A semi-irate Dodger fan (yes they do exist) requested that I add the following regarding the Dodgers: Russ Martin, Jonathan Broxton, Joe Beimel. I'll give you Martin and Broxton, but Beimel, a 30 year old, below average reliever with a 1.2 K/BB? I realize the Dodgers are desperate after the Juan Pierre and Luis Gonzalez signings, but I didn't think the desperation had affected their fans in such a way.
THE SAN DIEGO PADRES
Pitching: I suppose its a sign of a smart front office when they put together such a capable pitching staff in as cavernous a park as Petco in as pitcher friendly (in spite of Coors) a division as the National League West. The credit here goes to San Diego GM Kevin Towers, and although I have never seen a picture of Kevin Towers I am going to assume he looks like a more handsome version of Kevin Kennedy. Rule of thumb: mustachioed men always put together the best pitching staffs. Evidence: Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Greg Maddux, David Wells, and Clay Hensley are set to be the top five in the rotation. Peavy might be the most talented pitcher in the National League (he's like a Josh Beckett who knows how to pitch) and he'll be just 26 at the end of May, Young and Hensley are two young guys with low career workloads entering their prime pitching years (28 and 27 years old respectively), Maddux upon his arrival in LA halfway through the season sported an ERA+ of 139, and Wells will post his par for the course ungodly low walk rate if he can keep his fat ass healthy. And speaking of low walk rates, Hensley has the highest BB/9 of any of them at 3.6. All of this against anemic NL West lineups. Bullpen: Trevor Hoffman, Scott Linebrink, and my personal hero Cla Meredith are as impressive as it gets out there.
Hitting: In keeping with the above-mentioned anemic NL West lineups, San Diego is no exception. When you spend the offseason doubling your number of Gileses (Gilii?) that can't hit, prospects don't improve a great deal. Apparently mustachioed General Managers sometimes go brain dead and think its 2003 when both the Gilii were way above average. To be fair, Marcus will be 29 this season so he could improve from his poor 2006, but Brian is on the wrong side of 35 with not a Rejuvenation Center in sight. But the Padres do have a decent young bat in rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff and a potential superstar in 25-year old Adrian Gonzalez. It's too bad that Termel Sledge maybe leading off for them.
Miscellaneous: Apparently David Wells and Greg Maddux are fast friends. If what I gather from this article is true, at some point this season while David Wells is reading John Rawls in his smoking jacket, Greg Maddux with give him a hot foot and run away giggling.
Ridiculous Padre-related Proposition Bet: The over/under on how many visiting sportswriters do a double-take when they first realize that Khalil Greene isn't black: 47.
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NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers
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Colorado Rockies
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