- kevin: go blue...
- kevin: go blue...
- bigD: Mrs. Portis-Easton.....
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MLB PREVIEW – NL WEST
In my opinion, this division is the Dodgers division to win or lose this year despite San Diego’s past dominance over it because of their pitching. The Dodgers have the best all around team. That being said, it’s between them and San Diego. The rest of the division will probably just fight amongst themselves for 3rd place in the West and mid pack in the National League. As always, Bonds will add mystique to the Giants but that’s about all we can expect from them despite the signing of Zito. Arizona is still building and developing for the future, meanwhile Colorado is always a mess trying to develop pitching that just doesn’t work in that park due to the altitude. I can’t see the wild card coming from this division because there are just too many strong teams in the East this time around with Atlanta, Philly and the Mets and the Cards in the Central. With Milwaukee also being a dark-horse team in the National League who might even be in the fight for the wild card again, chances are very good that this division won’t get the wild card spot. It’s a weak division that doesn’t deserve it anyway.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Most successful teams in this league have more hitting then pitching. Say hello to the complete opposite. I know pitching wins championships but having the odd scary hitter can’t hurt. The Dodgers don’t really have any hitters like that. They upgraded nicely by adding Jason Schmidt (has good command of his fastball but he can do just about anything with his very good changeup) to a pitching staff that already featured sinkerballer – Derek Lowe and Brad Penny but again, that’s pitching. Adding a big free agent hitter (if you don’t consider Luis Gonzalez that kind of player and considering he’s going downhill why would you?) would have really helped them, but they have good chemistry in the clubhouse now behind manager, Grady Little and that can only lead to success behind a solid pitching staff.
#1 PLAYER TO WATCH: Actually there’s 2. CF and leafoff hitter – Juan Pierre and also upper lineup hitter, SS – Rafael Furcal are the 2 I am mentioning here because of flat out speed. These 2 hitting at the top of the order will just plain annoy the hell out of pitchers. They’ll get their share of stolen bases and their both pretty good athletes, especially Furcal who can just plain FLY and might be THE fastest player in baseball. These 2 should definitely benefit the veterans in the lineup who will hit with these 2 on base for much of the time.
X-FACTOR: The veteran hitters. Will LF – Luis Gonzalez (bat speed has declined but his approach is outstanding and he handles off-speed stuff well) be the Gonzo of old? Can 2B – Jeff Kent (short stroke, quick bat and will still crush mistakes) and 1B – Nomar Garciaparra (constant injuries but seems to have found his bat speed again) once again be the consistent players that they’ve been in the past? If the answer to all 3 of these questions is yes, with a strong pitching staff like the Dodgers possess, they should have no problem winning their share of games and this division.
THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IF: They get the timely hits when they need them the most. With no tremendously huge bat, it’s going to be an offensive team wanting contributions from 1 to 8 then a team that looks at individuals to win with one swing of the bat. How well the Dodgers get runs out of pressure situations is going to be the biggest key for this team this time.
OUTLOOK: This is probably still the weakest division out there and this season is no exception. I don’t know if that’s a big compliment for the Dodgers or not but because of strong arms in the pitching staff and a solid nucleus of both hitting talent and speed, this team should do alright and should win the division outright.
SAN DIEGO PADRES
They lost Piazza and didn’t add a big power bat to replace him so they won’t score as many runs this season. The addition of Greg Maddux might prove to be rewarding as this is one of the deeper ballparks going. For the team they have, they should be able to contend against the Dodgers but due to the lack of overall talent in the West, who cares?
#1 PLAYER TO WATCH: This team is all about pitching and it all starts with their ace, Jake Peavy. He’s got good stuff and the kind of command to win 17 this season. He has a very loose arm motion and he’s very deceiving. He relies on an excellent change-up but relies on it way too much and needs to throw more fastballs instead of just using it to set up the off-speed pitch. He has electric stuff but must throw strikes and not fall behind hitters.
X-FACTOR: The rest of them. Greg Maddux (superior movement and location with a deadly circle change that he often dares you to hit in his specific area), Chris Young (varies his delivery well from over the top with deceiving velocity and a good change-up because of it) and Clay Hansley (he’ll be more of a mid-rotation guy for the rest of his career but is effective now if he properly locates his junk) are definitely the make or break on this team after Peavy. How long this team is in the hunt for the division will directly depend on these guys but a solid bullpen led by setup man – Scott Linebrink (a hard slider with late bite but must throw more hittable strikes to be successful) and ultimate closer – Trevor Hoffman (ranks all time among the game’s greatest closers) will also get the job done so now it comes down to the hitting. Can they score enough runs?
THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IF: They score enough runs to get to Hoffman. RF – Brian Giles (is losing his power but gets on base a lot) leads the offense that, much like the Dodgers doesn’t really have the big bat anymore or at least, the threat of one now that Piazza is gone. Hitters like CF – Mike Cameron (more of a defensive specialist) and 2B – Marcus Giles (overly aggressive but hits better in the 2 spot) must perform while the Pads wait for their top young player in 1B – Adrian Gonzalez (potential All-Star with a smooth stroke, good patience and will hit mistakes). To be honest, I really don’t see that much in this offense so it all comes down to pitching.
OUTLOOK: The loss of Piazza is bigger then they think. I don’t believe the Pads will score enough runs to get to Hoffman on a consistent enough basis. They just don’t have enough overall hitting talent to be considered a strong playoff team. More hitting would challenge the Dodgers for the division but because I’m not completely sold on their overall starting pitchers either after Peavy, I don’t expect another division title in SD. I don’t think I’ll pay much attention to the predictions for this team because I think there’s a chance the Padres could be vastly overrated.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
They overpaid for Barry Zito. Tell us something we don’t know. To me, Zito is overrated and is more of a #2 or 3 type starter then a pitcher making ridiculous amounts of money but that’s the harsh reality in baseball nowadays when you consider what solid (not necessarily dominate) pitching is truly worth. Rich Aurilia is still hanging around at 1B and they also went out and got CF – Dave Roberts. This has always been an organization that prefers veteran players over building a young team but hey, whatever works. All the focus will be on Barry Bonds to see if he can top Hank Aaron’s HR record. This will distract this team and they can’t afford to have anymore distractions. The calm, cool and collective new manager, Bruce Bochy is the perfect man for this job because if anyone can tone out the Bonds HR hype, he can.
#1 PLAYER TO WATCH: Is this not obvious? Bonds isn’t far away from the HR record now and that’s what the nation will be watching even if they won’t admit it. Take away all the hype and the garbage that surrounds it though. When you get to the nitty gritty, this is still one of the most feared hitters in the history of baseball, steroids or not. He has the quickest hands and perhaps the best eye of any hitter in the game. His bat speed and overall power stand out as perhaps the best ever. His swing is a short one but that’s what makes him so unique because he can still extend with it and get to any pitch. He is still very injury prone though and his knees may break before he does. That being said he’s still an incredible hitting talent and in all rights, should be a DH in the American League by now. Defensively his knees have had it so he has no more range. Despite a decent arm he has now become one of the worst defensive LF’s but let’s face it…that’s not why you want Barry Bonds on your team day in and day out. He’s bat is out of this world so you put up with his defensive lapses in the process of watching balls still exit Pac Bell.
X-FACTOR: RF – Randy Winn. They actually might hit this guy 3rd in their lineup in front of Bonds. Now that I can’t believe. The loss of Alou may really have hurt this team for that reason. Winn is clearly not a 3rd hitter but tell me something I don’t know.
THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IF: After losing Jason Schmidt it was crucial that they went out and picked up Zito despite overpaying for him because after Zito there’s Matt Morris, youngster Matt Cain (they’re very high on him), Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez as the likely starting 5. Armando Benitez is big time again and is STILL the closer in SF but it’s simple…how well this pitching staff does will dictate how well the Giants do. Translation…NOT VERY WELL.
OUTLOOK: They should be middle of the pack in the National League’s worst division so as you can tell, there won’t be much success in SF this season other then when Barry hits #755 and 756 out of the park. Oh, to catch that ball!!!
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
The rebuilt at just the right time and soon, they’ll be rewarded for it. To be honest, playing in a weak division like this one, they might be rewarded right away. Youngsters, Brandon Webb leads the arms and Stephen Drew leads the offense and there’s a lot to like if you like young talent. Patience and growth are the keys to taking the next step for the D-Backs.
#1 PLAYER TO WATCH: SS – Stephen Drew. He’s relatively still an unknown but that’s just because he’s young and the future is brighter then ever for this kid. They say he’ll eventually hit .300 and win gold gloves. How does that sound, Arizona fans!
X-FACTOR: Ace pitcher – Brandon Webb. He’s the most unknown Cy Young winner I’ve ever seen. How could he take home the award and you basically hear nothing about him at all? He’s got a good sinking fastball, a high 70’s curve and a straight change but the bottom line is it’s a good live arm and he’ll only get better. He’ll log a lot of innings too and at this stage, this team needs that the most. He’s capable of winning the Cy Young again, without question.
THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IF: Growth, time and patience are on their side. One other interesting thing to note is they have a very high prospect in CF – Chris Young. They say he could be a lock to be a 20-20 man in his first season AT LEAST. He’s a strong power hitter with a nice mix of both pop and speed. In short, he’s already being compared to Eric Davis and he probably plays the outfield better at this stage then Davis did. LOOK OUT FOR THIS KID!!!
OUTLOOK: This is a weak division so that could be a bit of saving grace for Arizona and might look better then they actually are as a result. They aren’t the Dodgers and should be bottom of the pack for much of the year in the National League but you never know…stranger things have happened in the desert!
COLORADO ROCKIES
The team is led by Todd Helton…an injured Todd Helton most of the time. Maybe if they’d stop all of their free swinging in the mountain air, they’d stop all this losing. Nah…they just don’t have the talent to compete anymore. It’s that simple. They have a lot of new faces and a young group of players but that won’t spell much success this season and many fans in Colorado are going to want to go back into the mountains then watch these guys play.
#1 PLAYER TO WATCH: 1B – Todd Helton. I think he’s always been slightly overrated because of the air in Colorado and how well he has always hit there but let’s face it, the guy’s a pure hitter. He may not get much power back after returning from a back injury but he’ll still get his share of hits either way. He always seems to get on base and he usually finds the gaps. He also likes to work counts so he’s a very valuable hitter no matter where he hits in the batting order (they may end up hitting him 5th). Defensively it’s all about ability and he has it but staying healthy could become his biggest enemy. A good all around player…always has been. First and foremost though, he’s a true blue hitter and he’s got a real good swing for that ballpark. Always has.
X-FACTOR: They have 2 really underrated hitters in their lineup in virtual unknowns – LF – Matt Holiday (pure power hitter) and 3B – Garrett Atkins (very underrated pure hitter, similar to Helton).
THEY WILL BE SUCCESFUL IF: They get any pitching at all. Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Josh Fogg, Jason Hirch? Anybody heard of these guys? I know we live in the Detroit area but word sure hasn’t gotten around if these guys have anything at all. I have to be honest…I know very little about them and I am not ashamed to admit it!
OUTLOOK: Simply put, they don’t have the pitching anyway but in order to pitch in that place you’ve got to be something special anyway. They’ll be battling to stay out of the NL West cellar.
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