Breaking down the divisions: NL West

Baseball and Relativity





After a lengthy lay off I'd like to return to this blog, retitled Baseball and Relativity sans my co-contributors and now with an obvious new solitary focus: that of baseball (not like I wrote about anything else anyways...). Look for, at the beginning of April, a lengthy ethical piece discussing the difference between performance enhancing drugs and drugs used legally for rehabilitation.

In the meanwhile I'm going to spend some time breaking down the divisions in baseball and assessing the likely division leaders, basement dwellers, an who I believe will surprise in 2008. Note that I will not be dealing with every team, as that would take too much of my time.

Firstly, allow me to present to you the National League's West division. Surprising many in 2007 as the Senior League's best division, considering their relative rot over the past half decade, the NL West looks to be the best again in 2008. With the exception of a surprise in the East where the Phillies and Mets will engage one another in near AL like combat, expect the Wild Card and likely the World Series representative to come from the West. I am almost regretting how scarce it is to find their games on Canadian television.





The Division's Best: Arizona Diamondbacks
Locked in a tight battle last season with the Colorado Rockies, the D-Backs presented a low scoring, pitcher-centric winning machine in 2007. What was most exciting about Arizona in 2007 is that different players came through on different days, making them a very watchable team. What's exciting about the Backs in 2008 is that they actually managed to improve on their pitching. Capitalizing on Oakland's bi-annual fire sale the D-Backs picked up the wonderful young ace Dan Haren, a player who should contribute mightily to the squad in the upcoming season. Move over Colorado, the D-Backs are going to return to their 2001 form when pitchers Randy Johnson (poised to contribute this year after returning from an injury-plagued 2007) and Curt Schilling combined to win 43 games. Haren, combined with 2006 Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb and a bevy of talented young defenders, are poised to barnstorm the West and head to the World Series to do battle with an AL Behemoth.

Key Players:

Dan Haren: Cy Young? Very possible against the less powerful NL batsmen.

Randy Johnson: Even a mediocre year from Johnson would constitute a significant improvement for Arizona in the fourth or fifth spot in the rotation.

Chris Young: Expect a Break out Year for this wonderful young fielder.



The Division's Worst: San Francisco Giants


With the loss of Barry Bonds (if he had a qualifying number of plate appearances in 2007 he would have paced the league in OPS and would have been amongst the leaders in slugging) and the continuing aging of the Giants, the Bay Area Boys figure to be the worst in the NL, not only the West. On the one hand the Giants sport a great nucleus of starting pitching of which Barry Zito, the rich free agent pick up, is likely the lesser. On the other hand the Giants offense and defensive play is amongst the worst in the League and figures to deteriorate over the season as aged veterans such as Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia break down. If I were a Giants fan I'd watch the A's. While they are allergic to signing players to big contracts, at least they know when to rebuild.

Key Players:

Matt Cain and Tim Linecum: Young pitchers who may prove to be the best tandem in the Majors in the next five years.

The Seniors: Aurilia? Vizquel? Durham? Maybe in 1998, but certainly not in 2008


Lookout For: Colorado Rockies
Despite their best efforts to improve, including the additions of Joe Torre and Andruw Jones, the Dodgers are doomed to mediocrity once again. A stacked outfield will not make up for an underachieving infield and a pitching staff that's staggeringly behind what the rest of the division has to offer. Expect the Rockies to win the Wild Card and make a strong showing in the playoffs. Unless they are able to sign their flourishing young players to affordable contracts the Rockies will quickly deteriorate. Enjoy them while you can.

Key Players:

Troy Tullowitzki: Expect him to improve on his outstanding rookie year. Yes, I said improve. Yes, I said rookie.

Brad Hawpe: Many predict he's due for a decline. While he isn't the player that Holliday is, he may be the linchpin in the offensively superior NL West lineup.

Josh Towers: Really, he isn't a key player. Expectations are low for Towers considering his demise in Toronto. But as a Jays fan I just wanted to see his name in print concerning a team other than the Birds. This is a happy day.

DB