Who has the best rotation in the AL, NL, MLB and how does TX stack up against them? Also would the Rangers have the best Rotation had they signed Cliff Lee and traded for Zach Greinki?

AL i got Oak
NL San Fran
MLB ill stick with San Fran since pitching won them a WS

If the Rangers had
Lee
Greinki
CJ
Colby
Holland
That would probably be up there with Oakland in the AL but not the best

Pitching won SF a WS, but they added nothing and the Phillies added Cliff Lee. It has to be the Phillies #1, Giants #2. With Philly's rotation, I would consider going to an 11-man staff. Really, how many innings will their bully even have to pitch? Even Joe Blanton is a solid innings-eater at the #5 hole. I sure would love to find a way to pull him in for Michael Young.

In the AL, I think it is still Oakland, but don't sleep on Boston. If Lester and Lackey perform to their talent level and they get a step-up season from Buchholz.

The White Sox rotation could also be salty if Peavy returns to form.

Phils and SF are going to be close. St. Louis is also good. Boston in the AL.

I think Texas is in the top 3rd in the AL if things go their way.

If we had Lee, Greinke, Lee, Colby, and Holland we would have by far the best pitching staff in the AL. We are close to Oakland as it is. Oaklands 1-3 are very good, there 4 & 5 spots are Brandon McCarthy and Rich Harden.

NL- I would have to say Philly, but I wouldn't count out SF.

And yes, I forgot about RedSox Nation. THey have several good pitchers that were hurt most of the year last year. I am worried about them, they won 90 games with guys like Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk, Lester missing literally half the season. Now they have added superb bats and a couple power arms...I don't look forward to playoff matchup with them but I am not scared... what I love about our guys is our chemistry & love for the game. They love playing together. Good clubhouse.

@Corey B.

Unless an injury occured I didn't hear about, Oaklands 1-3 is very good with Anderson, Cahill, and Gonzalez, and their 4 is pretty good too with Braden (at least he's always good against us) Their fifth spot is the grab bag, but most teams fifth spots are grab bags, including ours is Webb can't start the season.

The Phillies are the obviously 800 pound gorilla. When Blanton is your #5, you're in good shape. That said, something about Cliff Lee's mechanics and his back scare me. 32 is typically the start of the back 9 for athletes, and he's not a pitcher than can afford much drop in his velocity. I'm not saying he's going to suck, just that we've probably already seen the best Cliff Lee we'll ever see. Also, who knows how much gas is still in Oswalt's tank? Oswalt may have gotten by on a "I'm on-winner" adrenaline rush last year that might not last over a 30-something starts this year.

Oakland's staff is impressive, but I'm not sold on projecting any pitcher's career this early into it. I suspect hitters will make more and better adjustments the more times they see them. Also, when it comes to making your #s looking good, Oakland is a pitchers' dream with all that foul territory. Playing half their games there, plus last year, a lot of games against limp Mariner bats, and a weakened Angels lineup. It was kind of a perfect storm for racking up good ERA and WHIPs. The Angels lineup will almost certainly be better and I think we'll be too, and the Mariners can't suck much worse.

The Giants look awesome, but I'd like to see a good scientific analysis on how much torque Lincecum puts on his arm. His mechanics "look" violent, so I wonder if maybe he isn't destined fora catastrophic arm injury. As for Bumgarner, like the A's staff, I'm not betting the bank on such a short sample.

C.J. was great last year and he got better as it went on. I think he trusts his basic pitches more and i’s a much more grip-it-and-rip-it. He’s naturally tough on lefites, and this last year, he started consistantly pounding the outside corners on righties a lot better. That Colby was only 12 and 13 with his #s is just baffling. He could’ve easily won 20 with those stats.

From there on. it’s a lot of who knows, but as Lenin I think said, quantity has a quality all it’s own. We’ve got so many pitchers who’ve shown sparks of being quality starters, that the odds that at least one emerges is better. I really like Tommy Hunter’s throw strikes attitude. At worst,I think he’s a good #5 guy innings eater, but he’s young enough to still have a lot of upside. GOing way out on a limb, he could be a 280 pound Greg Maddux. Okay, too far, but he’s got a great attitude and a great teacher, so I’m optimistic we haven’t seen his best yet. I think Holland needs to learn what C.J. learned last year. That’s all, he’s got the stuff. He just needs to put that stuff in the right locations consistantly. I’ve heard good things about Kirkman’s progress, but just second hand. And if we can get Webbto even 90% of what he was, he’s a Derek Lowe-type ground ball machine.

If Joey is right in that the Opening Day rotation is likely to be Wilson/Lewis/Hunter/Holland/Bush then we will have the 3rd best in the AL West. We better hope the offense kicks it into high gear the whole season.