Question is simple enough. I know the faves are Giants and Rocks, but personally I don't see the Giants repeating. Padres seem to have removed themselves from contention, Dodgers actually got better (no Manny), and the Dbacks are more like the Dbags of the division.
So here's a guesstimate:
1. Rockies
2. Giants
3. Dodgers
4. Padres
5. Minor league team
6. Diamondbacks
What'cha think?
It's the Giants' to lose. Posey is another year in...as is Bumgarner. They have one of the best closers in baseball...I'd give them the 2nd best rotation in baseball and they showed last season that they don't need offense. But a lineup that consists of Posey, Huff, Sanchez, Tejada, Sandoval (maybe a bounce back season?) and a mix of Ross, Torres, Burrell and Rowand isn't THAT bad. It could be worse.
I am, however, interested to see Tulo and CarGo as the 3-4 hitters for the Rockies for an entire season.
Giants to lose-lots of adds to last season
Cody Ross-full season
Bum steps up, Zito shoved to back of rotation @#5
Full season of Buster-ROY
Quite frankly, The Freak did not have his best season. Granted, tough to do after B2B Cy Youngs, but did have ERA over 3.00 (3.43) for the first time, and career high in losses (10). Imagine him bouncing back
Matt Cain-Could improve
Dirty Sanchez-Could improve
Freddy Sanchez-full season of him, not having to mix/match 2b/ss
No longer having to wait for Rent-A-Wreck to get healthy
The Panda-I really can't see him hitting .268 again (although I guess it's kind of a goal to HIT YOUR WEIGHT-you big, fat, tub of goo)
cardinals have 2 of the 10 best pitchers in baseball 
2009 wainwright and carpenter were 2nd and 3rd behind lincecum in cy young voting and if they were not teammates one of them would of beaten lincecum
2010
c.carpenter 16 W 3.22 era
a.wainwright 20 W 2.42 era
j.garcia 13 W 2.70 era
cardinals have added a good 4th pitcher in westbrook via trade
lincecum only had 16 wins at 3.43
cain 13 wins at 3.14
sanchez 13 wins at 3.07
zito 9 wins at 4.15
wilson good era but blew 5 saves
cardinals have 2 of the 10 best pitchers in baseball
2009 wainwright and carpenter were 2nd and 3rd behind lincecum in cy young voting and if they were not teammates one of them would of beaten lincecum
2010
c.carpenter 16 W 3.22 era
a.wainwright 20 W 2.42 era
j.garcia 13 W 2.70 era
cardinals have added a good 4th pitcher in westbrook via trade
lincecum only had 16 wins at 3.43
cain 13 wins at 3.14
sanchez 13 wins at 3.07
zito 9 wins at 4.15
wilson good era but blew 5 saves
Im speechlesscain 13 wins at 3.14
cardinals have added a good 4th pitcher in westbrook via trade
He is average, I'll do what you do, he only had 10 wins and an era of 4.22, off with his head
Maybe my being a Dodgers fan blinded me, but I thought that SFO lineup was a little weak. Then I revisited their stats and learned that really ain't the case.
The Giants' pitching staff is sick, but then again - it's been sick for the past few years. Also, Lincecum had a pretty shitty stretch there where it was easy to bet against him, especially in late June. It certainly wasn't his best season ever.
But yeah, I wouldn't make a preseason bet against 'em with any confidence. Still, I honestly believe the Rocks will be better, primarily because of pitching and up-and-comers like Dexter Fowler and Gonzalez.
Dodgers should be a little better, but I had better smoke some good dope to really feel confident about them making the playoffs, haha. Three key injuries could turn the LAD into a train wreck.
Brian Wilson's strange. His stat line looks great, but man, there were games last year where he looked like a mediocre closer at best. (Ex: That game he almost blew against the Phillies, w/ two walks.) Still, his overall performance doesn't lie, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a Brad Lidge year or two of question marks and BS down the road, like most closers do. He's great, but I wouldn't call him the best in the league.
BTW - it is total bullshit to call the NL West "a shitty division." Year after year, this division has some of the top pitching staffs in the league.
The real "shitty division" is the NL Central, year after year, the Pirates fucking suck, the Cubs fall apart, the Astros are a big question mark, and the Cardinals are considered chokers if they don't take it. At least the Reds gave the NL writers in the Midwest something to write about last season.
Oh yeah - I forgot about the Brew Crew, lol. They look much better on paper this year -- but then again, they have Narveson in their starting rotation.
“It is fair to say, without revenue sharing, the Brewers are not a viable, going concern.”
- Club vice president Rick Schlesinger, noting how important that economic system is to small-market teams such as the Brewers.
BTW - it is total bullshit to call the NL West "a shitty division." Year after year, this division has some of the top pitching staffs in the league.
The real "shitty division" is the NL Central, year after year, the Pirates fucking suck, the Cubs fall apart, the Astros are a big question mark, and the Cardinals are considered chokers if they don't take it. At least the Reds gave the NL writers in the Midwest something to write about last season.
Im speechlesscain 13 wins at 3.14
cardinals have added a good 4th pitcher in westbrook via trade
He is average, I'll do what you do, he only had 10 wins and an era of 4.22, off with his head
You dont even mention Bumgarner. Guess you didnt see his performance in the world series. Shutting out and only allowing 3 hits against one if not the best lineup in baseball at their home park.
The bullpens arent even a debate as to who's is better, its no contest. Gas can after gas can makes up that Cardinal's pen.
Have you even looked at team pitching stats from last year? Lets compare the two teams shall we?
Team ERA
Giants - 3.36 - Best in MLB
Cards - 3.57 - 7th in MLB
Total Earned Runs
Giants - 546 - Fewest in MLB
Cards - 577 - 5th fewest
Opponents batting average
Giants - .236 - Best in MLB
Cards - .256 - 16th in MLB
Opponents on base percentage
Giants - .313 - 5th in MLB
Cards - .319 - 10th in MLB
Opponents slugging percentage
Giants - .370 - 2nd in MLB
Cards - 3.86 - 6th in MLB
Walks
Giants - 578 - 4th most
Cards - 477 - 4th fewest
Strikeouts
Giants - 1331 - Most in MLB
Cards - 1094 - 20th in MLB
Total hits allowed
Giants - 1279 - Fewest in MLB
Cards - 1412 - 15th in MLB
Team Saves
Giants - 57 - 1st in MLB
Cards - 32 - 29th in MLB
Team WHIP
Giants - 1.27 - 4th in MLB
Cards - 1.30 - 10th in MLB
yeah, the cards have a better pitching staff, thats why they didnt make the playoffs and the giants won the world series
did u find any stats that were just based on starters eras without adding in the bullpen eras?
wainwright &carpenter > lincecum & cain...your delusional if you don't see that...cain is great but not in top 10 in baseball.
did u find any stats that were just based on starters eras without adding in the bullpen eras?
wainwright &carpenter > lincecum & cain...your delusional if you don't see that...cain is great but not in top 10 in baseball.
It's the Giants' to lose. Posey is another year in...as is Bumgarner. They have one of the best closers in baseball...I'd give them the 2nd best rotation in baseball and they showed last season that they don't need offense. But a lineup that consists of Posey, Huff, Sanchez, Tejada, Sandoval (maybe a bounce back season?) and a mix of Ross, Torres, Burrell and Rowand isn't THAT bad. It could be worse.
I am, however, interested to see Tulo and CarGo as the 3-4 hitters for the Rockies for an entire season.
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