2014 Preview: NL West

[jonnyheller]

Lets start with the Los Angeles Dodgers. I see them as the obvious choice to win this division. FIrst of all, their pitching is unstoppable. 3 out of their 5 starting pitchers can easily be aces on other teams across the league. The only problem is Kershaw is on the DL to start the season, but I am confident in that he will come back and have a strong season, as well as Ryu and Grienke.  They also have new addition Dan Haren, and it will be interesting to see how his season is.  The Dodgers offense is strong, led by Puig, Ethier, and Carl Crawford. And don't forget about Adrian Gonzales or Hanley Ramirez, as well as a second basemen in Dee Gordon who gained 15 pounds of pure muscle over the offseason.  Even without Matt Kemp, they have one of the best offenses, if not the best offense in the National League. The Dodgers bullpen is not as strong as their starting rotation, but they are still strong enough to protect most leads.  Brian Wilson and new additions Chris Perez and Paul Maholm are the key pieces to this bullpen.

If something were to happen to the Dodgers, there is one team i see winning the NL West: The Arizona Diamondbacks.  They have certainly been hurt by the recent loss of ace Patrick Corbin, but are still a strong young team. Recent pickup Bronson Arroyo is certainly the ace of the team, and is in a strong rotation that includes Trevor Cahill, Wade Miley, and Brandon Mccarthy. Offseason pickup Mark Reumbo will be a good compliment to Paul Goldshmidt, and if we see good seasons out of these two their is definitely a shot at the wild card for the Diamondbacks.  Their bullpen was decent in 2013, and looks to be strong again in 2014, being led by Putz, Thatcher, and Zeigler.
   
The Rockies are a team that got stronger over the offseason, but not strong enough.  They certainly have a decent offense, with Tulo (Can he stay healthy) and new pickup Morneau leading the way.  Young stars are coming up, including Josh Rutledge and Nolan Arenado, and there is a bright future for the offense of the Rockies. The big problem I see for this team is their pitching staff. I see no major improvements on either their bullpen nor their starting rotation from 2013.  No matter how good their offense is this year, their pitching will not keep up.

The Giants are another team that has the ability to snatch a wild card spot.  They have a strong rotation led by Bumgarner, Cain, and Lincecum, but if they hope to have a good 2014 season, they need improvements from their starting pitching.  Bumgarner was the only one who had a strong 2013, and Cain, Zito, and Lincecum really need to step it up.  And how will Hudson do? THat is needed to be seen.  Their offense certainly isn't great, but if Pence, Sandoval, and new addition Morse can all step it up, they can have a good offense to compliment their pitching.  Their bullpen, led by Sergio Romo, is not great. IT can certainly use more consistency, but it is still decent enough to succeed and preserve most leads.

The Padres do not have the talent to succeed as far as the numbers show.  They have talent in Chase Headley and young Gyorko, but they are not great on offense otherwise, especially with the loss of Camyron Maybin. Their rotation is sub-average, with Andrew Cashner as their ace.  Nothing against Cashner, but he certainly is not a #1 or #2 guy, and the same with Eric Stults.  Their bullpen is filled with many average or sub-average guys, many of whom i haven't heard of. 
For 2014 in the NL West:
1. Los Angelas Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Fransico Giants
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies

Your thoughts? Will the Dodgers win the division? 

[jonnyheller]

Tim28, this is the article i would like to submit. Thanks

[just28]

My take of the giants:
With added veteran pitching in Hudson and the bat of Morse, the Giants look to take a step up in their division in 2014. The departure of Barry Zito definitely be a good move for the club. Scutaro is out for a while but hopefully Arias can produce similar numbers. Dont forget the pitching staff now. Bumgarner will lead the way as the first time ace along with Cain (said he had an off year and will produce better numbers this year), Lincecum(a 2x cy winner), hudson(the aging ace of the braves but has a few years left in the tank), and vogelsong(who had problems due to pitching in the wbc previous to the start of the mlb season). Now for the offense...Angel Pagan is a stealing threat and the giants missed him for a large portion of the year last year. His role was filled by blanco who simply couldn't get on base last year. At the #2 spot would be scutaro but as I previously mentioned, he is out for a few weeks or so. Batting in the middle of the lineup is sandavol, posey, and pence(their opening day lineup). This trio can easily hit for a lot of power and drive in runs. Pablo lost more weight and looks to have a very productive season ahead of him. Posey was the 2012 mvp and he looks to make another run at it this year. Pence was 27/99 last year. I look for him to easily beat that mark this year and go 30/100. The 6 and 7 guys should be belt and morse. They provide a power source down the lineup and keep pitchers on their toes. Belt is beginning to blossom as a hitter and hopefully morse can become his 2012 form again. Lastly, we have crawford at the 8 spot. Not a very good hitter, average defense, and possibility the only weakness of the entire lineup. He does have some pop and a decent bat for a ss.

[jonnyheller]

Mar 31, 2014 20:16:59 GMT -5 just28 said:

My take of the giants:
With added veteran pitching in Hudson and the bat of Morse, the Giants look to take a step up in their division in 2014. The departure of Barry Zito definitely be a good move for the club. Scutaro is out for a while but hopefully Arias can produce similar numbers. Dont forget the pitching staff now. Bumgarner will lead the way as the first time ace along with Cain (said he had an off year and will produce better numbers this year), Lincecum(a 2x cy winner), hudson(the aging ace of the braves but has a few years left in the tank), and vogelsong(who had problems due to pitching in the wbc previous to the start of the mlb season). Now for the offense...Angel Pagan is a stealing threat and the giants missed him for a large portion of the year last year. His role was filled by blanco who simply couldn't get on base last year. At the #2 spot would be scutaro but as I previously mentioned, he is out for a few weeks or so. Batting in the middle of the lineup is sandavol, posey, and pence(their opening day lineup). This trio can easily hit for a lot of power and drive in runs. Pablo lost more weight and looks to have a very productive season ahead of him. Posey was the 2012 mvp and he looks to make another run at it this year. Pence was 27/99 last year. I look for him to easily beat that mark this year and go 30/100. The 6 and 7 guys should be belt and morse. They provide a power source down the lineup and keep pitchers on their toes. Belt is beginning to blossom as a hitter and hopefully morse can become his 2012 form again. Lastly, we have crawford at the 8 spot. Not a very good hitter, average defense, and possibility the only weakness of the entire lineup. He does have some pop and a decent bat for a ss.

Good analysis. Sorry I don't go this deep, I just don't know the teams like a true fan would 

[just28]

Mar 31, 2014 20:39:02 GMT -5 jonnyheller said:

Mar 31, 2014 20:16:59 GMT -5 just28 said:

My take of the giants:
With added veteran pitching in Hudson and the bat of Morse, the Giants look to take a step up in their division in 2014. The departure of Barry Zito definitely be a good move for the club. Scutaro is out for a while but hopefully Arias can produce similar numbers. Dont forget the pitching staff now. Bumgarner will lead the way as the first time ace along with Cain (said he had an off year and will produce better numbers this year), Lincecum(a 2x cy winner), hudson(the aging ace of the braves but has a few years left in the tank), and vogelsong(who had problems due to pitching in the wbc previous to the start of the mlb season). Now for the offense...Angel Pagan is a stealing threat and the giants missed him for a large portion of the year last year. His role was filled by blanco who simply couldn't get on base last year. At the #2 spot would be scutaro but as I previously mentioned, he is out for a few weeks or so. Batting in the middle of the lineup is sandavol, posey, and pence(their opening day lineup). This trio can easily hit for a lot of power and drive in runs. Pablo lost more weight and looks to have a very productive season ahead of him. Posey was the 2012 mvp and he looks to make another run at it this year. Pence was 27/99 last year. I look for him to easily beat that mark this year and go 30/100. The 6 and 7 guys should be belt and morse. They provide a power source down the lineup and keep pitchers on their toes. Belt is beginning to blossom as a hitter and hopefully morse can become his 2012 form again. Lastly, we have crawford at the 8 spot. Not a very good hitter, average defense, and possibility the only weakness of the entire lineup. He does have some pop and a decent bat for a ss.

Good analysis. Sorry I don't go this deep, I just don't know the teams like a true fan would 

only this team as i try to get down the main stories and facts for my home team. ask me something about tnother team and i will have no idea without some research beforehand

[jonnyheller]

Mar 31, 2014 21:14:15 GMT -5 just28 said:

Mar 31, 2014 20:39:02 GMT -5 jonnyheller said:

Good analysis. Sorry I don't go this deep, I just don't know the teams like a true fan would 

only this team as i try to get down the main stories and facts for my home team. ask me something about tnother team and i will have no idea without some research beforehand

By a true fan I meant a fan of the specific team. 

[just28]

Mar 31, 2014 21:15:43 GMT -5 jonnyheller said:

Mar 31, 2014 21:14:15 GMT -5 just28 said:

only this team as i try to get down the main stories and facts for my home team. ask me something about tnother team and i will have no idea without some research beforehand

By a true fan I meant a fan of the specific team. 

got it. i would be more than happy to do an analysis of a team whenever i have some time. just to throw this out there, would you like to team up and do in depth articles on each team? by articles i meant paragraphs since nobody expects us to write a whole report in complete detail. Just quote me or pm me if interested. Others are welcome to join in as well.

[jonnyheller]

Mar 31, 2014 21:23:00 GMT -5 just28 said:

Mar 31, 2014 21:15:43 GMT -5 jonnyheller said:

By a true fan I meant a fan of the specific team. 

got it. i would be more than happy to do an analysis of a team whenever i have some time. just to throw this out there, would you like to team up and do in depth articles on each team? by articles i meant paragraphs since nobody expects us to write a whole report in complete detail. Just quote me or pm me if interested. Others are welcome to join in as well.

Check out the new article tim released earlier this evening. A contest for people who wanna write for this thing top 4 get in, if you and me both get in I'd enjoy working with you very much. 

[oldgrady]

Bring a Bo Sox fan, I'm not up so much on the NL, but enjoy reading stuff about the NL to stay in touch. Nice work JH.

[knoltonc]

I would say Dodgers even though i despise them, they have a decent team.

[jonnyheller]

Mar 31, 2014 22:05:28 GMT -5 oldgrady said:

Bring a Bo Sox fan, I'm not up so much on the NL, but enjoy reading stuff about the NL to stay in touch. Nice work JH.

Thanks man!