The Dodgers have completely revamped their team. They added players to 7 different positions and look good this year. They have a backup closer if Eric Gagne is still recovering, two new starters, a leadoff hitting shortstop, a batting champ/gold glover third baseman and a shortstop switching positions. They look great this year and should be a threat.
San Diego PadresThe Padres are defending West Champions, and besides retaining Brian Giles and Trevor Hoffman, they really haven't done anything huge. They did get rid of Phil Nevin last year and added a quality starter (that is adjusted to his new team and new league now), but they didn't have a first baseman. They added Mike Cameron to cover spacious center field, and that's a good move. They moved the speedy Dave Roberts to left, another good move. They put Ryan Klesko at his natural position, another good move. Will these moves add up to another division title, most likely not. They have Mika Piazza too, another good move. The Padres are a great team, but I don't think they can edge out the Dodgers, but, the Wild Card may be their's. Will it? Tune in on Saturday...
San Francisco Giants
I didn't think much of the Giants last year. Without Barry Bonds, the Giants pretty much blow. They added Steve Finley to the mix of old farts (like the Yankees, but the Yankees actaully have talent). The Giants are lucky that the Diamondbacks are in a rebuilding year and the Rockies blow as well. Otherwise, they'd be in last. They have no offense (and Bonds can't carry the entire team, no matter what people say), no defense and no pitching. They're worthless, and sorry to you Giants fans, but they are.
Arizona Diamondbacks The Diamondbacks are in a rebuilding year. They'll have all their top prospects up in 2007 and will be ready to fight. They need to wait, but the team they have isn't ABSOLUTELY horrible. They're trying to build around certain players. What they need to do is to add a surplus of young arms, like the Marlins, and that way their pitching will be just as good as their defense and offense will be when Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Chris Young, etc. are up. They look good.........for the 2007 season.
Colorado Rockies Not much to say here. The Rockies sit on their butts and do nothing. They need to move to a place where altitude doesn't play a huge role in the runs or hits. Moving to Las Vegas could be what they need. Their minor league system is good, and they have veterns who are good. This team could contend if they weren't in the altitude. That has a big factor on how they finish in this division. You could be 81-0 on the road, but not winning at home can put a huge damper on your win-loss record, not to mention your morale.
Revamped does not equal improved in Dodgerland. Noarm Garciapopup as a first baseman? No, not helping the right side Defense with Kent. The NL West is putrid and may be lucky to have one team over .500 when it`s all done. I do like that D-Bags logo...I`ve found the lock ness monster!!
It is a nice logo. They had the real one, but that's so sweet, I couldn't pass it up. The West is improved this year, but I honestly think only the Dodgers and Padres will make it over .500. The Giants, even though I have them 9 over, I think they'll end up 4 under. They have a good team, and they finally built a team NOT around Bonds, but I don't think they'll get over .500.
BONDS WILL NOT RETURN NEXT SEASON!!!! THROW A PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!
It is an overall improved division, like you said. Injuries killed all of these teams last year, even the Rockies.
The Dodgers to win is a decent pick. It should be a 2, maybe even 3 team race.
The Padres are about the same...maybe can even improve w/ the players they have. But probably won't dominate the division.
The Giants can be better...they didn't finish too far out of it last year, even without Bonds...and a sub-par year for Jason Schmidt. With Matt Morris, Schmidt's return, a couple of good young pitchers...and Bonds back in the lineup, there is a chance. Injuries may kill this aging team, but w/ some luck...they could be in the hunt. And if Bonds gets on a tear...watch out.
D-backs, who knows?
Rockies, terrible...terrible. They have some decent young players to watch, but the overall team is terrible. Poor management.
Take a look at the Giants' starting rotation. It's not as bad as you think, and probably one of the more underrated rotations going into 2006. And, like I say in my own MLB Preview, a Giant lineup with Bonds at cleanup is instantly a playoff contender.
Not only does Bonds draw walks and hit homeruns, but his working of the count allows hitters behind him to get a better feel for what the pitcher has to offer. And then, when the hitter behind Bonds comes to bat, usually after an intentional walk, the most amazing thing happens: he gets pitches to hit! Even mediocre hitters like Pedro Feliz are going to get 4, maybe 5 homeruns a season due to the inability of the pitcher to work outside of the strikezone.
The Giants are my sleeper team in 2006, don't be surprised if they cross 90 wins (I have them at 89).
The Dodgers will end up being one of the more overrated teams in 2006. Penny has never gotten his act together, and the team is so injury-prone, the offense can go lights-out at any given moment. The Padres have made some quesitonable moves, namely the Loretta trade with Boston, and the Castilla trade with Washington. I don't think they have enough offense to contend.
Last edited by UltraMegaOK1988 on February 19th at 11:00 PM.
They didn't have any offense last year, and they won the divison. Klesko, Castilla, Cameron and Piazza will combine for 50-60 homeruns and 350-415 RBIs. So don't say they have no offense.
Check out Castilla's statistics in pitcher's ballparks (Atlanta, Washington) compared to those in hitter's ballparks (Colorado, Houston). Klesko hasn't driven in more than 70 in three seasons. Piazza will be in a backup role, so cut last year's 19 HR and 62 RBI almost in half. Cameron might be the only one who is potent offensively.
If any of them finish the season with more than 20 HR in the huge ballpark that is PETCO Park, I'll be truly surprised. Even Giles' career high at PETCO is 23 HR, and he'#### as many as 39 in a season before.
They only play 81 games at home. You have to consider the road stats. And with protection around Klesko, his stats will rise. This team is gonna be tough to beat.
In short, the NL West champs will depend on how many games Barry Bonds plays. If he plays more than 120 games, the Giants will win the West, anything less and it will be between the Dodgers and Padres. No one will care about this division until September, except for Bonds chasing the HR record, but come September this will be a race that goes down to the wire.
I'm 18 and I enjoy baseball, as I'll only write about baseball. I'm a business major at Illinois State and I plan on going into baseball for a career. Hopefully one day, beating Theo Epstein's record as the youngest GM ever. My dream job is being the GM of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks The Diamondbacks are in a rebuilding year. They'll have all their top prospects up in 2007 and will be ready to fight. They need to wait, but the team they have isn't ABSOLUTELY horrible. They're trying to build around certain players. What they need to do is to add a surplus of young arms, like the Marlins, and that way their pitching will be just as good as their defense and offense will be when Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Chris Young, etc. are up. They look good.........for the 2007 season.
Colorado Rockies Not much to say here. The Rockies sit on their butts and do nothing. They need to move to a place where altitude doesn't play a huge role in the runs or hits. Moving to Las Vegas could be what they need. Their minor league system is good, and they have veterns who are good. This team could contend if they weren't in the altitude. That has a big factor on how they finish in this division. You could be 81-0 on the road, but not winning at home can put a huge damper on your win-loss record, not to mention your morale.
