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My uncle got some tix to the Yanks/Dodgers game. Can't wait.
Here we go. I know there are more Dodger fans than anything else, but this will save me and Holcs and D'back fans from having to post in a Dodger thread all summer.
NL West should be a war, and I'm ready for it to begin.
A few thoughts: Arizona will be much better. I think Jmark is right that if they can stay healthy they'll be in it. Reynolds is a beast, and Haren/Webb is as good of a 1-2 puch as you can get at the top of the rotation
Giants can pitch but not much else. Hitting is, as usual, the question mark going into the season. Kung-Fu Panda may be a superstar in the making.
Dodgers are young and can hit/play defense, and they also have the best manager in baseball (IMO). Agree that pitching will be a concern, but Torre can usually figure out a way around that stuff. How big a year will Manny have???
Colorado proved what they can do last year, and if they get any kind of pitching they'll be a force. Tracy is a uva manager. Fun team to watch.
San Diego?!?! I have no clue, maybe Holcs can fill us in. Didn't follow their offseason much.
I believe it's possible that 4 teams could have winning records and be in contention, but history says that's tough to do. One team that is supposed to do well will probably fall on its face. Least likely team to do that is LA, and the most likely would be SD (based on last years performance anyway)
My uncle got some tix to the Yanks/Dodgers game. Can't wait.
in sweet. I fully expect you to boo and jeer the evil empire to the best of your ability
What are you thinking about the Dodgers going into the season?
Regarding Dodger pitching...I think they'll make a deal around the deadline if things are shaky.
I don't expect much from the Dodgers this season. Billiingsly and Broxton are still mental midgets. Kershaw should be dealing fire this season though. I expect All-star seasons from Kemp and Ethier. And around a .500 record.
.500 is what I'm thinking for the Giants as wellI'm more of a defeatist when it comes to the Giants than any of my other favorite teams. I find that the season goes better when I set myself up for failure
Transplanted from the other thread...
The NL West could be a wild ride. Too early to count on anything, but watch out for Arizona as well. In 2007, their young players surprised many by winning the Division and advancing to the NLCS. The next year the team led for like 90% of the season until a late-season lull by a few players caught up to them in wake of the Manny-to-Dodgers trade. Last season they had some solid potential until Brandon Webb and Conor Jackson basically missed the entire season, with Young miserably regressing in the first half, and Drew and Upton missing significant time.
Well, Jackson was raking in Winter ball, and if he can be the 2008 player, he's a HUGE re-addition to the lineup that now features two studs with Upton and Reynolds. Also, if Webb can simply be a solid #2 (and there's nothing to think he won't be), then with the addition of 2009 All-Star Edwin Jackson, the Diamondbacks will have a great 1-3 at the top of the rotation. Lastly, Adam LaRoche, a very good defender and good bat, was signed to take over 1B. He's a career .400 hitter at Chase in a good number of at-bats. Young and Parra are very solid options and with Young no longer needed to be counted on, whatever he gives is a plus.
Rotation
(RHP) Dan Haren
(RHP) Brandon Webb *
(RHP) Edwin Jackson (3.62 ERA, 1.26 WHIP in 2009)
(RHP) Ian Kennedy
(RHP) Billy Buckner (3.93 ERA in six post All-Star (PAS) starts in 2009)
Lineup
1. Conor Jackson (LF/1B) *
2. Stephen Drew (SS) *
3. Justin Upton (RF)
4. Mark Reynolds (3B/1B)
5. Adam LaRoche (1B) (.290, 25 HR, 85 R/RBI in 2009)
6. Miguel Montero (C) (.313, 11 HR, 40 R/RBI in PAS in 2009)
7. Chris Young (CF) (.278, 8 HR, 18 R, 16 RBI after Sept re-call - 28 games)
8. Kelly Johnson (2B)
Bench:
Ryan Roberts (2B/LF)
Tony Abreu (2B/SS)
Augie Ojeda (SS/3B)
Chris Snyder (C)
Gerrardo Parra (CF/LF/RF)
Bullpen
RHP - Leo Rosales (SP)
RHP - Juan Gutierrez (SP/RP)
LHP - Clay Zavada (RP)
RHP - Aaron Heilman (RP)
RHP - Bob Howry (RP)
RHP - Esmerling Vasquez (Set-up)
RHP - Chad Qualls (Closer)
NOTE: * (needs to be closer to 2008 production)
Again, I don't have any delusions of grandeur, but I do think this team, with a return to decent health, has the weapons to make things compe ive for the Wild Card in the NL and should be challenging for 90 wins. Biggest concerns are health related, but they'll also need to address their lack of LHP at some point, and make a trade for a LHP SP... If Buckner or Ian Kennedy get off to a good start, I'd like to see one of them swapped for a solid lefty prospect for the back-end of the rotation.
The Diamondbacks are boom or bust. They'll get steady contributions from Haren, Upton, Reynolds, Montero, Vasquez and Qualls. After that, there are question marks on every player. THAT SAID, the upside is HUGE...
In 2008, Jackson was arguably the team's best offensive player, posting a line of better than .300, 60 XBH, 80 runs, 80 RBI and nearing 20 steals. He's almost an afterthought now. Valley Fever wiped out his season. But, as I said, he flat-out raked in Winterball. Webb is a question mark, but everybody is saying the signs are good for a nice bounce-back season. Since he relied so heavily on his sinker, I don't doubt he can have a significant contribution. With Edwin Jackson, he's a player who just starting to find himself. His upside is very high, and for a #3, he's maybe as good as there is in baseball if he maximizes that potential. Drew and young need bounce-back seasons. Each drastically underachieved last season, but each showed glimpses of finding that stroke at the plate. With LaRoche, will he contribute enough at the beginning of the season to help offset some of the players in need of a bounce-back season offensively? Will his routine second-half surge make up for a lack of first-half production and help carry the team down the stretch? With Kelly Johnson, can he, like so many other Diamondbacks, repeat 2007/2008 seasons-type production, or will his 2009 production define him again?
Like I said, LOTS of question marks. If all of them fail, then this team nets a bottom-5 finish. If half rebound/respond, then I think they have the makings of a wildcard team. If most or all significantly contribute in a timely fashion (not too many/too few at one time but a nice balance), then I think this can be an NLCS team again. Again, I'd say a smart expectation is 90 wins and a WC birth.
Here's how the Giants look, although there are some position battles going into ST, as well as questions on the batting order. This is my best guess
SP: T. Lince (cy-young winner and nug smoker
SP: M. Cain (a corn-fed pimp)
SP: B. Zito (has ed about dropping to 3rd in the rotation...STFU, really dude)
SP: J. Sanchez (threw a no-no last year)
SP: M. Bumgarner (heralded prospect that saw some time last year)
BP: B. Wilson (Closer)
BP: J. Affeldt (compliments Wilson as the setup guy, very good combo those two are)
BP: S. Romo
BP: B. Medders
BP: J. Martinez
BP: H. Sosa
BP: W. Joaquin
BP: D. Runzler
1st: N. Scheirholtz RF
2nd: F. Sanchez 2B (may start on DL or in tripleA)
3rd: P. Sandoval 3B
4th: A. Huff 1B (FA acquisition)
5th: B. Molina C
6th: M. Derosa LF (FA acquisition)
7th: A. Rowand CF (Needs to step the up, contract year)
8th: E. Renteria SS (either produce or get out of the way for Uribe, who has power but is a liability w/ the glove at short)
Bench: J. Uribe (infield)
Bench: F. Lewis (outfield)
Bench: E. Velez (both in and outfield)
Bench: T. Ishikawa (both in and outfield)
Bench: E. Whiteside (C)
Bench: A. Torres (outfield)
Bench: K. Frandsen (infield)
I know that's too many bench players, but some combination of those guys will end up on the team. Safe bets are Uribe, Velez, Ishikawa, and Whiteside
I personally think the NL West will be ultra-compe ive this year with none of the teams really pulling away from each other like last year. I do think the Rockies will probably be the biggest threat to the Dodgers' supremacy, though I think L.A. still pulls out the division championship. It will be very difficult for the Dodgers to make another run into the NLCS, but I wouldn't be surprised if its Cards/Phillies vs. the Dodgers in the final round prior to the World Series. However, like the past two years, the pitching questions and the tumult surrounding the McCourt's pending divorce will be too much to conseal and if they do reach a 3rd go-round with the Phils or a 2nd go-round with the Cards, they'll lose.
Don't expect much from the Padres...
My projected order of the NL West:
1. Dodgers
2. Rockies
3. Giants
4. Diamondbacks
5. Padres
I don't root for the Dodgers either...my fanship will be kept a secret!
Gemini is an Angels fan. gay
Ahaha! Well, at least the Angels have won something since 1988...I'm actually barely a baseball fan, but I do prefer the Angels to the Dodgers.
I literally had nightmares about that goddamn rally monkey after the SF/LAA series. in Angels....Heartbroken doesn't begin to describe me after that WS
Diamondbacks as fourth is fair, but I do believe it to be a GROSS underestimation of their ability. As far as thew Dodgers, they aren't winning the division. Thus far, the division is Colorado's to lose. I think the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are actually interchangeable at 3/4 in the preseason rankings. Dodgers have a lot of talent, but I don't think they have the upside any longer. Like I said, I fully expect the Diamondbacks to finish ahead of them now that Manny isn't on the juice.
I could be wrong, but I expect:
Colorado: 90-95 wins
Arizona: 86-91 wins
San Francisco: 84-89 wins
Los Angeles: 82-87 wins
San Diego: 67-72 wins
This is if everything for everything is close to maximized. Again, Arizona is the boom or bust team in the division, however. I fully expect San Diego to challenge for 100 losses, especially if they trade Gonzalez to Boston, as I do expect around July.
I was actually at the game for game 6 when it was getting pretty nerve-wrecking. I hated the rally monkey, but the kids seemed to like it, so I tolerated it. However, I lost my voice after the Spezio HR...Game 7 I was down the road at the Hooters for the celebration. Fun times...well, for us that is.
Agree with you on Gonzalez, although who in the do they build around then? San Diego seems to be teetering on the edge of becoming the Pirates of the west, IMO.
Have to disagree with you on the Dodgers. They're easily the best defensive team in the division which makes up for the lack of pitching. Also, Torre is a great manager who always seems to get the most from young talent.
I'll call it like this
1.Dodgers
2.Rocks
3.D'backs
4.Giants
5.Padres
My guess is there'll be 3 teams in the hunt, with one additional team falling on their face besides the Pads.
Strongly believe the wild card will be a west team, but the Phils and the Cards are probably still the class of the whole NL
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh h
I was in Korea while in the army, and only got to see games 1,3,6 and 7.
It's a good thing there was no live ammo around after game 6 (j/k, I watched it in a hotel in downtown seoul, and then drank until unconsciousness)
I knew what would happen going into game 7, so by then I was at peace with them losing...
It still hurts very badly, but I take some solace in the fact that it was one of the best WS ever
I didn't like how the Dodgers were playing down the stretch last year. I know they beat the Cardinals, but I don't think that's indicative of their second-half play. They were barely over .500 and and suffered an under .500 month in August (14-15). Their offensive output dropped over one-half a run in the second half. Also, they feasted upon Arizona early (7-2), but went 4-5 in their last nine vs. Arizona, a team half as talented as this year's.
Perhaps I'm overthinking things, but I watched a lot of the Dodgers down the stretch and deemed them to be slipping. As I said, they've lost the stabilizing force of Hudson, Martin and Manny (hit just .255 post All-Star, and even less post return) are on the downslope of their careers. Billingsly fell apart down the stretch, so, IMO, he's just as big a question mark as Webb, but without the upside of being a Cy Young caliber pitcher.
I think Colorado is a young team with high upside, and think Arizona's upside is higher as well. The Dodgers were a great team, then struggled through a pretty average second half and are basically this same team with as many question marks as any NL West team and not the upside since Kemp and Ethier are nearing their ceilings (they offset Upton/Reynolds, whom each have significant areas they can improve upon). Jackson, Drew, Young, Parra and Montero have more collective upside than Loney and Belliard) and, IMO, LaRoche is > Casey Blake.
I will end by saying that yes, the Dodgers have a better team currently, but I just think there's so much potential with Colorado and Arizona that if even half works out, the pack is jumbled, and if most works out, then the Dodgers slip back a good bit.
Nice take Jmark, I see where your're coming from. On the surface I agree with most that you said about the Dodgers, but Joe Torre is the trump card in the LA deck. I know I beat this drum a lot, but he is such a good manager and I really think he'll figure things out and keep them moving forward.
I also think the Dodgers will make a move before the deadline for pitching help. This will address one of their glaring weaknesses, and we all know that the McCourts will spend money, despite the ongoing soap opera.
As for Manny, I fully expect him to hit more for average this year. He could be a singles/doubles guy because he's so damn good at making contact (if he wants to). But this guy is always an unknown quan y in regards to his mindset, so he may decide to put it on cruise control for the whole year...Who knows? I expect him to hit .300 but with far less homers per ABs than in years past.
I'm a Giants fan, and thus I hate the Dodgers, so I sure hope you're right in the end.
Yeah man, it was a great series...
The Angels gave us all heart attacks with their insistance to fall behind and rally. I think they trailed every game in the ALCS vs. Minnesota or something like that. That team really knew how to be clutch when they needed it. Also, to have a rookie closer dominate throughout the playoffs was huge for us, too.
Dodgers get Greinke...watch! lol
So... did I hear wrong, or is Wolf no longer a Dodger? If such is the case, that rotation went from strong to fairly average with Kershaw and Billingsly being a talented, but young and, in the case of the latter, inconsistent.
Dodgers lose infield and outfield stability in Hudson and Pierre, then lose their best veteran pitcher in Wolf? hmmm...
diamondbacks extended upton
now reynolds is trying to get an extension also
D-backs should get it done, definitely smart to keep both those guys long term
The Dodger's rotation is terrible now without Wolf.
The DBack's rotation is 3 deep but then drops WAY off. That being said Webb isn't improving, so most likely its a 2 man rotation.
Giants will be improved, I loved their acquisition of Mark DeRosa, he's gonna be a fantastic clubhouse influence for that team I'm still pissed the Cardinals didn't retain him.
Padres will be improved vastly if they can stay healthy, I liked their young guys at the end of last year and think things will be OK but will be in last again as usual
My prediction, Dodgers take the division on an acquisition at the deadline, the Dodger fans need to pray that the divorce gets done QUICK so the owner can start spending money again. Letting Hudson go in leu of DeWitt and Belliard is horribly bad.
As A Cards fan who knows him well, what kind of numbers do you think he can put up this year?
Giants clubhouse is already a chill/drama free place, but it's good to know that Derosa won't rock the boat
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