Don’t Get Used to the Pittsburgh Pirates Six-Man Rotation

I thought there was a phrase that went something like if you have two starting quarterbacks that means you don’t have one.  We wonder if that would apply to a Major League pitching staff, if you have six starting pitchers you don’t have five?

In baseball, it’s true there is never enough starting pitching.  But the sixth man rotation hasn’t been a rousing success to this point.  Clint Hurdle addressed the topic today.  Here is a tweet from Rob Biertempfel that is music to our ears.

The only question is which five will be in the Pirates rotation after the Pirates return from San Diego.   That clock already started ticking.  We think A.J. Burnett will be in it.  We think Jeff Karstens will be in it.  We think Wandy Rodriguez will be in it.  We think Erik Bedard will be in it.

So it’s down to James McDonald, and Kevin Correia, right?

Who would have thought that back in January, the Pirates would be in a pennant hunt with A.J. Burnett, Jeff Karstens, and Wandy Rodriguez as the sure things on August 14.

Who would have thought that back in May, the Pirates would be in a pennant hunt and James McDonald would be the question mark?