Wide Open West: 2010 NL West Preview

That's right boys and girls baseball is back and with it is the threat of warm weather, the smell of freshly cut grass, and the inevitable rush of baseball previews. But if you're like me, you can't get enough baseball and any little tidbit of information that helps you prepare for the season is a welcome cause for celebration.

So with that in mind, let's kick of the 2010 MLB Previews, and what better way to do it than to take our minds off of winter and focus on someplace just a bit warmer, like the National League West.

Now, the best teams in the game may not populate the NL West, but it is likely to be the most evenly positioned leagues in the game, with maybe three or four teams that could make a push for the division title.

Arizona Cardinals

2009 Record - 70-92 - Fifth Place - 25.0 Games Back

2009 was a season to forget for the young Diamondbacks. A year after their young nucleus came of age and came within 2 games of taking the division crown, the D-Backs had high hopes for 2009, but an injury to Brandon Webb just 4.0 innings into his opening day start and the season went out the window. The team struggled for much of the season with injuries and never really put up much of a fight, despite Dan Haren's stellar season.

Still, there was a silver lining to the year, as Justin Upton broke out in a big way and Mark Reynolds, despite his litany of strike-outs, became a home run machine and the offensive sparkplug for the offense. With the impending return of Conor Jackson to the line-up, as well as a healthy season from Stephen Drew and the acquisition of Adam LaRoche to man first base, the Diamondbacks will be set offensively.

Of course, the two biggest questions for the team fall on the pitching staff. First and foremost, the health and effectiveness of Brandon Webb will weigh heavily on the starting rotation. Without their ace on the staff, this team's rotation takes on a totally different look. Arizona tried to protect themselves from that same ordeal though, trading away young stud Max Sherzer to acquire Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and Ian Kennedy from the Yankees to shore up the rotation. Also to consider is how efficient Chad Qualls will remain in the closer role, a year after saving 24 games in 29 opportunities.

Despite these questions, Arizona figures to be a prime player in a division without a truly dominant team and may even surprise quite a few people along the way.

Colorado Rockies

2009 Record - 92-70 - Second Place (Wild Card) - 3.0 Games Back

It was just another ho-hum run to the finish line for the Rockies, who once again used a late season push to almost overtaking the Dodgers before settling with capturing the wild-card instead. And they did this without Jeff Francis, who was out for the season after surgery on his pitching shoulder, and an ineffective and later jettisoned Garrett Atkins.

But for all the talk about the nucleus of talent in Arizona, people seem to forget about the player development that has occurred in Colorado. Almost all of their starting position players, with the exception of Carlos Gonzalez, who came over in the Matt Holliday trade with Oakland, were developed solely in the Colorado farm system. That group is led by shortstop Troy Tulowitski, who put a miserable 2008 behind him and became one of the most valuable players in the league in 2009.

The return off this core group allowed the Rockies to basically stand pat in the offseason, knowing that the return of Francis would bolster a rotation that already finished 10^th in baseball in team ERA, despite playing in Coors Field. However, despite the return of Francis, the unquestionable ace of the staff will be Ubaldo Jimenez, who will look to continue to build upon a stellar 2009. The only real question on the staff, outside of Francis, is whether journeyman Jorge De La Rosa can repeat his magnificent 2009 or if he'll revert to the form that has helped him forge a lifetime ERA of 5.18.

With these things in mind, and the Dodgers moves greatly affected by the bitter divorce in the front office, the Rockies enter the 2010 season as the clear favorite in baseball's tightest division.

Los Angeles Dodgers

2009 Record - 95-67 - First Place - 3.0 Games Back

A second consecutive division title put the Dodgers was ruined when Los Angeles was destroyed in the National League Championship Series by the defending champion Phillies. Normally that would send a team into a tizzy to try and build upon that success, but the Dodgers ended up in an interesting situation soon after the World Series was concluded; the divorce of Frank McCourt from his wife Jamie. The bitter split left the team wondering who would gain control, and if there would be any money to spend on players, so much so that they had to let their best pitcher from 2009, Randy Wolf, go for a song to Milwaukee.

Offensively, nothing much changes for this team, with the exception of Ronnie Belliard replacing Orlando Hudson at second base. The core is still together, with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney, and Russell Martin providing the steady production the team will need. A full season of Manny Ramirez in the line-up, without the weight of a 50 game steroid suspension, will also do wonders for an offense that finished 3^rd in the National League in runs scored a year ago.

The pitching staff is another question. The bullpen is solid, especially with Jonathan Broxton and George Sherrill manning the back end of it. The question is whether or not the pitching staff will be good enough to hand them enough of a lead. As of right now, only four slots in the rotation are secured, with Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Vincente Padilla all firmly penciled in. That leaves the spot of the fifth starter up for grabs in camp, with no known favorite to jump in an take ownership of the spot.

With all of this in mind, the monkey on the back of the whole season is still whether the McCourt divorce will have adverse affects on the team and if they will be forced to jettison more players under the need to trim payroll for an ownership transfer or a forced sale. As defending division champs, this is not the position they want to be backed into, and it is precisely the reason they won't wear the crown again in 2010.

San Diego Padres

2009 Record -75-87 - Fourth Place - 20.0 Games Back

Fans that followed the San Diego Padres from the beginning of the 2009 season probably didn't even recognize the team as of July 27^th. Before that point, not only did the Padres still have their staff ace in Jake Peavy, who was on the DL at the time, but they also had managed to lose 62 times in their first 100 contests. However, after that point the decision was made to move forward with the youth movement and the friars responded with wonderfully, winning 37 of their final 62 games, and saving Bud Black's job for at least another season.

Will that turnaround continue into 2010? Probably not, as the team is extremely lacking in experienced players and their biggest offseason move was hiring Jed Hoyer away from Boston to replace Kevin Towers as General Manager with the hopes of reinvigorating a now dry farm system. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll be sitting ducks though, as they still possess the most affordable superstar in MLB with Adrian Gonzalez, and the trio of Chase Headley, Kyle Blanks, and Kevin Kouzmanoff should continue to develop as much as Petco Park will allow.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the pitching staff. Chris Young, coming off his own injury plagued season, inherits the role as staff ace and he'll he adequately flanked by Kevin Correia as the number two starter. After that, the Padres have to hope that young arms in Tim Stauffer, Mat Latos, and Clayton Richard can develop quickly and on the job.

Simply put, this team just needs to too many chips to fall into place in order for them to be successful. That's not saying that they can't make some noise, but it'll likely be going out with a bang that knocking on the door.

San Francisco Giants

2009 Record - 88-74 -Third Place - 7.0 Games Back

If you're looking for a team in this division that could surprise a lot of people and come out of nowhere to win it, San Francisco is your team. With arguably one of the best one-two punches of any pitching rotation in the game in two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain and an offense that has improved drastically in the offseason, the Giants are a team that has its eye on reaching the postseason in 2010.

Offensively, this team is sparked by Pablo Sandoval, who will find it much more productive to hit with the likes of Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff to hit behind him in the line-up. Sure, these two aren't going to scare a lot of coaches, but they are a far cry better than what the Giants surrounded Sandoval with a year ago. San Francisco also made a wise decision to bring back catcher Bengie Molina for another year, allowing for top prospect to mature one more season in the minors before taking over the regular job in 2011.

As I said, the pitching staff is solid, coming off a year where they finished tied with the Dodgers for fewest runs allowed in the majors in 2009. Led by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the pair has made it easier to forget that Barry Zito and his over-inflated contract are languishing in mediocrity in the middle of the rotation. Jonathan Sanchez is coming of a season with a no-hitter and made big improvements, but don't be surprised if the number three starter by the end of the season is 20-year-old Madison Bumgarner who got a taste of the big leagues last season and should make the full jump this season. A devastating lefty, Bumgarner 102 batters in 141 innings in 2009 while pitching at three levels.

The Giants may be the most improved team in the division, but they are still likely a year away from being true competitors. The biggest question is whether or not they follow old paths and forfeit prospects for another shot at the postseason or if they continue down the new ones and develop the stars they have in waiting.

Projected Finish

1.) Colorado Rockies

2.) San Francisco Giants

3.) Los Angeles Dodgers

4.) Arizona Diamondbacks

5.) San Diego Padres

Sources:

NL West Standings, MLB.com

Arizona Diamondbacks, MLB.com

Colorado Rockies, MLB.com

Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB.com

San Diego Padres, MLB.com

San Francisco Giants, MLB.comSortable Pitching Stats, MLB.com