It's Rocky Out West

Dave Paisley

With spring training under way, we can now declare the off-season shuffle officially closed. Sure, there'll be more trades and signings in the run up to the start of the season, but that's mostly just plugging up little holes that crop up due to spring training injuries. Mostly being the operative word here. So, with most teams looking optimistically forward to the season, let's check on how each of them did over the last three months or so. This is obviously going to take a while, so I thought I'd break within tradition and start with the West coast, more specifically the National League West.

The division was something of a pleasant surprise last year, with all teams doing reasonably well, and even the Padres sucked less badly than most of us expected (and less than they had any right to expect, I might add.) Unfortunately for Davey Johnson and Buck Showalter, "reasonably well" wasn't good enough and so we have new faces at the helm for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. And even more unfortunately for Dodger fans, Davey wasn't the problem in LA. I'm trying not to give the secret away here, but let's just say the real problem rhymes with "Devin Cologne." But enough poking fun at the hapless Dodgers.

Here's what the D-Backs have been up to in the off-season:

Arizona Diamondbacks	2000 record: 85-77
Signed	Lost
Re-signed P Mike Morgan	1B Alex Cabrera (sold to Japan)
P Miguel Batista (signed as free agent)	LHP Dan Plesac (signed with Toronto)
Re-signed P Armando Reynoso to two-year contract
1B Mark Grace (signed as free agent)
OF Midre Cummings (signed as free agent)
OF Reggie Sanders (signed as free agent)

OK, so they didn't lose anyone (unless you now want to mourn the loss of Tony Batista one more time as the rag-armed lefty he was traded for headed back to Toronto anyway...) On the other hand they didn't gain a whole heck of a lot either. Mark Grace, Midre Cummings and Reggie Sanders? Not exactly the caliber of hitter that's going to add those 15 wins back to get to 1999 form. Keeping Reynoso was a good idea, but Miguel Batista isn't exactly the missing piece of the pennant jigsaw puzzle. Overall, this shows a stunning lack of interest on the part of the Snakes. It's almost like they don't really care any more. I don't see them improving on last year's results.

Next up - the Rockies:

Colorado Rockies	2000 record: 82-80
Traded For	Traded Away
P Ron Villone from Cincinnati	Two minor league pitchers to be named later from Colorado
Signed	Lost
INF Greg Norton (signed as free agent)	INF Jeff Frye (signed with Toronto)
INF Terry Shumpert (option picked up)	OF Jeffrey Hammonds (signed with Milwaukee)
OF Roberto Kelly (signed as free agent)	P Jason Green (released)
OF Ron Gant (signed as free agent)	P Julian Tavarez (signed with Cubs)
P Denny Neagle (signed as free agent)
P Mike Hampton (signed as free agent)
Re-signed OF Todd Hollandsworth to two-year contract
Re-signed P Masato Yoshii

The Rockies pursued off-season improvement aggressively this off-season. After eight years of major league play in Denver, everyone seems to have finally figured that Coors is different, and that having lousy pitching numbers there is OK. Whatever the reason, the reluctance of top-flight pitchers to sign in Colorado disappeared this year and the Rockies now sport a formidable pitching staff. The additions of Hampton, Neagle and Villone bolster what had become a good staff anyway, so expect the Rockies to improve this season - maybe dramatically.

Meanwhile in LA...

Los Angeles Dodgers	2000 record: 86-76
Signed	Lost
Re-signed INF Dave Hansen	C Todd Hundley (signed with Cubs)
Re-signed C Chad Kreuter to two-year contract	P Ismael Valdes (signed with Angels)
P Andy Ashby (signed as free agent)
Re-signed P Darren Dreifort to five-year contract
P Ramon Martinez (signed as free agent)
Re-signed OF Bruce Aven to one-year contract
Re-signed P Chan Ho Park to one-year contract

Well, they lost Todd Hundley (not sure if that's good or not) but they re-signed Chad Kreuter! Signed two dubious pitchers in Ashby and Ramon Martinez, while losing one dubious pitcher in Valdes. And they kept the very good Chan Ho Park. On the other hand, the Sheffield fiasco could turn into a catastrophe. Overall, not a pretty picture in LA again. They could have half their staff on the DL by June and be forced to stick Carlos Perez in the rotation again. Expect a sub-.500 season.

And what about those Padres?

San Diego Padres	2000 record: 76-86
Traded For	Traded Away
OF Bubba Trammell from Mets	P Donne Wall
Signed	Lost
P Scott Karl (signed as free agent)	2B Bret Boone (signed with Mariners)
Re-signed 3B Ed Sprague	OF John Mabry (signed with St. Louis)
Re-signed C Wiki Gonzalez to one-year contract	P Buddy Carlyle (sold to Japan)
Re-signed INF Dave Magadan to one-year contract	P Heathcliff Slocumb (released)
Re-signed OF Mike Colangelo to one-year contract	SS Desi Relaford (waived)
Re-signed OF Ruben Rivera to one-year contract
Re-signed OF Tony Gwynn
Re-signed P Rodney Myers to one-year contract
SS Alex Arias (signed as free agent)

Is there any hope for them scraping out of the cellar in 2001? I never consider it to be a good sign when a team retains the services of someone like Ed Sprague, so my initial impression isn't favorable. On the other hand they didn't try to keep John Mabry. Then again they did keep Dave Magadan, who's like Mabry, but with a batting eye. Bubba Trammell and Scott Karl are marginal improvements, but Tony Gwynn is likely to be MIA again for long spells this season. Overall, not a happy picture.

Finally, we get to last year's division winners:

San Francisco Giants	2000 record: 97-65
Traded For	Traded Away
P Tim Worrell from Cubs	3B Bill Mueller
Signed	Lost
INF/OF Shawon Dunston (signed as free agent)	C Scott Servais (signed with Detroit)
OF Eric Davis (signed as free agent)	OF Ellis Burks (signed with Cleveland)
P Jamie Arnold (signed as free agent)
Re-signed 3B Russ Davis
Re-signed INF/OF Felipe Crespo to two-year contract
Re-signed P Mark Gardner
Re-signed SS Rich Aurilia to three-year contract

Overall, it hasn't been a terribly active off-season for the Giants. Shawon Dunston and Eric Davis? What are these guys thinking? Losing Ellis Burks was a bit of a blow, but nothing too serious. Re-signing Russ Davis simply reinforces just how much of a dearth of hitting talent there is at third these days. Overall, not much has changed, but I certainly wouldn't have picked the Giants to win 97 games last year and I doubt they'll do it again.

Overall, I expect the Giants and Rockies to be the class of the division with wins in the low to mid-nineties, with the Rockies having a slight edge. The Diamondbacks should finish behind them, but ahead of the demoralized Dodgers and well ahead of the clueless Padres.

about the author

You don't have to tell Dave Paisley it's rocky out west. After all,if it wasn't for those mountains he'd be able to see Kansas from Seattle. Why not rejoice with him for that at drdjp@strikethree.com.