On another note, I really believe Detroit will be kicking themselves come playoff time if we extend Garza and they lose in the playoffs due to lack of quality starting pitching. I know Castellanos and even Turner can have very bright futures, but this is their time to win.

Coleman will get his chance doing what? Selling hot dogs?

"I loved hearing him say how he just started wanting to pitch and not throw and focus on command"

Yep, he gets it.
He said early in an interview in spring training that he's taking a much different approach to starting from what he did coming out of the pen.
He said he won't be afraid to let them put the bat on the ball and he doesn't have to try to strike every hitter out and just blow it by them , and he has to get ahead in counts quickly so he can keep his pitch counts down to stay in games longer.
And he's pretty much done that all spring, even the one start he got hit around in ST he was throwing strikes, probably too many.

Hi Trigg,

I'm excited to see him pitch, today!!

Which is key. I think the high walk totals and even inconsistencies in years past were due to trying to make the perfect pitch instead of challenging hitters.

Yup, his projections of his numbers as a starter were 2 runs a game higher than as a reliever.

I hope he pitches well. This will definitely be a big test for him.

Funny we both want the same thing in reverse. I want to see Jeff dominate as a starter, so we can extend Garza, and I like to see Coleman as eventually being effective out of the pen.

Yes he did, he's looking good so far and I may be wrong about him this year.

IMO ...power pitchers belong in the back end of the bullpen. Craftier pitchers that throw offspeed are better suited in the rotation.

You nailed it, Garza or Dempster the 2 guys that had sure rotation spots he's fine with.
Maholm could pitch 5 straight shutouts and he'd still hate him because he was given a rotation spot. and all the others who had to earn spots he hates because they all beat out Coleman.

Tell that to Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling.... Need I say more?

If he pitched like Dempster did opening day, yes I could bring up the wind , having the effect like it did in Dempsters start holding in atleast 3 bombs.
But the wind didn't hold anything in in Sharks start because he wasn't hammered like Dempster was aside from the one mistake he made the last inning.

And the Nats are picked to be playoff contenders by some of the experts

Coleman left his start the other night with a weird tingling feeling in his arm, sound like maybe a nerve issue.

Did those guys bounce around for 5 years ?? ...didn't think so

Wind or no wind Samardzija pitched very well against the Nats but i'm not going to proclaim him the starting staff's saviour just yet. RCS is right, it's only been one game but let's face it, pitching at Wrigley, wind blowing in and the Nationals as opponents, a lot different to pitching against the Cardinals in St Louis, even without Berkmann and Pujols the Redbirds know how to score runs, this will be a big test for Shark, he needs his hitters to step up like they did yesterday.

Would it matter if they did? If Shark proves he can start and do it well, how does your stupid theory matter? It doesn't.

For BP usage, I just like a guy that can throw strikes right out of the gate in pressure situations. Coleman can do that. He has shown to be pretty effective 1-2 times through a order in the bigs. However, that third time through he usually isn't fooling anybody. This is why I see him as being more effective out of the pen. (Marshall is far from being a power pitcher and he is very successful out of the pen.)

I personally like a starter to have 3 good pitches they have command of, while having the ability to drastically change speeds to keep hitters guessing.

I think it's fair and fine to be cautiously optimistic about his start. As for RCS, he is just mad because it wasn't Coleman. Nothing more to be said on the matter.

He's fine. It happened on a swing and miss. He'll make his next start.