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Bigalke said 01/06, 08:31 PM
Texas is a good (and safe) choice, if only because they only have three other teams to leapfrog. History, however, does not tell us that this division is prone to be won by anybody. Not since 2001, when Seattle won the AL West, has the division title left California. Either the A's or Angels have won each of the past six years...

I will stay out West for my pick, but I will take the San Francisco Giants from the NL. History HAS shown us that this division is volatile -- all five teams in the NL West have managed to take at least one division crown in the past seven years, and no team has defended a division title since Arizona repeated in 2002...

The past two seasons, the year has ended in a one-game playoff to decide the division winner. As we saw last season, our best-laid preseason predictions for the NL West rarely transpire in a predictable manner. San Francisco enters 2008 with a young team and a boost in clubhouse chemistry with the departure of longtime staple of swat and suspicion, Barry Bonds... and with a maturing young rotation, a Gold Glove-winning catcher, a solid addition in Rowand, and an always-askew division out west, SF has the best chance of the cellar duds...

Bigalke said 01/07, 07:26 PM
Your contention depends on a lot of conjecture...

Both of these teams have a 19-game deficit to make up from last season on the division leaders. Neither team has left a legacy of gilded management decisions -- so it seems a tad premature to declare Sabean the "worst GM in baseball". Jon Daniels, since 2005, has continually traded away stars such as Chris Young and Mark Teixeira... and what does the team have in return?

What is true, however, and has failed to be refuted by Thugmeister, is that the AL West has had a California stranglehold. The NL West enters 2008 with no clear front-runner. LA has spent to bolster its chances, but that route has failed in the past for the Dodgers. The Rockies and Diamondbacks are still young teams, and San Diego couldn't keep its 2006 momentum up last season. The NL West is known for springing surprises; the AL West is known for the A's-Angels lockdown on the title...

One final note: Rowand is a MUCH better acquisition for SF than Bradley is for Texas. Rowand may not be flashy, but he is reliable and a strong veteran influence... Bradley hasn't played even 100 games in a season since 2004, and his presence breeds clubhouse volatility...

Bigalke said 01/08, 11:17 AM
Glad to see you were able to get in one last round, Thug...

The fact that PacBell is a pitchers' park should only serve to benefit San Francisco. Players like Rowand aren't brought in as bombers... they are brought in for smart defensive play and clutch hitting... Aaron won't hit a lot of dingers, but he knows how to get the timely hit, and he is a leader for a team (remember 2005 with the White Sox?) He is also a Gold Glove winner in centerfield, allowing Dave Roberts to move to left to cover a one-time liability in the land that was Bonds'...

Replacing Bonds in the clubhouse with Rowand, while a decrease in power, provides an increase in defense...

And then the pitchers can take it from there, confident that the outfield is patrolled properly. Matt Cain and Ted Lincecum are both just 23, and will only get better as they work with one of the best catchers in the game, Bengie Molina. Add in Barry Zito, who after a year of transition into the National League should improve on a down year, and the makings are there for a better stand every night.

You don't have to depend on injuries to win in the wacky NL West...