NL West Preview

The NL West has been painted blue for the last seven seasons by a juggernaut in the City of Angels. Down south, the Land Sharks thought there was blood in the water, but despite putting up nice numbers, still finished on the outside looking in. Tacoma looked Mist-ified (ugh!) at times, and their rebuilding continued, while the division was rounded out by a team that seems to have taken an island vacation in Season 8.

The newly relocated Helena Hitters are retooling; this season may only bring smoke signals of a future eruption, however. Tacoma was agressive in free agency, turning over a significant portion of their roster to prepare for a legitmate run this season. Atop the division, the SoCal clubs tinkered around the margins but left the cores of their respective teams largely intact. Expect the balance of power in the West to remain two-tiered for at least one more season. We weigh that balance, checking in with each team in the place it finished last season.


Los Angeles Blue Knights

Key Departures: Edgar DeLeon (Trade), Rondell Holmes (Trade), Banjo Griffey (FA).

Key Acquisitions: P.T. Prieto (Trade), Lariel Macias (Trade), Vic Lowe (Rule 5 Draft).

Breakdown: The offense scored the most runs in the NL, powering the team to an impressive 112-win season, an NL pennant, and the franchise's third World Series appearance. This one ended in the same fashion as the other two, however: disappointingly. 20-game winner James McGrady buckled hitters' knees with his 12-to-6 curveball, which they say will only get better, but closer Woody Durham will no longer be nailing down games (28 saves in 30 opportunities last season) with his filthy breaking stuff. That duty will instead fall upon the talented but inexperienced shoulders of 23-year-old rookie Wally Valentine.

Outlook: The Blue Knights will undoubtedly continue to score runs at a devastating pace, but questions will surround an aging rotation and neophyte closer. Griffey, who was not a superstar but was a reliable innings-eater, will be missed. CF Randall Matthews swiped 84 bags and was caught just 8 times; can he possibly be expected to replicate those numbers? Keep in mind, however, that we are talking about a team that has won fewer than 100 games just once in its 8-year history, and the three-time NL Champions. You do not bet against a track record like that one.


San Diego Land Sharks

Key Departures: Turner Monroe (Trade), Harold Stone (FA), Harry Olivares (FA).

Key Acquisitions: Al Montana (Trade), Ray Gonzales (Trade),

Breakdown: The Sharks boasted the second-best pitching staff last season in terms of runs and earned runs allowed, as well as ERA. They led the league, meanwhile, in opponents' batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage allowed. All this meant was the chance to watch the playoffs on TV, however, as they underperformed their Pythagorean record by a whopping 12 games, due in part to a 22-33 record in one-run games. The team's 24 blown saves certainly contributed to that unsightly number. Closer Olivares, despite saving a solid 26 of 31 possible games, is not back, meaning that Harold Forrest will have to step up into the role the club has been grooming him for. His 1.08 WHIP after being called up last season suggests that he is capable.

Outlook: Knowing that they were victims of some tough luck last season, San Diego wisely did not panic over the offseason. They are well aware that LF Norm Holmes is quite capable of driving in another 121 runs, and that versatile and multi-talented RF Vinny Itou has impressive career totals of 170 SB and 115 HR. Former Cy Young Award winner Nash Hyers staked a legitimate claim to his second piece of hardware with a miniscule 0.97 WHIP, and he was joined on the All-Star roster by rotation-mate Rod Christman, whose 0.98 WHIP was equally dazzling. With the pitching numbers they put up and a projected 99-win total last season, other teams would do well to stay in the water, for fear of the Land Sharks.


Tacoma Mist

Key Departures: Dan Daal (FA), Thomas James (FA), Paul Hill (Released).

Key Acquisitions: Macbeth Robertson (FA), Marino Candelaria (FA), Bill McKnight (FA), Keith Malone (FA).

Breakdown: The Tacoma Mist completed last season 67-95, with a .414 winning percentage, and 45 games out in the division. Maybe scoring an anemic 679 runs, second-worst in the bigs, had something to do with that. The pitching was certainly adequate, as their 1.38 team WHIP and 4.29 team ERA both placed them in the top third among all teams. Team K-leader Daal has moved to the Windy City, and James and his 3.19 ERA have also left town. Tacoma fans can breathe easy, however, knowing that powerhouse SS Che Meng and his 30 HR are back.

Outlook: A revamped lineup is the only hope for the Mist, and they indeed have new starters all over the diamond. Journeyman 1B Malone will have to significantly add to his 82 career HR total and young 2B Don Wanatabe will need to bounce all the way back from his .698 OPS nightmare of Season 8. Sparkplug CF Ozzie Chang has stolen 269 bases at better than and 80% clip, but it sure would not hurt if he upped that underwhelming .342 career OBP. In the bullpen, closer Kevin Gong converted 12 of 12 save chances after his callup last season, and nothing less than perfection will do this year if the Mist want to compete in the wild West. The real question, however, is have they added enough bullets?


Helena Hitters

Key Departures: Terry Williams (Trade), Rodrigo Lopez (Trade).

Key Acquisitions: Peter West (Trade), James Carter (Trade), John Witt (FA), Ralph Scalici (Rule 5 Draft).

Breakdown: New owner gccoach took over the reins in the offseason, and now finds himself manning a franchise that won just 40 games at the major league level last season as the Honolulu Islanders. He has immdiately made his presence felt, putting Rule 5 pick Scalici at the head of his rotation. Scalici last season struck out 8 batters while walking 235 at Triple-A, proving that he either just was not ready, or he was criminally mismanaged. The Hitters had better hope it was the latter if they want to improve upon their horrendous league-worst 6.82 ERA. They also surrendered the most runs in all of MLB last season, a full 40 more than the next-closest team.

Outlook: Carter's career 6.06 range factor as a 2B at the major league level will not make up for his .733 big league OPS; they traded for this guy so he would hit. Veteran 3B Tony Granados did exactly that last season while the team floundered around him; another season slugging .520 and 39 HR would go a long way toward leading this team in the right direction. However, with four rookies on the pitching staff and only two hurlers with more than two seasons of big league experience, rookie C Robb White will be saddled with some serious expectations, not only as a hitter, but managing the staff as well. There is still work to be done, but let it be known: this team will not lose 122 games this season.