2009 Baseball Preview – National League – West

National League – West

Arizona Diamondbacks Lots of young bats should take advantage of one of the more offense-oriented ballparks, but they won’t go far without cutting down on the k’s. Arizona’s offense was second in the majors in striking out. Five starters from Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds to catcher Chris Snyder each exceeded the century mark in whiffs. Not good.

Twenty-two game winner Brandon Webb anchors a five-man rotation.

Lineup diamonbacks

Felipe Lopez	2B
Chris Young	CF
Stephen Drew	SS
Conor Jackson	LF
Justin Upton	RF
Chad Tracy	1B
Mark Reynolds	3B
Chris Snyder	C

Rotation

Brandon Webb	RH
Dan Haren	RH
Doug Davis	LH
Jon Garland	RH
Max Scherzer	RH

Colorado Rockies Looking for redemption from a sophomore slump after a promising rookie campaign, SS Troy Tulowitzki is looked upon to take up some of the leadership void left after Matt Holliday was traded to Oakland. That could be asking a lot, maybe not in the clubhouse, but Holliday did average 32 homers, 113 RBIs and a .400 OBP over the last three years.

Regarding the rotation, it is likely southpaw Jeff Francis will be out for the season with shoulder surgery. Manager Clint hurdle will still use a five-man rotation led by finesse righty Aaron Cook (16-9).

Lineup rockies

Ryan Spilborghs	CF
Troy Tulowitzki	SS
Todd Helton	1B
Garrett Atkins	3B
Brad Hawpe	RF
Chris Iannetta	C
Seth Smith	LF
Clint Barnes	SS

Rotation

Aaron Cook	RH
Ubaldo Jimenez	RH
Jorge de la Rosa	LH
Jason Marquis	RH
Franklin Morales	LH

Los Angeles Dodgers Manny, Manny and Manny. Re-signing Ramirez instantly makes Los Angeles the force to be reckoned with in a relatively weak division. The slugger is an interesting example of how one team ‘s cancer (Boston) can be the elixir for another. Even manager Joe Torre knew they had no shot without him.

Now it will come down to how a traditional Dodger strength will perform- pitching. They lost leader Derek Lowe to Atlanta, but if young phenoms like speedballin’ lefty Clayton Kershaw and reliever Hong-Chih Kuo come through, the Dodgers should take the west.

Lineup dodgers

Rafael Furcal	SS
Orlando Hudson	2B
Manny Ramirez	LF
Andre Ethier	RF
Russell Marton	C
James Loney	1B
Matt Kemp	CF
Casey Blake	3B

Rotation

Randy Wolf	LH
Hiroki Kuroda	RH
Chad Billingsley	RH
Clayton Kershaw	LH
Jason Schmidt	RH

San Diego Padres Though he remains their lead pitcher despite an inability to trade him over the winter, Jake Peavy, like consistent-hitting outfielder Brian Giles, are the key trade items for a club that is clearly in rebuild mode.

The Padres finished with their worst record in 15 years. It was primarily due to a very weak offense. San Diego has the fewest runs scored and worst on-base percentage in the league. Adrian Gonzalez is the lone power threat with Chase Headley a younger version of Giles in terms of good OBP.

Lineup padres

Jody Gerut	CF
David Eckstein	2B
Brian Giles	RF
Adrian Gonzalez	1B
Kevin Kouzmanoff	3B
Chase Headley	LF
Nick Hundley	C
Luis Rodriguez	SS

Rotation

Jake Peavy	RH
Chris Young	RH
Kevin Correla	RH
Cha Seung Baek	RH
Walter Silva	RH

San Francisco Giants The strength of this team is a solid pitching staff including three home grown throwers- Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Cy Young winner-Tim Lincecum. Veteran flamethrower Randy Johnson comes to town, but two years after signing the highest pitching contract in history (seven years, $126 million), Barry Zito is low man on the totem pole.

Offensively, the Giants don’t scare anyone but they do have high expectations for a switch-hittting Venezuelan who can play three positions. Pablo Sandoval will start at 3B and if he can produce some runs for a team that is expected to struggle in that department, San Francisco may be the surprise of the division.

Lineup giants