2008 MLB Preview - Part 1: National League
Rather than bombard everyone with my standard MLB breakdown of the impending season (you know the type… six divisions, postseason predictions, takes me two weeks to write and takes you three days to read – though most of you probably realize how stupid I sound after about twenty minutes), I’ve decided to break this year’s preview up into two separate posts.
So… uh… here we go!
Today’s post – the National League
Let’s be honest right out of the gate here. Aside from the Mets, no National League team has a legitimate shot at winning the 2008 World Series. Not the Cubs. Not the Dodgers. Not the
Well, to paraphrase a very annoying and overhyped ESPN “personality”, that’s why they play the games.
National League East
Very simply put, the Mets won the lottery this offseason. They brought in the best left handed starting pitcher in baseball, and all it cost them was a handful of prospects, and a massive contract extension. They lost their #3 starter from 2007 in Tom Glavine, and somehow managed to have three catchers signed away by other teams. But when it comes right down to it, they’ve managed to get a dominating pitching staff to compliment an overpowering offense, and if everyone stays healthy for 85-90% of the season, they should run away and hide with the division by August. And considering how last year ended, the earlier they can clinch the better.
The Phillies made an impressive run to the postseason last year after Jimmy Rollins more or less guaranteed that they would win the division before the year started. He and the rest of the Phillies backed up the talk, and they came out of nowhere to take over the NL East in the final two weeks of the season. This year, they’ve done little to advance their team aside from trading for troubled closer Brad Lidge and signing a handful of mid-level veterans (who else is shocked by the news that So Taguchi is almost 40?). They lost their starting centerfielder with Aaron Rowand’s Free Agent departure to
With a move into a new stadium upcoming, the Washington Nationals needed to make a big splash in free agency this season to fill up the seats. So of course, the natural move was to bring in Paul LoDuca and Aaron Boone. They also made moves to bring Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes into the fold, presumably to figure out just how crazy a Major League Clubhouse can be before there is a homicide committed. And to top it all off, the Nats have decided that a pitching rotation anchored by “#1 Starter” Shawn Hill (probably the first and only time those words will ever be put into a sentence in that order) should be enough. I can only wonder how long it will be until they ship a disgruntled Chad Cordero and Ryan Zimmerman out for a bag of baseballs and a year’s supply of Capitol Dogs. Needless to say, I’m not very high on their chances this year.
And finally, the Florida Marlins. Major League’s Baseball version of a “Big Lots” closeout sale. Back in August, I built a case for them to, at the very least, entertain offers for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera this offseason. Somehow, they managed to include both players in a trade with the Tigers, netting them a handful of midlevel prospects along with two top-tier players in Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. But as is the Marlins’ prerogative, they have once again gutted their top players in favor of rebuilding for three years down the road. They brought in no one of great consequence, aside from 40-year old outfielder Luis Gonzalez to be the fourth man in the outfield. They have a fantastic young team, that should come together and make a nice playoff run… in about 2011.
National League Central
The Cubs were the best team in the NL Central last season, and they lost nothing aside from Cliff Floyd in terms of major production for this season’s roster. To replace him, they brought in Kosuke Fukudome (go ahead – try to say it without laughing) to play the outfield and fill in the hole in the lineup. After a handful of unproductive seasons of unfulfilled promise, Mark Prior has left
I can’t figure out the Brewers. They were the “surprise” team last year (unless your name was “Vinny”), squeaking out 83 wins and staying in the Wild Card race right up until September. But this offseason, they let Geoff Jenkins and Francisco Cordero walk in free agency, replacing them with Mike Cameron and Eric Gagne. Wha?!?! They’ve got a great young team, with some serious future All-Star potential in Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, JJ Hardy, Corey Hart, and even Rickie Weeks. But they’re making lateral moves instead of trying to get better in the immediate future. As always, the health of their pitching staff – namely Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano and Yovani Gallardo will be the primary concern. If those three can manage 25 starts each, the Brewers could make some serious noise in the National League.
The Astros made a lot of minor moves this offseason, cutting ties with a handful of veterans and bringing in another handful to replace them. They brought in Kaz Matsui to play second base with super-utility man Mark Loretta. But they also made three major trades, acquiring Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde and Michael Bourn in separate moves with the Orioles, D-Backs and Phillies, losing only two players from last years team – Brad Lidge and Luke Scott. (Side note: Not sure how it looks, but when you search for “Miguel Tejada” on ESPN.com, you get the player card page, and the first link in the “News” section is to the Mitchell Report. Just wondering…) The Astros still need help in the pitching rotation, but they seem to have shored up the offense tremendously behind Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee – Bourn is a fantastic leadoff man who could threaten a .300 AVG / 10 HR / 90 R / 35 SB line for the year, and we all know what Tejada and Valverde are capable of.
The Reds made a couple moves this offseason to try and improve. They brought in a new manager with a history of making the playoffs by riding his stud starters. They have started bringing up the prospects to supplement the stars they already have in their lineup. And they went out and spent on the position that caused them so much trouble last season by bringing in the best available closer in Francisco Cordero. All of this should lift them up by a handful of wins, and might even have them among the Wild Card contenders for most of the season. And if they are in contention at the deadline, they might even have the chips in the minor leagues to go out and get the piece that puts them up and over the top.
And finally, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Listen, I spent last season living in
National League West
Last season, the NL West had four of five teams above .500. Only the Giants were sub-par, and they still broke 70 wins for the year. Of course, last season the
I honestly believe the Padres are the best team in this division as currently constituted. They brought in a couple of veteran bats to shore up the lineup and provide a little pop off the bench. They took a 1-year, $1M flyer on Mark Prior and his ability to bounce back and give them anything at the back of the rotation. They still have Jake Peavy & Chris Young at the front end, and Trevor Hoffman (his end-of-season problems notwithstanding) anchoring the bullpen. They still need to go out and get at least one more bat before they can be considered a legitimate contender – Ken Griffey Jr. anyone? – but they’ve got the pitching to keep them in just about every game they play.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the Dodgers imported players from all over the world, literally – Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda among others. They brought Joe Torre in from the Yankees to manage a veteran group of players. And the only pieces they lost to free agency were Luis Gonzalez and Randy Wolf. They’ve got some solid prospects in James Loney, Russell Martin and Matt Kemp who will finally be seeing serious time this year, and they’re returning veterans like Nomar, Jeff Kemp and Rafael Furcal. Plus the rotation is actually pretty good – Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and whatever Kuroda provides could be a potent 1-2-3. They’re stuck in a good division, but the top three teams are all close enough that any one of them could sneak into the top spot when all 162 are done.
Everything fell into place for the
The Giants shed themselves of Barry Bonds, his head, ego, and all the baggage that comes along with having him in their uniform. That alone should have bought them 10 more wins just in good karma alone. But here’s the list of San Francisco Giants free agency signings this offseason. Ready? Aaron Rowand – 5yr/$60M. That’s it. One guy, to replace the main player they lost. Now, don’t get me wrong – I like Rowand. I like his intensity, I like his hitting ability, and I like the way that he doesn’t seem afraid to step in and try to make the Giants his team. Other than that, the Giants still have Barry Zito and his comic book curveball atop the rotation… and nothing else. They’re relying on four unproven starters to fill in behind Zito, and what has to be one of the oldest everyday starting lineups in the field. Omar Vizquel, Ray Durham, Rich Aurilia, Bengie Molina… these guys would have been good as everyday starters 10 years ago. But in 2008? I’d be shocked if any of them reached 140 games played, and for at least two of them I’d say that 110 would be good.
So that’s it for the National League. Short, lacking any real insight, basically what you’ve come to expect from me. If all went according to plan, I’ve managed to insult fans of every National League team aside from the Mets, Cubs & Padres. And after anointing the Mets as the obvious choice to represent the National League in the 2008 World Series, I’m sure I’ll be receiving hate e-mails from all my Mets-fan friends within the hour.
I’ll be back later this week or early next week with the American League Preview. As in 2005, expect a whole lot of blatant drooling over the Red Sox, even if I’m not 100% convinced that they’re the team to beat in the American League…
Lata.
Labels: 2008, MLB, My annual attempt at relevancy, National League, Preview
posted by Big D @ 7:04 PM
1 Comments:
Team to beat in the AL won't be Detroit simply because of their pitching. Dontrelle is going to get crushed in the AL. Robertson will give up batting practice. The Gambler's age will finally catch up with him. Which leaves Bonderman and Verlander. One could implode.
White Sox all the way!
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