But the Cardinals still have two top starters in John Tudor and Danny Cox, and they are a formidable pair.

Most teams are lucky to have two or three good starters; they've got five top starters.

Or that they deserved to be included in discussions of the top few starters who ever pitched?

You've got Al Leiter, who is going to pitch opening day, and he's one of the top starters in the league.

That means the Yankees will have to survive a month without one of their top projected starters.

The Yankees do not seem like the Yankees, with three of their top starters gone.

Most managers would try to align their rotations so that the top starters would pitch against a rival like Boston.

Oswalt was regarded as one of the top starters on the free agent market and was courted by several teams.

So a team's three top starters and one or two relievers really do matter more in October.

They have decisions to make about their top starters, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine; both will be free agents after the season.