1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Losing J.D. Drew hurts, but the starting rotation more than makes up for it. By adding Jason Schmidt, the Dodgers now boast of three starters in Schmidt, Derek Lowe, and Brad Penny who have Cy Young stuff and ace potential. Juan Pierre is overrated on offense, and Luis Gonzalez is just over-the-hill, but other than that the lineup is actually looking pretty strong, though it lacks a middle-of-the-order thumper. Keep an eye on Nomar Garciaparra; I have a feeling he’s poised to have an even bigger year than he had in ‘06.
2. San Diego Padres: The division leaders of a year ago made some nice offensive moves (watch for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to have a big year), but got a bit older in the rotation by adding Greg Maddux and David Wells. Still, Jake Peavy is a perennial Cy Young threat and the bullpen is as strong as ever. The reunion of the Giles brothers makes for a nice story, but not nice enough to help the team take the division.
3. San Francisco Giants: I’m nowhere near convinced Barry Zito is worth $126 million, but he should put up some decent numbers this year. Think about it - he plays in the same area as his old team, and the National League is much easier to pitch in than the American League. Bonds seems healthy, so there’s 30 homers right there, and the rest of the roster is easily solid enough to lock up third place. I like the addition of Bengie Molina behind the plate.
4. Colorado Rockies: If the Todd Helton trade rumors are anything to go by, it seems as if the Rockies are trying to shed the extra weight of some of the huge contracts they’ve signed in the past, which is a good thing. This team had some surprisingly good pitching last season, and while I don’t expect them to be quite as impressive on the mound this year, I do expect the team to be more cohesive in all aspects of the game. It probably won’t be enough to power them very far in the division, however.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks: Honestly, I was tempted to put the Giants in this position, but I just couldn’t bring myself to doubt Big Z that much. True, the D-Backs have the reigning CY Young in Brandon Webb at the top of a rotation that also features Randy Johnson and Livan Hernandez, but I just know that Arizona is going to have serious problems when it comes to offense this year. When Eric Byrnes was your leading homerun hitter at 26, and no team member surpassed 80 RBI last season, you know you’re in trouble scoring runs. Some good pitchers are going to have some low win totals in the desert this year.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Losing J.D. Drew hurts, but the starting rotation more than makes up for it. By adding Jason Schmidt, the Dodgers now boast of three starters in Schmidt, Derek Lowe, and Brad Penny who have Cy Young stuff and ace potential. Juan Pierre is overrated on offense, and Luis Gonzalez is just over-the-hill, but other than that the lineup is actually looking pretty strong, though it lacks a middle-of-the-order thumper. Keep an eye on Nomar Garciaparra; I have a feeling he’s poised to have an even bigger year than he had in ‘06.
2. San Diego Padres: The division leaders of a year ago made some nice offensive moves (watch for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to have a big year), but got a bit older in the rotation by adding Greg Maddux and David Wells. Still, Jake Peavy is a perennial Cy Young threat and the bullpen is as strong as ever. The reunion of the Giles brothers makes for a nice story, but not nice enough to help the team take the division.
3. San Francisco Giants: I’m nowhere near convinced Barry Zito is worth $126 million, but he should put up some decent numbers this year. Think about it - he plays in the same area as his old team, and the National League is much easier to pitch in than the American League. Bonds seems healthy, so there’s 30 homers right there, and the rest of the roster is easily solid enough to lock up third place. I like the addition of Bengie Molina behind the plate.
4. Colorado Rockies: If the Todd Helton trade rumors are anything to go by, it seems as if the Rockies are trying to shed the extra weight of some of the huge contracts they’ve signed in the past, which is a good thing. This team had some surprisingly good pitching last season, and while I don’t expect them to be quite as impressive on the mound this year, I do expect the team to be more cohesive in all aspects of the game. It probably won’t be enough to power them very far in the division, however.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks: Honestly, I was tempted to put the Giants in this position, but I just couldn’t bring myself to doubt Big Z that much. True, the D-Backs have the reigning CY Young in Brandon Webb at the top of a rotation that also features Randy Johnson and Livan Hernandez, but I just know that Arizona is going to have serious problems when it comes to offense this year. When Eric Byrnes was your leading homerun hitter at 26, and no team member surpassed 80 RBI last season, you know you’re in trouble scoring runs. Some good pitchers are going to have some low win totals in the desert this year.
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