A case for Ramon Ortiz It's time for Ramon Ortiz to get a shot in the starting rotation. This might make me sound like a bit of a hypocrite, as I spent the first months of the season criticizing Ortiz (and little else). Over recent weeks I've even advocated trading him to a number of teams.

Why am I changing my tune now? Well, I'm not exactly. The criticisms of Ortiz are still valid- he had nothing to start the season. No control, no stuff, and no heart. That's why he deserved to be demoted to the bullpen then, and why his recent turnaround should be looked at with the utmost skepticism now. I still don't trust Ramon on that mound. I also stand by my opinion that Ramon should be traded (and that's one reason why he should be starting, but I'll get to that in a bit).

So why should he be starting? Lets start with the most obvious reason:

He's better then the alternative(s):

Let's face facts: Bartolo Colon has been a complete and total disaster. Outside of three dominating starts, he has been pounded. His velocity is down, his location is atrocious, and his pitch selection has been idiotic. In his six starts in the month of June, Bartolo has and ERA of nearly 8.00. And it's not as if these struggles are a recent phenomenon- just look at his ERA by month:


Bartolo has been struggling since late-April. That's a span of 12 starts. I, for one, have seen enough of Bartolo Colon. His performance of late has been roughly equal to Ortiz's early performance, and like Ortiz, it warrants a demotion to the bullpen.

Some will say that Bartolo deserves the benefit of the doubt because he's (supposedly) suffering through both ankle and back pain. Well, we have the disabled list for a reason. If he is in fact hurt, and it's causing him to pitch like this, then I don't see any other option then to shut him down until he's completely healthy. Also, let's call a spade a spade and point out the real cause of these pains- his weight. It's not at all surprising that a man who is as overweight as Bartolo will have back and leg problems. I understand that he was never a svelte man, but he has ballooned over recent seasons, and in my opinion, that is the root of his problems.

Of course Bartolo isn't the only Angel's starter who has been struggling- the man who replaced Ramon Ortiz to begin with, Aaron Sele, hasn't looked so hot either. He came out strong, winning four of his first five stats and putting up a very impressive 2.10 ERA. But even then you could see that he was barely holding things together. His peripheral stats did not look promising (18/11 K/BB, 4.7 K/9), suggesting that Sele had been incredibly lucky in those first few starts. Unfortunately, that appears to have been the case. He has been nearly as bad as Colon of late, with a June ERA of 7.20.

As I said, I don't trust Ramon Ortiz by any means. But his turnaround the bullpen and his recent success as a starter should earn him another look over other struggling pitchers. It's only fair that he have the chance to win back his spot.

Colon needs a break:

If Ramon Ortiz can find his game in the bullpen, who's to say that Bartolo Colon can't do the same? I understand the Angels' apprehension to putting a $51million dollar-man in the bullpen, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Obviously I'm not suggesting that we turn Colon into a full-time reliever- this would only be a temporary situation until he's ready to start again. I think getting Colon some work every couple of days (rather then every five days), might work him into a grove. He can workout his mechanical problems and regain his consistency, which would jump-start his season.

It will raise his stock:

There's no doubt about it: Ramon is hot right now. He's pitching out of his head. That's exactly the problem- this is a hot streak, not a sign of things to come. He will come back to Earth. He may not revert back to his early 2004 form, but he should at least start pitching back to his career averages. And those career averages (4.62 ERA, .260 BAA, 1.38 WHIP) are nothing to write home about.

Right now his stock is about as high as it will ever be, so this is the perfect time to deal him. He want's out- he's made that abundantly clear. Keeping him in the rotation will keep other clubs interested, and might even shoot his stock even higher. I realize that Bill Stoneman has stressed that he's doesn't want to deal Ramon, but I find it hard to believe that if someone offered a power-hitting third baseman (Valintin?) or a proven left-handed set-up man (Groom?) he wouldn't be interested.

So there- three reasons to put Ramon Ortiz back in the starting rotation. If you had told me a month ago that I would write anything like this, I would have called you some pretty dirty names. Funny how things change.