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Related: 2003
season
overview.
By
Charlie in the Trees
For Outsports
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1.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS |
 Hot
Giant: J.T. Snow. Still the hottest-looking human in the
City and County of San Francisco.
Newbies: Felipe Alou (manager), Edgardo Alfonso (2B-3B),
Ray Durham (2B), Damian Moss (LHP), Jose Cruz, Jr. (OF), Marquis
Grissom (OF), Neifi Perez (SS), Andres Galarraga (1B)
Goners: Jeff Kent (2B), David Bell (3B), Russ Ortiz (RHP),
Reggie Sanders (OF), Kenny Lofton (OF), Tom Goodwin (OF), Shawon
Dunston (OF), Tsuyoshi Shinjo (OF), Jay Witasick (RHP), Ramon E.
Martinez (2B)
Upside: They still have Barry Bonds and GM Brian Sabean.
Ageless Bonds, a physical marvel on the cusp of 40, is showing
no signs of slowing down. Neither is Sabean. Perennial Manager
of the Year Dusty Baker wins mega-bucks in Chicago; Sabean hires
the most respected former manager on the market, Felipe Alou.
Redneck Jeff Kent leaves via free agency; Sabean upgrades the
lead-off spot with his replacement, Ray Durham. All that and
liberating Edgardo Alfonso from that dysfunctional asylum in
Queens, to replace the pedestrian David Bell.
Downside: The traditional champion’s exodus of players
hit Pac Bell hard, leaving lots of holes to fill and new faces
to integrate in its wake. This could cause the Giants to stumble
out of the gate. The most serious long-term consequence is the
severely thinned-out bench.
Bottom Line: Other than swapping in Ray Durham for Jeff
Kent at second, the Giants will not be weaker at any position.
That includes manager. And the clubhouse harmony resulting from
Kent’s exit should be sweet. At least Barry should be less
bitchy. This team should continue making the playoffs until
Bonds goes into an age-induced decline.
2002 record: 95-66, 2nd place, NL wild card, NL champions
2003 prediction: 90-72, 1st place |
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2.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS |
 Hot
Dodger: Adrian Beltre. Can we please bring Mark Grudzielanek
back from the Cubs just for the purpose of choosing a team
hottie?
Newbies: Fred McGriff (1B), Todd Hundley (C), Daryle Ward
(OF),
Goners: Eric Karros (1B), Mark Grudzielanek (2B), Marquis
Grissom (OF), Omar Daal (LHP), Tyler Houston (3B-C)
Upside: Smart management, which did an incredible job
piecing together a patchwork lineup on the limited budget left
after Fox paid on those horrible contracts from the Kevin “New
Sheriff” Malone era. For 2002, GM Dan Evans got the Braves to
throw Odalis Perez into Gary Sheffield deal. Perez ended up
being LA’s best starter. For an encore, he unloaded some awful
big-bucks contracts on the Cubbies. Meanwhile, manager Jim Tracy
has established himself as one of the best in the business.
Smartest decision: using the untamed, inconsistent, but talented
arm of Eric Gagne at closer. Gagne merely rang up 52 saves with
an ERA under 2.00.
Downside: Who among the starting pitchers can bounce back
from injury? Kevin Brown is 38 and missed most of the last two
years to injury. He’s done. Darren Dreifort is 30 and has had
more arm surgeries than Michael Jackson’s had nose jobs. (Well,
almost.) Kazuhisa Ishii’s season ended when he took a line drive
to the forehead in early September, but he struggled for several
starts prior to the beaning. Best bet for a bounce back: Andy
Ashby. If the Dodgers cannot keep together some semblance of a
starting rotation, they will not keep pace with the West’s two
incumbent playoff teams.
Bottom Line: The Big Question: Why did Sandy Koufax cut
his ties to the Dodgers? Because he was upset with: (A) the
invasion into his privacy; (B) an unfounded accusation that he
was gay; or (C) the fact that the hot bods of Eric Karros and
Mark Grudzielanek would no longer be walking around the
Dodgers locker room, making it pointless to travel all the way
to Vero this spring?
2002 record: 92-70, 3rd place
2003 prediction: 89-73, 2nd place, wild card |
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3.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS |
 Hot
Snake: Junior Spivey. At age 28, Ernest Lee is the cute
young kid of the D-Back line-up.
Newbies: Elmer Dessens (RHP), Ron Villone (LHP), Ricky
Bottalico (RHP), Manny Aybar (RHP)
Goners: Damian Miller (C), Erubiel Durazo (1B), Brian
Anderson (LHP), Rick Helling (RHP), Mike Morgan (RHP), Todd
Stottlemyre (RHP), Greg Colbrunn (1B), Jay Bell (2B)
Upside: The D-Backs still have Randy Johnson and Curt
Schilling. Johnson, who will be 40 by playoff time, is a freak
of nature who can pitch unlimited innings and shows no signs of
aging. Add to baseball’s best one-two punch the fact that
Arizona’s minor league system is starting to produce: rookie
Lyle Overbay replaces charismatic Mark Grace at first.
Downside: After Johnson and Schilling, the pitching is
thin. There is such an arms shortage in Arizona that closer
Byung-Hyun Kim moves into the rotation. Manager Bob Brenly, who
has a solid track record of identifying the right player to
place where, is praying that matinee idol Matt Mantei is finally
healthy enough to be the ace closer he was in Florida, which was
back in the last century.
Bottom Line: Luis Gonzalez was the team’s MVNP (most
valuable non-pitcher). Had he not separated his shoulder on the
eve of the playoffs, would the D-Backs have won a second
straight World Series? Maybe. Maybe not. Johnson was pitching as
good as ever (meaning, as good as any pitcher in history), but
by late September, Schilling was running on fumes. Back in 2001,
Arizona was the oldest team ever to win a World Series back in
2001. Since then, their core is two years older and they have
lost pitching depth. It will be tough for the codgers to go
three rounds in the playoffs.
2002 record: 98-64, 1st place
2003 prediction: 87-75, 3rd place |
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4.
COLORADO ROCKIES |
 Hot
Rock: Ben Petrick. Two of the hottest bods in baseball are
in the Coors outfield: fitness models Gabe Kapler and Jay
Payton. Maybe Ben can get some training tips and beef up just a
bit?
Newbies: Charles Johnson (C), Preston Wilson (OF), Jose
Hernandez (SS), Chris Stynes (3B)
Goners: Mike Hampton (LHP), Juan Pierre (OF), Todd Zeile
(3B), Sandy Alomar, Jr. (C), Kent Mercker (LHP), Pete Harnisch (RHP)
Upside: Some impressive acquisitions on offense. Playing
in the thin air, new catcher Charles Johnson and new shortstop
Jose Hernandez should be the NL’s best offensive players at
their respective positions. With the Rocks’ re-commitment to
power hitting, look for a return to those 16-14, five-hour
marathon games reminiscent of their time in Mile High Stadium.
Downside: The Rockies have assembled one of baseball’s
greatest collection of strikeout artists. Great news if we were
talking pitching. Unfortunately, we are talking about the
batting order. Newcomers Preston Wilson and Hernandez each could
break the single-season record that Hernandez failed to break
last year only because Brewer management nailed him to the bench
for the last week of the season.
Bottom Line: Rudderless franchise in search of a clue. A
new season and yet another new philosophy on how to win at one
mile above sea level. 2001: the year of the big money pitchers
(Hampton, Neagle). The idea was that they only needed to give up
fewer runs than the Rocks would score. 2002: the run-and-gun
speed game. 2003: Home Run Derby! What can we expect these
philosophies to have in common? A third straight 73-89 record,
perhaps?.
2002 record: 73-89, 4th place
2003 prediction: 73-89, 4th place |
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5. SAN DIEGO
PADRES |
 Hot
Daddy: Adam Eaton. Cute, young up-and-comer. The City of San
Diego wins the title for having the best-looking men in America,
but their average-looking baseball team is not even in the
competition.
Newbies: Jaret Wright (RHP), Francisco Cordova (RHP),
Keith Lockhart (2B), Mark Loretta (2B), Brady Anderson? (OF)
Goners: Ray L ankford (OF), Brett Tomko (RHP), Deivi Cruz
(SS)
Upside: Plenty of veteran leadership helping rebuild this
young team. With Ryan Klesko anchoring the offense, the Padres
will score runs. CF Mark Kotsay has emerged as baseball’s best
defensive outfielders west of Torii Hunter. Into this veteran
mix walks Brady Anderson, a non-roster invitee to Padre training
camp. Brady in San Diego? Hello, Hillcrest!
Downside: The pitching staff was racked by injuries last
year and the news gets worse for 2003: Trevor Hoffman, the NL’s
best closer over the last several seasons, is out until at least
the All Star break. Hawaiian-born cutie Brandon Villafuerte will
sub. No matter how good his understudy pitches, Hoffman will be
sorely missed. And the injury bug keeps biting as Phil Nevin
could be out for the season.
Bottom Line: Only one more year until that new waterfront
ballpark. The Padres have been building towards 2004 since the
final out of the 1998 World Series. Several talented youngsters
(Sean Burroughs, Xavier Nady, pitchers Adam Eaton and Jake Peavy)
will get another year’s experience, under the able management of
the under-rated Bruce Bochy. The Pads could be ready to win as
soon as next year. But not this year.
2002 record: 66-96, last place
2003 prediction: 72-90, last place |
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