Editorial. Photos by AP News
As the old saying goes, “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us.”
Perhaps both should be replaced with three.
This division no longer belongs to the Dodgers – and as a result, expect to see the Giants and Rockies race hard and fast for that division crown. With the AL East boasting the AL’s (and baseballs) best arms, the NL West takes the cake for the NL on this one. The danger with this division is that three of the top teams have no doubt in their mind that they can win the wild card. They aren’t even eyeing that in fact. All three believe they can win and have the talent to back it up.
The triple threat that is the NL West, should prove to be one of the most heated division races yet. Get your popcorn ready, with Tim Lincecum going for his 3rd Cy Young in a row, and the Rockies pushing to win their first division title ever, you’re not going to want to miss this.
2009 Standings 2010 Projected Standings
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 1. Colorado Rockies
2. Colorado Rockies 2. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Colorado Rockies 2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. San Fransisco Giants 3. San Fransisco Giants
4. San Diego Padres 4. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. San Diego Padres 4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Arizona Diamondbacks 5. San Diego Padres
First Place -- Colorado Rockies
It’s the Rockies turn, at last. For once, my love of the Rockies is being backed by sportswriters around the country and the cold hard stats are starting to fall in place. In the franchise’s 17-year history, Colorado has never won the division. The drought ends here. This year looks as good as any other for the Rockies to take the division.
I figure it’s going to take a lot to convince you people, even though most sports writers agree with me, because professional sportswriters and myself included, have been terribly wrong about things before. And just because they are professional sportswriters, doesn’t make them right all the time. But make no mistake about it, we aren’t wrong this time.
The combination of Tulo and Helton in the batters’ box, the depth of the lineup, and the speed of young Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez make this lineup a tough one to work through. Jimenez, De La Rosa and Cook on the mound make for a very solid rotation. Jimenez’s no-hitter will carry through this ball club and the rotation till October. All this depth and talent make Colorado a favorite this year – for the first time in a while – to take home the NL West.
But, it won’t be easy.
Projected Rotation Projected Batting Order
Ubaldo Jiminez Carlos Gonzalez
Aaron Cook Dexter Fowler
Aaron Cook Dexter Fowler
Jorge De La Rosa Todd Helton
Jason Hammel Troy Tulowitzki
Greg Smith Brad Hawpe
(until Francis returns) Chris Iannetta
Ian Stewart
Clint Barmes
Second Place -- Los Angeles Dodgers
Most everyone in the baseball world believes the Phillies to be the best NL team, and while that may be true, it was the Dodgers who were first in the league in average, OBP, ERA, BAA, OPS, and WHIP in 2009. Not too shabby.
The Dodgers are a balanced team like the Rockies, featuring solid hitting, though a good chunk of their offensive success will depend on how Manny and Russell Martin do.
They lost Juan Pierre which isn’t detrimental to their offensive health, but they can kiss those 30 stolen bases goodbye - he could have easily stole 50 if he saw more time in the line up.
Look for a big year from Matt Kempt and Mr. Clutch Andre Ethier to lead this team’s bats, not to mention the strong bullpen that saw a heavy workload in George Sherrill, Ronald Belisario and closer Jonathan Broxton, a bullpen that becomes even more important to the Dodger team considering the starting pitching staff was 9th in the league in quality starts, and phenom Clayton Kershaw can’t seem to get past the fifth inning – ever.
The Rockies are only getting stronger and will close that 4 game gap, and the Dodgers have made themselves vulnerable by staying virtually silent during free agency.
Pitching wins championships, but it can win you lots of regular season games too. Just ask the San Francisco Giants.
Projected Rotation Projected Batting Order
Clayton Kershaw Rafael Furcal
Chad Billinglsey Garret Anderson
Hiroki Kuroda Matt Kemp
Vincente Padilla Manny Ramirez
Charlie Haeger James Loney
Casey Blake
Blake DeWitt
Russel Martin
Third Place -- San Francisco Giants
The Giants continue to surprise me, as well as most of the league.
I was this close to putting them in second place, but their paltry offense was just too much to overlook, not to mention one injury to their pitching staff or Pablo Sandoval would be devastating.
They are a prime example of how pitching can keep you in the race, even if you rank 11th in the NL in batting average, 13th in runs, and dead last in OBP and OPS.
The Freak and “Cainer” (stupid nickname, but the Giants fans only have themselves to blame) are as scary as a 1-2 punch comes.
What sets this rotation above St. Louis’ is their depth.
As for the bats? In my opinion, they should give Kung Fu Panda a key to the city, because without him, their bats and playoff hopes are truly lost.
The arms are going to have to muscle their way through on this one, though I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they took the wild card along with 2nd place in the division.
Projected Rotation Projected Batting Order
Tim Lincecum Aaron Rowand
Matt Cain Edgar Renteria
Matt Cain Edgar Renteria
Barry Zito Pablo Sandoval
Jonathan Sanchez Aubrey Huff
Todd Wellemeyer Mark DeRosa
Bengie Molina
Juan Uribe
John Bowker
4th Place -- Arizona Diamondbacks
The once division great D-backs pretty much crapped on that memory putting up a dismal season last year.
In their defense, Brandon Webb becoming best friends with the physical therapist didn’t help at all. The results? Last place honors with 70 wins, with the year before yielding 82 wins and second place.
While this team does have great pieces in Mark Reynolds, whose utter disregard for the strikeout has yielded some great power numbers, Upton (the much better one), Haren, (just imagine if this guy didn’t take an epic number 2 in the second half of the season) and newly added Edwin Jackson, they simply don’t have enough to put it all together.
240; that is Arizona’s average with runners in scoring position last year, last in the NL. Perhaps I’m hating on them too much, and no they aren’t that terrible, but it’s not nearly enough to challenge the top of the division. Webb will be back, but after a dismal spring training and wit some uncertainty surrounding his injuries, there isn’t much hope here.
Projected Rotation Projected Batting Order
Dan Haren Conor Jackson
Edwin Jackson Stephen Drew
Ian Kennedy Justin Upton
Rodrigo Lopez Adam LaRoche
Webb (when healthy) Mark Reynolds
Miguel Montero
Chris Young
Kelley Johnson
5th Place -- San Diego Padres
This team, like the diamondbacks, didn’t always used to be so bad.
They finished with 89 wins in ’07. They also had Jake Peavy and his 19 wins, and a lineup that boasted two batter who hit double digits in the homer category (I think you can name at least one).
The one thing this team has going for themselves is that their team is ridiculously young. Three of their bats are entering their sophomore year with at least 3 others entering their 4th year in the majors. However, nothing in the young core’s numbers suggests anything good in terms of potential.
The home runs I’ll let slide in that park, but the team’s battering average reads like a Greek tragedy. Only one player batted above .265, again, I think you can guess who – and that man might be Boston bound before the season is over.
As for their rotation, well, pretty much the same story. They have on bright spot in their pitching staff in the Heath Bell who recorded 42 saves last year. Their ace, Kevin Correia, posted an ERA which is good, but not so good for a number one starter. Meanwhile, their fifth starter posted a 3.58 ERA but with only 73 innings pitched.
There is hope though: Sports Illustrated puts high stock in Kyle Blanks who hit 10 homers and had a OPS of .868 in only 148 AB’s. He’s a 6’6” 285 pound behemoth who’s rebuilt himself in the off-season and is likely going to be Gonzalez’s heir, because mark my words, Adrian won’t be a Padre for long.
He’s becoming to expensive and gets walked too much due to a paltry line up around him to hit his full potential.
And if all is lost, at least they still hold on to the best jerseys in the MLB - camouflage.
Projected Rotation Projected Batting Order
Kevin Correia Everth Cabrera
Jon Garland David Eckstein
Clayton Richard Adrian Gonzalez
Matt Latos Kyle Blanks
Tim Stauffer Chase Headley
Will Venable
Nick Hundley
Tony Gwynn
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