Once Around

We've seen the Cubs rotate through their rotation one time now (sans Prior). It's early, but safe to say that the first go around is pretty much what I expected to see.

Wood - 2 innings, 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 K.
An extra hit and a strikeout or two less, but lotsa walks. That's KW all over.

Maddux - 2 innings, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 Ks.
Yes, I remember it well.

Zambrano - 3 innings, 3 hits, 0 walks, 7 Ks.
I'm in love.

Clement - 2 innings, 4 hits, 1 walks, 0 Ks.
When I went to Game 4 of the NLDS and saw Clement walk on the mound I felt like a Woody Allen at junior prom with a condom in his pocket that he bought in 7th grade. I had no idea what was going to happen, if this was going to work, and had a feeling I'd be nauseous when it was over. Clement's not bad, he's just inconsistent. He's the Weakest Link. Can Angel Guzman be ready by June 1?

I'd expect that this is a reasonable preview of the Cubs rotation. Yeah, Maddux and Zambrano were better than expected and Wood and Clement were worse. But in terms of whom I expect to be the best performers, what we saw is what we're going to see more often than not.