FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/15, 09:23 PM
And who beat the Diamondbacks in the NLCS? That's right, the Colorado Rockies.

First off they're bringing back virtually everybody from last year's lineup, which was the best in the NL.

The lineup is anchored by three players coming into their prime. Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, and Garrett Atkins each will be 28 next year. Tulowitzki is an emerging talent that may be the best all around SS in the game. Todd Helton may have lost a lot of his power, but remember, he's hit .300 for the last 10 years. Finally, they have Willy Taveras, one of the fastest players in the MLB to lead it off. From top to bottom, the Rockies have the best lineup in the NL.


The Arizona Diamondbacks will be a good team next year, but not as good as you think. Last year, they defied logic. They were outscored by 20 runs over the course of the season, and still won the division. They had one of the WORST lineups in the NL. How bad was it?

They had the worst batting average and worst OBP in the league, and were 27th in the MLB in runs scored. What did they do to improve their offense over the offseason? Nothing. With one of the worst lineups in the league, I don't think the D-Backs can win the NL West.

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/15, 10:06 PM
Personnel wise, they did absolutely nothing to improve the worst lineup in the NL.

"eric byrnes, orlando hudson, stephen drew, mark reynold, conor jackson, chris young, justin upton"

I'll grant you that Eric Byrnes is a pretty good hitter, and Orlando Hudson is decent as well, not great by any stretch of the imagination though. But Stephen Drew? Chris Young? Upton?

Last year, Chris Young posted the 2nd worst BA among starting outfielders (has decent power and speed, but what good is speed if you can't get on base?). Drew posted the worst BA among NL shortstops. Justin Upton played a grand total of 20 games last season.

Just how bad was the D-Backs lineup last year? Pitcher Micah Owings had the highest SLG% on the team.



As for the D-Backs pitching staff, Webb is certainly a bona fide ace.

However, the rest of the rotation is no sure commodity. Dan Haren posted a 4.15 ERA after the all-star break. Randy Johnson got a disc removed from his back. Considering that, I don't think you can guarantee that he'll return to form.

The Rockies have an incredibly good lineup, one that carried them last year and will do the same this year.

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/16, 07:18 AM
I don't expect a 20 year old to play that many games. That's why I don't believe Justin Upton will have a huge impact on the D-Backs season, at least not this year.

Whatever happened last season has nothing to do with this season. Nothing that happened last year mattered. Congratulations to the D-Backs for getting to the NLCS, but that doesn't matter anymore. The Cards won the world series 2 years ago, but couldn't even get to the playoffs the next year. The Tigers were in that world series against the Cards, but failed to make the playoffs as well. In 2005, the White Sox and Astros made the World Series, but didn't make the playoffs next year?

What's my point? Just the fact the D-Backs were lucky/talented enough to make the playoffs doesn't mean they'll do well this year.