Well, it finally happened. Reports have Manny Ramirez signing a two-year $45 million contract today. This is bad news for the rest of the NL West teams including my beloved Giants. However this is great news for Dodger fans. The boys in blue were a clearly different team after adding Manny last year propelling them to the top spot in the west and the playoffs. They now have to be considered the favorite to repeat as western division champions. Their lineup with Remirez in the middle, also includes talented hitters such as Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and Rafeal Furcal who can not only hurt a team with their bats but cause some trouble on the paths once they get on.
The Giants did little to add bats to their offense which was near the bottom of the MLB last season in scoring. They instead are relying on Bengi Molina's consistency, a rebound year for last season's free agent signing Aaron Rowand, and hoping for a break out season for the hard hitting Pablo Sandoval. The club did add a consistent hitter and defensive player at shortstop in Edgar Rentaria to replace veteran Omar Vizquel. The pitching rotation is rock solid and free agent signings should improve the bullpen from last season also. Offense looks to be the team's Achilles heel again in 2009.
Hopes are still high in the desert for the Diamondbacks and why shouldn't they be with an ace like Brandon Webb. If it weren't for the team stumbling down the stretch and a couple late season losses of his own Webb likely would have stolen last season's NL Cy Young award from the Giants Tim Lincecum. The D-backs were the division leader for most of last season and continued to be the lone challenger to the Dodgers towards the end of the year. The same looks to be true for this upcoming season as it seems that the Giants, Rockies, and Padres haven't improved enough to contend for that second rung on the ladder...let alone the top step.
The bottom of the division should be a fun battle. I was hopeful that the NL West would have a resurgent year in 2009, bouncing back from being widely considered the worst division in baseball last season, but I am entirely convinced that neither the Rockies nor the Padres have any intentions of bettering themselves from their efforts from a year ago. San Diego, however, is the clear cut favorite to finish in the cellar though. They have added little and subtracted much. The draw of a great new stadium (PetCo Park) has worn and it's time to start winning games...which is unfortunately not in the cards for this team.
My Prediction for the NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
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