PITTSBURGHGiants manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coachDave Righetti have settled on a rotation alignment for the second half.
The names will not change. But the order will.
Bochy said he would wait until Saturday to make thealignment public because he hasnt spoken to his starting pitchers yet. Butpresumably, he wont have Matt Cain starting the first game out of the breaksince he might throw multiple innings in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
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For giggles, Ill speculate that Madison Bumgarner, who wouldhave the longest layoff among the starters, will open the second half againstthe Houston Astros. Cain could follow, and the Giants might be tempted to slideTim Lincecum into the No. 3 spot. That way, he would face the Astros in theshort homestand at AT&T Park instead of pitching in the sweltering heat atAtlanta.
If the Giants pitch Barry Zito fourth and Ryan Vogelsongfifth, they could keep their left-handers split up. And Vogelsong, who hasworked hard while pitching deep in every game, would get extra time to rest andrecuperate.
Thats just my hunch, anyway. Well have the official order tomorrow. And keep in mind: This has almost nothing to do with "prestige" and is more about what makes sense in context of the schedule.
With that in mind, how would you line em up, and why?