs). Staying in shape is tough, but when you've got a million dollar arm...
MONTREAL - Javier Vazquez 26 R and Tony Armas Jr 24 R and Carl Pavano 26 R and Tomo Ohka 26 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
VAZQUEZ
1999 MON 9 8 26 26 3 1 0 155 154 52 113 500
2000 MON 11 9 33 33 2 1 0 218 247 61 196 405
2001 MON 16 11 32 32 5 3 0 224 197 44 208 342
ARMAS
1999 AA 9 7 24 24 2 1 0 150 123 55 106 289
2000 MON 7 9 17 17 0 0 0 95 74 50 59 436
2001 MON 9 14 34 34 0 0 0 197 180 91 176 403
PAVANO
2000 MON 8 4 15 15 0 0 0 97 89 34 64 306
2001 MON 1 6 8 8 0 0 0 43 59 16 36 633
OHKA
2000 BOS 3 6 13 12 0 0 0 69 70 26 40 312
2001 BOS-MON 3 9 22 21 0 0 0 107 134 29 68 547
      Vazquez stopped giving up runs the second half of the season, and won 16 games for a terrible Expos team. He is obviously one of the best young pitchers in baseball. There are some terrific young pitchers in the game - Hudson, Garcia, Oswalt, Zito, Mulder, Sabathia and others - but Vazquez might be better than any of them.
      The Expos rotation is just what you would expect it to be: very young and inexpensive. They have a solid #2 guy in Tony Armas, who completed his first full season in the majors and looked pretty darn good. The other two guys are gambles: Pavano is a good pitcher who is trying to recover from major surgery; Ohka was a hot prospect with Boston whose career got derailed, but who still has a chance to be a decent pitcher.
COLORADO - Mike Hampton 30 L and Denny Neagle 34 L and Shawn Chacon 24 R and John Thomson 28 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
HAMPTON
1999 HOU 22 4 34 34 3 2 0 239 206 101 177 290
2000 NYM 15 10 33 33 3 1 0 218 194 99 151 314
2001 COL 14 13 32 32 2 1 0 203 236 85 122 541
NEAGLE
1999 CIN 9 5 20 19 0 0 0 112 95 40 76 427
2000 CIN-NYY 15 9 32 31 1 0 0 209 210 81 146 452
2001 COL 9 8 30 30 0 0 0 171 192 60 139 538
CHACON
2000 AA 10 10 27 27 4 0 0 174 151 85 172 316
2001 COL 6 10 27 27 0 0 0 160 157 87 134 506
THOMSON
2001 AAA 5 3 12 12 0 0 0 68 74 13 52 331
2001 COL 4 5 14 14 1 1 0 94 84 25 68 404
      Hampton and Neagle, the Rockies' multi-million dollar pitchers, both managed to eke out winning seasons. Hampton began brilliantly, then struggled later in the season; he may not have been so successful had he not had such a great year swinging the bat.
      As I have said before, spending $100 million on a pitcher is crazy in Colorado. There is very little difference between a good pitcher and a bad one at Coors Field; the Rockies could assemble an equally competent pitching staff for less than half of Hampton's salary, and spend the money on more hitters. There is no excuse for this team to be wasting at bats on Todd Zeile and Todd Hollandsworth.
SAN DIEGO - Brian Lawrence 26 R and Kevin Jarvis 33 R and Bobby Jones 32 R and Brian Tollberg 30 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
LAWRENCE
2000 AA-AAA 11 6 29 29 0 0 0 173 147 35 165 228
2001 AAA 1 3 9 8 0 0 0 45 42 17 42 380
2001 SD 5 5 27 15 1 0 0 115 107 34 84 345
JARVIS
2000 COL 3 4 24 19 0 0 0 115 138 33 60 595
2001 SD 12 11 32 32 1 1 0 193 189 49 133 479
JONES
1999 NYM 3 3 12 9 0 0 0 59 69 11 31 561
2000 NYM 11 6 27 27 1 0 0 155 171 49 85 506
2001 SD 8 19 33 33 1 0 0 195 250 38 113 512
TOLLBERG
2000 AAA 6 0 13 13 0 0 0 76 72 11 60 283
2000 SD 4 5 19 19 1 0 0 118 126 35 76 358
2001 SD 10 4 19 19 0 0 0 117 133 25 71 430
      Bobby Jones had not had a losing season since 1993, but that streak was soundly ended by an 8-19 record in 2001. He actually began the year pitching reasonably well, but kept losing games because the Padres weren't scoring runs for him. Later in the year he began pitching as badly as his record. I would not expect Jones to make a comeback in 2002, not unless he starts taking survival lessons from John Burkett.
CINCINNATI - Elmer Dessens 30 R and Chris Reitsma 24 R and Jimmy Haynes 30 R and Jose Acevedo 24 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
DESSENS
2000 CIN 11 5 40 16 1 0 0 147 170 43 85 428
2001 CIN 10 14 34 34 1 1 0 205 221 56 128 448
REITSMA
2000 AA 7 2 14 14 1 0 0 91 78 21 58 258
2001 CIN 7 15 36 29 0 0 0 182 209 49 96 529
HAYNES
1999 OAK 7 12 30 25 0 0 0 142 158 80 93 634
2000 MIL 12 13 33 33 0 0 0 199 228 100 88 533
2001 MIL 8 17 31 29 0 0 0 173 182 78 112 485
ACEVEDO
2001 AA 11 5 25 23 0 0 0 141 135 53 123 389
2001 CIN 4 4 16 11 0 0 0 78 68 25 82 369
      The Reds had a curiously malodious starting rotation in 2001. Elmer Dessens was the would-be ace; Chris Reitsma was the kid who was rushed to the majors, with unsatisfactory results. I won't even mention Joey Hamilton. Jose Acevedo made a good impression, though there is no reason to think that he will continue to pitch that well.

      ADDENDUM: Apparently, Joey Hamilton has been named the opening day starter. That's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad sign for Reds fans.
      ADDENDUM #2: Jose Rijo has thrown 18 perfect innings in spring training, but apparently the club has yet to add him to the major league roster. How can Jose Rijo not make a team whose opening day starter is Joey Hamilton?
PITTSBURGH - Kip Wells 25 R and Jimmy Anderson 26 L and Dave Williams 23 L and Sean Lowe 31 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
WELLS
2000 CHW 6 9 20 20 0 0 0 99 126 58 71 602
2001 CHW 10 11 40 20 0 0 0 133 145 61 99 479
ANDERSON
1999 AAA 11 2 21 21 1 0 0 134 153 41 93 384
2000 PIT 5 11 27 26 1 0 0 144 169 58 73 525
2001 PIT 9 17 34 34 1 0 0 206 232 83 89 510
D WILLIAMS
2000 A 11 9 24 24 1 1 0 170 145 39 193 296
2001 AA-AAA 6 3 11 10 1 0 0 69 54 17 45 273
2001 PIT 3 7 22 18 0 0 0 114 100 45 57 371
LOWE
2000 CHW 4 1 50 5 0 0 0 71 78 39 53 548
2001 CHW 9 4 45 11 0 0 0 127 123 32 71 361
      A lot of people were predicting doom and gloom for the Pirates' starting rotation after all of their pitchers got hurt. Funny enough, the dire predictions turned to be true; they really were as bad as everyone thought they would be. There is hope for the future, however; Dave Williams is a solid young pitcher, and they picked up Kip Wells from Chicago. Kris Benson might come back. It's a long road back to respectability; the Pirates, at least, have stopped asking for directions.