Big Greek’s Pics – NL West

by BigGreek24

Wednesday March 3, 2010 

Big Greek’s Pics – NL West thumbnail

Part three of the series concentrates on handicapping the National League Western Division.  Last season the Dodgers got off to an incredible start and everyone thought by May that the Dodgers were going to run and hide.   The Rockies fired Clint Hurdle after a slow start and caught fire under new manager Jim Tracy while the Dodgers endured Manny Ramirez’ 50 game suspension and came back down to earth and almost lost the division to the surging Rockies at the end of the season.  Even the Giants caught playoff fever but came up short.  Here is how I see the 2010 race:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers – This team is still the best in the division.  Manny Ramirez is still a great hitter, and the Dodgers have some wonderful young players on offense like James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.  Their pitching is led by lefty Clayton Kershaw who had 14 no-decisions en route to an 8-8 record with 185 strikeouts in just over 171 innings pitched.  Look for him to top the 200 inning plateau this season and win 15-16 ballgames for the Dodgers.  Billingsly, Kuroda and Padilla round out a fine rotation for the Dodgers.  Jonathan Broxton is the closer, and he just brings gas.  Sometimes it works, and as we saw in the NLCS – sometimes it doesn’t.   For me Russell Martin is the player to watch here.  He didn’t have a great 2009 and if he hits like he did back in 2007-2008 that will really add alot to the Dodger lineup.  He’s caught 140+ games each of the past three years so last year’s offensive drop-off could have been due to the workload behind the plate.  Maybe Torre will give him a few days off here and there and go with the ageless veteran Brad Ausmus.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks – Remember this team? They won the division back in 2007 and after a couple of down seasons they look to contend in 2010.  The have a great young outfielder in Justin Upton who hit .300 last year with 26 homers.  Mark Reynolds is another fine player at 3b – he hit belted 44 homers and stole 24 bases but his strikeout total of 223 makes Ryan Howard look like a contact hitter.  Once he cuts down on those totals he could be one of the best hitters in the league.  The D-Backs picked up Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson to fill out the right side of the infield.  Johnson is coming off two down seasons, but Arizona’s ballpark is suited for Johnson’s uppercut.  He hit 17 homers for the Braves a couple seasons ago and it will be interesting to see if the move will help him.  Stephen Drew is the shortstop, and he is a solid glove man.  The pitching on this team is nothing short of great.  The D-Backs got Edwin Jackson in the three team trade that saw Granderson go to the Yankees.  Jackson had a good season for the Tigers, but didn’t do as well in the second half as his innings total increased.   That should change in the National League as pitchers don’t go as far into games.  Brandon Webb seems to be healthy and Dan Haren is the second starter.  Chris Young is the player to watch.  He belted 32 homers as a rookie back in 2007 , played 160 games in 2008 while driving in 85 runs.  2009 was a frustrating year for Young as he got demoted to Triple A which seemed to be a wake up call.  Young plays great defense in center field but needs to get back to what he was doing in 2007-2008 – if he does the D-Backs could challenge the Dodgers.

3. Colorado Rockies -  It was a familiar tale in Colorado last year.  Off to a bad start, the Rockies got hot and almost overtook the Dodgers for the division and if not for some bad relief pitching they might’ve taken out the Phillies in the NLDS.   As Troy Tulowitski goes, so do the Rockies.  He has a down year in 2008 and the Rockies were a non-factor.   He had an outstanding year last year and the Rockies were back in the post-season.   Dexter Fowler took over center field and played well, and Carlos Gonzalez not only had a nice year, he got some national exposure by being a real thorn in the side of the Phillies in the NLDS.  There is no limit to what this guy could do in a full season.  Todd Helton is back at 1b after a solid .325 campaign.  Clint Barmes and his 25 homers are back at 2b.  Ian Stewart gets the nod at 3b after the departure of Garrett Atkins.  Stewart hits for power and plays good defense.  The Rockies brought veteran Melvin Mora in just in case Stewart struggles.   Ubaldo Jimenez anchors the rotation followed by 16 game winner DeLaRosa, Aaron Cook and Jason Hammell.  The Rockies hope that Jeff Francis is healthy again so he can replace Jason Marquis 15 wins and 216 innings that left to go to Washington.  If not, Tim Redding and Greg Smith are both available.  Smith was part of the Holliday deal last year after going 7-16 for the Oakland A’s as a rookie in 2008.  Huston Street is the closer.  Jeff Francis is the guy to watch here.  If he returns to his previous form then the Rockies have five quality starters and could finish second or even first in the division.

4.  San Francisco Giants – They have Tim Lincecum and his back-to-back Cy Young awards.  They have Jonathan Sanchez who improved last season and threw a no-hitter.  Matt Cain and Barry Zito round out the rotation which gives the Giants reason to believe they can compete in a tough division.  The problem here is the offense, which isn’t as good as the other top teams in the division.  The Giants signed DeRosa and Huff.  Huff is coming off a terrible year and will play first base while DeRosa will play left field.  Sandoval is back with his .330 average and 25 homers over at third base.  Sanchez and Renteria are the double play combo.  Renteria has slid backwards defensively the past couple of years and Sanchez may not be ready to go on opening day.  Aaron Rowand, who signed a big contract prior to the 2008 season and found out first hand that hitting in San Francisco is a lot different than Citizen’s Bank Park.  He needs to at least get back to what he did in 2008 for the Giants to have a shot.

5. San Diego Padres – After blowing the Wild Card in 2007 this team has hit rock bottom sort of like the New York Mets.  Adrian Gonzalez is the best player on this team, and he may not finish the season with the Padres.  Esdrubal Cabrera and Chase Headley are nice young players as is catcher Nick Hundley.  Heath Bell is the closer and is another who could be dealt before the end of the season.  The Padres play in a tough offensive park and don’t score many runs for their pitchers.  This team will finish in last and could lose 100 games.

Filed Under Phillies

Comments

One Response to “Big Greek’s Pics – NL West”

  1. Eric Schwartz on March 3rd, 2010 10:08 am

    Like the Phillies, I expect the Dodgers to run away with the division. The one team that could sneak up is the Giants. They have the pitching to compete with anyone, but they will need guys to have career years in the offense to stay competitive. I think you are right on Arizona as well. This team will surprise a lot of people

Got something to say?