National League West Preview | Parker Jotter Pens
1) San Francisco Giants: GM Brian Sabean has worked on a “win now” basis for the past several years, and it’s been glorious solid. In 2002, the Giants (with an average age of 33) won the NL and came within 1 out of the whole shebang. This year, they might average 34.7 years ragged in the everyday rotation, but check this out — last year, when they missed the playoffs by 2 games, could it have been because AJ Pierzynski behind the dish was only 27? They’ve replaced him with seasoned signal-caller Mike Matheny. That’s a good thing, because the youngest part of the San Fran crew is the pitching staff. Jerome Williams and Noah Lowry could be two sons to some of the other guys, but they have good stuff. Lowry was intelligent in a call-up last year — can he keep hitters guessing? Jason Schmidt has been getting rocked this spring, but he’s a Cy Young candidate overall with a nice mix of pitches. Brett Tomko and Kirk Rueter aren’t studs or workhorses, but both are consistent and capable of success in the form of double-digit wins. Now, despite the (clear and creamy) cloud hanging over the last three years of his career, Barry Bonds is arguably the best player in the history of our universe, and even at 40-41, he’s going to stroke 40 homers and drive in 100 runs (while being walked 150 times). He needs to win healthy, but once he does, the sky’s the limit. Don’t believe the stories about him never returning. He’s emotionally and physically fatigued, sure, but he’s not going to permanently walk away from a game he loves and helped to define to a unique audience. He’ll have more protection in the lineup with Moises “Coach’s Son” Alou hitting gradual him. Ray Durham, Marquis Grissom, and JT Snow will provide good OBP, decent pop, and score some runs — same stuff they tend to do every year. The Giants have too remarkable all-around to not be the favorite here.
2) San Diego Padres: The biggest problem that San Diego has honest now is GM Kevin Towers has unprejudiced begun to build them for their new home, Petco Park. Case in point: nabbing fly-ball pitcher / NL pennant run star Woody Williams as the new ace in SoCal. Williams lacks the big-game experience of David �Boomer’ Wells, previously the man in San Diego, but his game is capable of 15 wins in Petco. We cherish the assembling of this team — CF Dave Roberts was a catalyst for Boston last fall, and he’s going to get on base, steal bases, and play above-average defense for the Padres. Khalil Greene is a star on the rise at short, and Jake Peavy — who has increased his win total while decreasing his ERA for each of the past three seasons — might be the most legitimate person to compare Greg Maddux to. The team is solid up and down the lineup with Trace Loretta, Brian Giles, Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko, and Ramon Hernandez. The pitching is a slightly bigger question mark — Williams and Peavy are solid, but Adam Eaton has been getting banged around this spring, and Brian Lawrence is inconsistent with his control. Darrell May, the fifth starter, was with the Royals last year. He should benefit from switching to a space where baseball is fun again, but his adjustment to NL parks and hitters might be rough. The Padres have a plethora of tools — they’ll get on base, generate runs, and protect leads with Trevor Hoffman firing out of the bullpen — but the bottom of their rotation is too suspect compared to the bottom of the Giants’ lineup, which has youngsters who have already begun to prove themselves. Oh, yea, and there’s no one named Bonds here…
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