Baseball

For a season overview see Baseball main page.

By Charlie in the Trees
For Outsports

1.  LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Hot Dodger: McKay Christenson Centerfield in Chavez Ravine just got major upgrade in the looks department - all that clean-living demanded by the Mormon church does have some bennies Newbies: Kazuhisa Ishii, Brian Jordan, Hideo Nomo, Dante Bichette, Paul Quantrill, Omar Daal, Odalis Perez, Tim Crabtree Goners: Gary "Iron Sheff" Sheffield, Jeff Shaw, Chan Ho Park, Luke Prokopec, James Baldwin Upside: Star policy is out in LA. Talent is in. No-name manager Jim Tracy is turning around this misfit band of chronic malcontents and underachievers. The new shortstop Ceasr Izturis -- another young, hot and talented Venezuelan - will be the Dodgers best defensive shortstop since they were in Brooklyn. Gary Sheffield is gone. Sheff may not have been a clubhouse cancer, but he certainly was a pre-cancerous growth needing removal. Downside: Fireplug Paul Lo Duca cannot possibly put up Piazza-like numbers again. The bullpen got significantly deeper with the acquisitions of Paul Quantrill and Tim Crabtree. But no closer is in sight. Bottom Line: Hotshot Japanese superstar comes to America to play for a West Coast team. Performs brilliantly. Team rises to new heights in the standings. Seattle 2001? Try LA 2002. This sequel will star left-handed pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii. If Kevin Brown is/stays/gets healthy, this team could win 100 games. 2001 record: 86-76, 3rd place 2002 prediction: 91-71, 1st place

2. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Hot Snake: Miguel Batista Admittedly a quirky pick because he's not movie star handsome like Matt Mantei or Dave Dellucci (who, when last I checked, was dating one of those supermodel/starlet/Baywatch babe types that your str8 friends worship), nor is he buff like the ageless Steve Finley, but there's something about his quiet, introspective, poetry-writing intellectual seriousness that is just so sexy - don't you just want to set up a date for the art museum and then go out for coffee drinks? Newbies: Rick Helling Goners: Reggie Sanders, Albie Lopez, Midre Cummings Upside: The best one-two starting pitching combo in baseball. Who knew Randy "Big Unit" Johnson only needed not to be the No. 1 starter to become a post-season legend? Rookie manager Bob Brenly did a great job with all aspects of his job other than in-game decision-making. He nearly blew the post-season by over-managing at key junctures. With another year's experience, he could step up into being one of the best. Downside: The 2001 D-Backs were the oldest team ever to win a World Series. By a significant margin, too. Except for some changes with marginal players, they bring back essentially the same team, one year older. Can they push the record out further? It also will be interesting to see whether Byung-Hyun Kim can come back unscathed from a mortifying World Series. (The fact that D-Backs eventually won should help the recovery process.) Bottom Line: Never underestimate the heart of a champion. If the D-Backs survive the grueling 162-game season and make the playoffs, they will repeat as World Series champs. Getting to the post-season will be the tough part. 2001 record: 92-70, 1st place, World Series champions 2002 prediction: 85-77, 2nd place

3. SAN DIEGO PADRES

Hot Daddy: Ryan Klesko Am I just "supporting the home team" naming Klesko the Hot Padre? Enquiring minds want to know, including mine Newbies: Ron Gant, Brett Tomko, Alan Embree, Deivi Cruz, Tom Lampkin Goners: Tony Gwynn (off to the Hall of Fame), Rickey Henderson (one more stop before Cooperstown), Ben Davis, plus (sadly and seriously) the late Mike Darr Upside: The Sean Burroughs Era begins in Squid Town USA. Burroughs gets the third base job and will firmly establish himself as good-looking addition, in all aspects of that term. Ryan Klesko (from 1B to RF) and Phil Nevin (from 3B to 1B) will play out of position to accommodate the budding superstar. Along with D'Angelo Jiminez, stolen last season from the Yankees, the Padres have two exceptional young studs to anchor their infield for years to come. Downside: Not enough outfielders. Not enough starting pitcher. The failure of human cloning experiments to build another Trevor Hoffman or two for the bullpen. Bottom Line: Once again, this team is just running in place waiting for their new downtown stadium to open in (hopefully) 2004. The underrated Bruce Bochy will manage to get the team to win a few more games than its talent level warrants. 2001 record: 79-83, 4th place 2002 prediction: 81-81, 3rd place

4. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Hot Giant: J.T. Snow The mug of movie star with the glove of a wizard. Hits like a pitcher, though, and I'm not talking about Livan Hernandez. Newbies: Reggie Sanders, David Bell, Tsuyoshi Shinjo Goners: Shawn Estes, John Vander Wal, Andres Galarraga, Mark Gardner Upside: Great individual talent, but no depth. Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer. Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia form the best middle infield combo in the NL. Robb Nen is still a great closer. Dusty Baker is still a great manager. Major talent drop off from there. Downside: Bonds had the greatest offensive season in history. It wasn't enough. Aurilia broke through and put up A-Rod type numbers. It wasn't enough. Now Kent has a broken wrist. Bottom Line: Another aging team guaranteed to decline from 2001. The Giants won't get another season like 2001 from either Bonds or Aurilia. With Kent hurt, there's nowhere for the offense to make up that production. Tough to see how this team can equal 2001 win total, which still left them short of the post-season. 2001 record: 90-72, 2nd place 2002 prediction: 78-84, 4th place

5. COLORADO ROCKIES

Hot Rock: Mike Hampton No one else - not even hot young stud catcher Ben Petrick - is eligible for this designation as long as Hampy has a roster spot Newbies: Todd Zeile, Todd Jones, Benny Agbayani, Pete Harnisch, Jose Paniagua, Dennys Reyes, Tony Eusebio, Rick White Goners: Jeff Cirillo, Gabe White, Dan Miceli Upside: Want an early candidate for comeback of the year? Playing in thin mountain air, Todd Zeile will put up numbers similar to the Rocks' other infield Todd, Helton. The bullpen got much deeper, but as indicated by the failed Darryl Kile experiment, and the troubled Hampton and Denny Neagle projects, quality pitchers turn into road kill at 5,280 feet. Downside: The hitters can't hit on the road and the pitchers can't pitch anywhere. Bottom Line: Something weird is happening here, attitudinally (not just altitudinally). First, the marquee pitcher (Mike Hampton) spoke out about broken promises and questioned the team's direction. Then the marquee position player (Larry Walker) was even more forceful. These are the clubhouse leaders, not chronic malcontents. Something is going horribly wrong in Denver. Either the team will pull together with an "us against them" attitude, or there will be a total, ugly meltdown. Either the Rocks either will fight for a pennant, or it will make a run at 100 losses. I opt for the wimpy middle and split the difference. 2001 record: 73-89, last place 2002 prediction: 74-88, last place