A Tale of Two Starters

So they did exactly as I would have liked: Ross for 4, and Mazzaro for 5. The two lines:

Ross: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Mazzaro: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

So who would you pick? I choose...I choose...both. I think this a good model to deal with Duchscherer's spot in the rotation, until Anderson comes back (and rumor has it he might soon). You might say, flip the two, but I disagree. I think Mazzaro pitched better because he had nothing to prove.

As for Ross, was it just me, or was he able to throw strikes when he needed to, but unable to when he didn't? Somebody needs to take him aside and tell him that there's not a single pitch in a single at-bat that's not important to the end result of the game. The difference between a batter being an 0-2 count and a 2-0 count as far as the probability of the end result of the game is not insignificant. On a single batter I mean.

Nonetheless, I think this is a winning formula, not just for this start, but for breaking guys into the majors in general. I don't think anybody should look at it like, hey, well, Vin Mazzaro had a slightly better line than Tyson Ross, therefore, choose one not the other. Having two future starters in the fifth spot keeps the bullpen fresh, and keeps pressure off of one or the other from feeling like the weight of the whole game is on their shoulders.

As inconsistent as Gonzalez, Ross, Mazzaro, Anderson and Cahill have been generally (because they're young), why not us those five guys like a tag team pitching corps, with the expectation that they will be the rotation at some point in the future? Or was that the plan all along, and I'm just now realizing it?