It's Not a Good Sign When Odalis Perez Is Starting on Opening Day

It's never a good sign your team's VP of player development compares your rotation unfavorably to the group he's assembled to take the hill in AAA. That's just what Nationals VP of player development Bob Boone did yesterday, however, after Tim Redding left his start with back pain. John Patterson's release and Shawn Hill's injuries already left the team short or arms but Boone's feeling pretty chuffed nonetheless.

"The first thing you noticed when we took over here was, 'Oh, my God. We've got this mishmash. We've got to get younger, but better. Now, we've got guys with big arms that we're going to have to release, guys that we never would've released two years ago. And that's a really good sign."

Just as a reminder, the Nats finished 10th in the NL in runs allowed last season and Odalis Perez, who's bettered a league-average ERA twice in a nine-year career, was the only notable addition to the staff. He'll be starting Opening Day, quite a rise from the unemployment line in one month's time and a big reason to wonder if Boone hasn't been drinking just a bit too much of his own Kool-Aid.

The Nats shouldn't be rushing prospects to the big leagues for a losing season but even good teams would find it odd to equate releasing big arms with positive progress. Patterson may never get back to what he was after two years of injuries but why not find that out before releasing him?