This topic was getting interesting commentary in last night's game thread, so I've decided to break it out and expand the theme a little as it's own post. Alright let's start with right now:
Tonight: Byung Hyun Kim
Tomorrow: Shawn Chacon
Saturday: Aaron Cook
Sunday: Jeff Francis
Monday: Jamey Wright
Kind of easy, but Sunday's the trade deadline and Chacon is looking more likely to be moved, so the rotation should be shifting shortly.
Next week:
Tuesday: Kim
Wednesday: Zach Day
Thursday: Cook
Friday: Francis
Saturday: Wright
Now, for the moment this looks like the best we can come up with. What was being discussed last night (and in to today) is what to do with Jamey Wright who has been regrettably bad while pitching at Coors. My suggestion was to use him in long relief during homestands while Acevedo starts, and then switching back on the road. Although I think it's best for the team, I doubt it would be a popular suggestion among the players and it doesn't seem all that feasible at this point. Now of the pitchers mentioned above, Wright or Kim would seem the best candidates to be involved in a post-deadline deal (the Rockies would have to eat the remainder of Kim's contract, but maybe we could get something for the future for it). Help from the farm will then most likely come from Jason Young or possibly Mike Esposito. If Chacon is kept through the duration of the year, I really don't see him staying with the team until Spring at this point.
So let's move forward to 2006:
The bulk of the staff will have to be fairly cheap, but luckily the Rockies look to have the needed parts to keep it that way.
Spring:
#1 Jason Jennings
#2 Cook
#3 Francis
#4 Day
#5 Young or Esposito
The wildcards are really those last three as it's difficult to tell how well they'll do for the Rockies without seeing them in action a few times first. Obviously as solutions go, this isn't optimal and it still leaves us with too much shakiness at the bottom. For that reason, Ubaldo Jiminez has an outside shot of cracking this thing in the Spring.
Mid 2006:
My assumption is at this point Marcos Carvajal is back on the farm getting ready to be a starter and he could be a late summer call-up. Jennings could be the target of teams gearing for the playoffs and headed to a potentially costly free agency if the Rockies keep him, and I don't know when the team will increase it's budget. So for the sake of this post I'll send him on his way to the Rangers. U-ball also should be here by then.
#1 Cook
#2 Francis
#3 Day
#4 Esposito
#5 Jiminez and Carvajal
2007: Big Red becomes the target of speculation, this season, but hopefully we'll have the money by then to get him an extension. I'm assuming Day's the odd guy out at this point, due to finances, mostly and I'm just leaving Esposito in because I'm crazy.
#1 Cook
#2 Francis
#3 Jiminez
#4 Carvajal
#5 Esposito :) Alright, alright - Juan Morillo comes in sometime around this year.
2008:
#1 Cook
#2 Francis
#3 Jiminez
#4 Carvajal
#5 Morillo
See that stability finally? That's what we are aiming for, and of course injuries happen and I would expect at least one of the three of Carvajal, Morillo or Jiminez to bust -just knowing how pitching prospects go- but the general aim of this exercise is to find that stable core of starters from the unstable point where we are at now. In the comments feel free to make suggestions or changes according to your whims as you see fit.