The story so far:

• AL West
• AL Central
• AL East

First off, I’d like to thank all the spammers for their excellent suggestions. Some pretty imaginative stuff, although much of it I fear is not physically possible. But really, what are we without ambition?

To the topic at hand. Here are my preseason predictions for the NL West, annotated for your amusement:

1. Diamondbacks – I expected them to be on top, but I figured it would be on the strength of their talented young hitters. Instead, pitching has carried the day in Phoenix. What a bullpen…
2. Padres – Not a bad showing from a team whose skipper had never managed at any level before this season.
3. Dodgers – I overestimated them, although not as badly as some folks did. Injuries to Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Schmidt, and Randy Wolf really hamstrung this club. How could anyone have foreseen those guys getting hurt? Still, there isn’t much holding back the Dodgers — mainly just the front office.
4. Rockies – Wow, what a season. If they’re in the NL Central, they run away with the division. If I had a say, I’d be very tempted to cast my NL Manager of the Year vote for Clint Hurdle. This is a club that had averaged 71.8 wins a year over the previous six seasons, with a high-water mark of 76 in 2006.
5. Giants – At least they found a taker for Matt Morris.

I almost nailed this division. The Dodgers gave up at the end and Colorado went on a tear. Neither of those events could have been anticipated.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

One of the problems with the way the current Dodgers roster is constructed is that there are several key players with significant injury histories. Schmidt is the first to succumb, but it shouldn’t surprise anybody if at least one of Nomar Garciaparra, Luis Gonzalez, or Randy Wolf spends time on the shelf during the season. In the case of Garciaparra, it might not even matter, because he’s busy showing the world that last year’s second half was no fluke. Since July 1, 2006, he’s hitting .263/.317/.377 in 491 at-bats. I think the fact that Juan Pierre is outslugging him over that stretch tells you all you need to know.

The Brian Sabean influence has been evident since Ned Colletti became the Dodgers’ general manager. As a fan of the Padres, it’s something I’m not sorry to see and a good part of the reason I fear the Diamondbacks more in the short term and the long term.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Cal Ripken created a big stir when he first came into the big leagues. Redefined the position, they said. Alan Trammell. Robin Yount. And later, of course, the big three of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Nomar Garciaparra.

Those guys all called the American League home. What did the NL have? Barry Larkin (who hopefully will have better luck than Trammell did when it comes time for the Hall of Fame folks to hand out keys to the executive washroom), and that’s about it.

Now, though, we’ve got J.J. Hardy, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Edgar Renteria, and Jimmy Rollins tearing up the league. Renteria and Rollins have been around a while, but those other three might have untapped upside, which is a scary thought.

Troy Tulowitzki and Stephen Drew aren’t there yet, but they will be. Remember that Reyes hit .273/.300/.386 in his first full season.

Hardy leads the league in home runs. He now has 28 for his career, or three more than Foli knocked over 16 seasons. Yeah, I think the game has changed a little in 30 years…

Post from: Knuckle Curve