Part III: NL West

Someone forgot to tell the NL West they were supposed to be the worst division in baseball last year.  Out of nowhere this division became arguably the best division in the league and had one of the most fantastic finishes in recent memory.  That play-in game was a game I will be talking about for years and I will never forget the Rockies historic run to the World Series.  This year promises to be another great race in this division.

The Dodger may have made the biggest change in the off-season when they fired Grady Little and brought in Joe Torre.  Joe should be able to bring this clubhouse together and keep everyone on an even level.  It should go along way to helping this starting rotation.  Brad Penny should be fine but after that all they have are questions.  Derek Lowe needs to have a good year and Jason Schmidt must get healthy and stay healthy this year.  The line-up should be fine this year.  They are getting older but still have some very productive bats, Nomar, Jeff Kent, Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre.  Russell Martin is a stud at catcher and should really take off this season.  The bullpen has some great arms and one of the better closer in the game, Saito.  My only worry here is the way Joe Torre manages bullpens, he may overuse a lot of these young guys.

The San Francisco Giants seem to be having a lot more fun this spring training without Barry Bonds and the media around everyday.  But once the season starts I think their fun will end.  This team is going to be terrible this year.  When Aaron Rowand is your top-hitter and you depend on Ray Durham, Randy Winn, Dave Roberts and Omar Vizquel the fans shouldn’t get too excited.  The rotation could be solid this year, if Zito can bounce back.  They have some very good young arms with Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Noah Lowry.  Their bullpen is pretty solid also but they have no dominant closer and that will hurt them.  It should be a long year on the Bay.  I know some people are happy to see Bonds gone but he was the only reason people went to see this team play last year.

The Arizona Diamondbacks surprised a lot of people by winning this division last year and should only get better this year.  Their young talent in the line-up, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Chris Young and Justin Upton will be better this year, which is scary.  They still have some very solid veterans with Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson (back this year after being injured a lot of last season).  This team also has a very scary starting rotation.  Brandon Webb is a perennial CY Young candidate, they brought in Dan Haren (who should be even better in the NL) and they hope Randy Johnson can stay healthy (he was having a very good year before injuring his back).  Their bullpen is the only question mark to me.  Brandon Lyon is a solid closer and they have some young talent but they lack the experience.  This team should be right back in the hunt for the division crown again this season.

The San Diego Padres will remember last year as the season that got away.  They were one out away from winning the Wild Card when Tony Gwynn Jr. of the Brewers tripled off Trevor Hoffman.  The Padres went on to have a 2-run lead in extras against the Rockies in that wonderful play-in game before Hoffman again blew the lead.  This team should again contend for a playoff spot though.  They have a suspect line-up, which is led by Adrian Gonzalez.  They brought in Jim Edmonds to help in the middle of the order but they don’t scare many people.  Khalil Greene, Scott Hairston and Brian Giles just aren’t going to cut it.  The rotation is solid up front with CY Young winner Jake Peavy and Chris Young but after that I am not so sure.  Greg Maddux is not getting any younger or any better, Randy Wolf never became the pitcher people thought he would turn into and Mark Prior has question after question as their 5 starter.  Can he stay healthy and if so can he even come close to regaining the form he had back in 2003.  I don’t think this bullpen is very strong either.  Trevor Hoffman gets older and older and he continues to blow the biggest saves.  Everything will have to go this teams way if they are going to stay in this tightly contested division race.

The darlings of last September and October, the Colorado Rockies should be very good again this year.  Their line-up is as dangerous as an American League line-up.  Matt Holiday could have been the MVP last year.  Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe make for a scary middle of the order.  With Willy Tavares setting the table this team will score a lot of runs.  Their starting rotation is very solid too.  Jeff Francis is highly underrated, Aaron Cook should bounce back after being injured most of last year and Jimenez and Morales have great young arms.  The Rockies also put together a solid bullpen.  Their 8^th and 9^th inning should be all but done with Brian Fuentes as the set-up and Manny Corpas closing games out.  Other than these two they have some young arms and some question marks.  If their bullpen can put it together in the middle innings this will be a dangerous team and could actually win the division this season.

Predictions and Standings:

Best Newcomer- Dan Haren.  He will make the D-Backs rotation the best in the division this year.

Most Important Player- I am going to go with a group.  The bullpens of the Rockies and Diamondbacks may decide this division.  Which bullpen will be more consistent?

Best Manager- I have to give this to Joe T in Dodgerland.  If the Dodgers compete this year it will be because Joe was able to bring the team together.  They have a mix of young talent with solid veterans.  This will be tough for Joe but I think he can do it.

Cy Young of Division- It would be easy to pick Jake Peavy or Brandon Webb and sometimes I like to pick easy but not this time.  I am going to go with Jeff Francis.  I am telling you, this guy is highly underrated.  18 wins this year.

MVP of Division- Matt Holiday is the easy pick here but again, I’m not going with the easy pick.  Actually, who am I kidding, I’ll take Holiday.  Look out for Russell Martin though, break out year.

Standings-

1. Diamondbacks (92-70)
2. Rockies           (90-72)
3. Dodgers           (86-76)
4. Padres              (81-81)
5. Giants              (70-92)

The Diamondbacks will ride their starting rotation to a close division win over the Rockies.  The Rockies will be very tough and compete for the division and wild card all year.  Joe Torre will lead the Dodgers to a better year but not good enough.  The Padres will struggle because their line-up is so weak and the Giants will stink this year.  People will stop coming to games because there is no Barry Bonds to watch.  The Giants will miss Bonds by June.

Until next time, I’m gone, like the Spurs winning streak.