SB Nation - Cha Seung Baek

NL West Report: Randy Johnson wins 300, Dodgers Stadium gets its own zip code

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:09:01 -0000

Randy Johnson holds his prized left arm high after recording his 300th career win

Due to some comments from last week's KYF, I have decided to commandeer the front page by separating the weekly NL West Report to a separate article so it doesn't get lost in the series previews.

300

The biggest news of the week is undoubtedly Randy Johnson reaching 300 wins. He was slated to go Wednesday night at Washington, but weather pushed his start to Thursday, in the first game of a double header. Fueled by the event, Johnson retired the first 10 Nationals he faced on his way to allowing just 2 hits and an unearned run in 6 innings of work. Jeremy Affeldt, Brandon Medders and Brian Wilson brought the win home for the Big Unit. Win 300 was one of his finest on the season.

Johnson has allowed only two runs in his last three starts, but make no mistake, that golden arm is starting to lose its luster. Randy has allowed seven runs three times this year and still sports an ERA over 5.00. Still, a very enthusiastic salute to RJ. He is easily the most doinant pitcher I have seen growing up and in person.

Jim McClennan at AZ Snakepit shares his thoughts on the next to 300. So does Tracy Ringolsby. They may disagree on who may be next to 300, but both agree it will probably be accomplished.

Padres play long again

San Diego went deep into a ball game again, this time losing to Arizona 9-6 yesterday at Petco. Some weird facts from the game:

Shortstop Josh Wilson gave up the winning 3-run HR to Mark Reynolds in the 18th. It was Wilson's third career appearance as a pitcher despite playing in only 140 big league games. Maybe Arizona had a scouting report on him. After all, he pitched a hitless inning for them earlier this season.
Reynolds had struck out with the go ahead run on second and two outs his previous two ABs before the HR. Special K indeed.
Bud Black had burned his bullpen so much he actually used starter Chad Gaudin before Wilson.
Backup catcher and former Rockie Henry Blanco played third base for the 18th inning.
Arizona actually no hit San Diego for the final nine innings.
The Padres have played five longer games in franchise history, losing all but one.
David Eckstein hit a dramatic 3-run HR with 2 outs in the ninth to send it to extras. Twilight zone...
Eighteen pitchers were used by both clubs.

NL West Report

Arizona (25-32, 4th, W1, 13 GB)

Last Week: 1-2 @ Padres, 2-1 @ Padres.

This Week: Finish off another of the stupid Fri-Mon four game series today at 8:05 MDT. Also, 3 game home series vs Astros, 3 game home series vs Giants

News: Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors interviewed Justin Upton. He hit .373 with 7 HR and 21 RBI in May. He injured his shoulder in yesterday's game and will sit tonight but doesn't figure to land on the DL.

Justin Upton

#10 / Right Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 25, 1987

Arizona has 7 of the first 64 picks in this year's draft, which starts tomorrow at 4MDT. Their first two picks are at 16 and 17. For comparison the Mets have zero picks in the first 64. All of these high picks have led the FO to increase their draft budget, perhaps spending eight digits.

Reliever Jon Rauch has struggled mightily this season to the tune of a 5.26 ERA. Rauch and AJ Hinch had a closed door meeting regarding his ineffectiveness. The former Nationals' closer was being counted on to stabilize an weakly projected bullpen.

Arizona will honor Randy Johnson for reaching 300 wins.

The always good-for-a-laugh Kenny Mayne interviewed Dan Haren Friday.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Yusmeiro Petit	shoulder	05/09/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Chad Tracy	oblique	05/30/2009
Tony Clark	other-excused	05/06/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	05/29/2009
Justin Upton	shoulder	06/08/2009

More on Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco after the jump by noon.

Los Angeles (39-20, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Diamondbacks, 2-2 @ Phillies

This Week: 2 game series vs Padres, 3 game series @ Rangers. Weird scheduling quirk again. After playing 17 consecutive days, Los Angeles gets two days off in a span of four days.

News: The headline is true. The United States Postal Service has awarded Dodgers Stadium and its associated properties its very own zip code. The area will be officially known as Dodgertown, California and has the zip code 90090.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Eric Stults	thumb	05/31/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Xavier Paul	knee	05/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (26-30, 3rd, L1, 11.5 GB)

Last Week: 0-3 vs Phillies, 1-2 vs Diamondbacks. That's a really disappointing week for a team at home. Perhaps they are coming back to earth for real this time.

This Week: Finish off the series with the Diamondbacks tonight. 2 game series @ Dodgers, 3 game series @ Angels.

News:

San Diego Padres Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jake Peavy	infection	06/08/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Scott Hairston	biceps	06/03/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009
Everth Cabrera	hand	04/20/2009

San Francisco (25-24, 2nd, W1, 8.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-1 @ Nationals, 2-1@ Marlins. It's always impressive when you win consecutive road series. Except maybe when those teams are a combined 29 games under .500 and 15 games under .500 at home.

This Week: Finish the fourth game of the Marlins series tonight at 5:10 MDT. 3 game series @ Diamondbacks, 3 game series vs Athletics.

News:

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	shoulder	06/08/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

With the Astros coming to town, Rox hope to finally blast off

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:00:16 -0000

The Rockies are 9-13 against the NL West and 2-4 against the NL East. They do not, however, having a losing record against the NL Central. Yeah yeah...that's a weak statement, being that they are 1-1 vs the Cubs in their only Central series so far. But Houston is coming to town, and I'm grasping at straws for positives regarding a team that has won just 2 of 11 series so far.

Colorado can thank Houston for giving them company in the NL West cellar. Houston finished off a sweep over the Padres Sunday with a season-high 12 runs on a season-high 16 hits. That sweep dropped Padres into a three-way tie with the Rockies and D-Backs until Arizona lost again last night. The teams split the season series last year at 3-3, with each team winning their home series two games to one.

This offseason, the 'Stros added Pudge Rodriguez, Russ Ortiz, Mike Hampton, and Jeff Keppinger and lost Randy Wolf, Brad Ausmus, Ty Wigginton.

Houston Astros (14-17, W3, 5th, 5.5 GB)

Tuesday-Thursday : 3-game series at Coors Field

Houston has had to battle some unplanned ineffectiveness. All-Star first baseman Lance Berkman in not only hurt - he has not played since Thursday with a wrist injury - but he is hitting below the Mendoza line. Quite the contrast from last year's torrid start. The Astros' lineup has three .300+ hitters, but it's not enough to make up for deficiences elsewhere. Houston grades out just a hair above San Diego and Pittsburgh for 23rd in wOBA.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI
Kazuo Matsui	.255	1	12
Michael Bourn	.287	1	9
Lance Berkman	.184	7	16
Carlos Lee	.333	6	26
Hunter Pence	.310	4	13
Miguel Tejada	.313	2	16
Ivan Rodriguez	.273	4	14
Geoff Blum	.253	0	6

The normally steady rotation has only one member below 4.50 ERA, and his name is not Roy Oswalt. After toiling at the back of the rotation for four years, Wandy Rodriguez has catapulted to become one of the top five starting pitchers in the league thus far. The rest of the rotation has been uneasy, but with Wandy, the Astros grade out as an average staff at 16th in MLB in ERA.

The Astros don't look to be in contention this year, but via Jon Heyman, they will not trade Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman due to "personal feelings for them plus the Astros' recent history of strong finishes." Some writers do want to trade Lee and Valverde though.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 6:40 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Felipe Paulino	1-2	5.23	1.89	17	10

Manager Cecil Cooper pulled Russ Ortiz from this scheduled start and replaced him with rookie Felipe Paulino. A combination of poor starts by Ortiz and horrndous bullpen appearances by Paulino led to the switch. Paulino's 4-run 0.2 IP appearance Thursday apparently did it. He has been scored upon in five of six appearances this year, three starts and three relief appearances. His bullpen ERA is 21.00 this year against just 2.55 in his starts. He'll throw a mid-90's fastball but uses a mid-80's slider frequently.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Ubaldo Jimenez	2-4	5.45	1.61	30	20

After stringing three straight horrible starts, Ubaldo rebounded with two very good ones...against a terrible Giants offense. Still, it appears he has found his control (3 BB in his last 14 IP), which is nearly always his greatest downfall. That will serve him well against an aggressive lineup overall.

Wednesday, May 13, 8:05 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Mike Hampton	1-3	4.91	1.55	26	15

He needs no introduction. The worst free agent signing in franchise history returns to Coors Field for the first time in over five years, back when Jeromy Burnitz was the Rockies' CF. His last win at Coors Field was in August 2003, when he beat Chin Hui Tsao despite serving up 11 hits. Hampton is 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA against Colorado since he was traded to Florida. Since returning from injury last year, Hampton no longer throws a slider but does use a cutter quite often.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Marquis	4-2	3.92	1.21	19	12

Marquis is stuck in a pattern. He started the year with two fantastic starts followed by a dud against a terrible offense. He promptly repeated the same cycle again. I guess that means we're in for two more great starts from Jason.

Thursday, May 14, 1:10 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Wandy Rodriguez	3-2	1.80	1.04	37	15

Wandy Rodriguez is quietly having one of the best season's of any NL hurler. He is 3rd in ERA, 13th in K's, 3rd in Quality Start %age, 5th in BAA against, and 6th in WHIP. There's really nothing more to say. He's having a career year. Let's mess it up.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	0-1	5.40	1.80	12	8

Jason Hammel has had two very bad outings and one very good one since being giving a starting spot. Given that his one good start was against the Giants at AT&T, he needs to pitch well, or we might be seeing a callup from the Springs to take his place.

Theoretically, this is a very winnable series. The Rockies have the better offense, what would seem to be the upper hand for pitching matchups, the home advantage , and the possibility of not seeing Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman.

Carlos Lee (.538/.600/.808) has been ridiculous over the past week. Ivan Rodriguez (.370/.400/.741) and Miguel Tejada (.367/.375/.700) may be old, but they are still hot stuff right now.

Geoff Blum (.063/.200.063) has done practically nothing in his past 7 games, but Jeff Keppinger (.200/.304/.250), Michael Bourn (.240/.321/.320), and Darin Erstad (.188/.235/.375) have kept him company in Suckville.

Brandon Backe, Doug Brocail and Jose Valverde are all on the 15-day DL. Valverde's injury has thrust former Rockie Latroy Hawkins into the closer role. Aaron Boone is on the 60 day DL after having open heart surgery six weeks ago.

NL West Report after the jump.

NL West Report

Arizona (13-20, 5th, L1, 9 GB)

Last Week: 0-2 @ Dodgers, 1-1 @ Padres, 1-2 vs Nationals, 0-1 vs Reds

This Week: Finish 2 games of 3 game series vs Reds, 3 game series @ Braves

News: Big news, obviously was the firing of 2007 Manager of the Year Bob Melvin. He was replaced by AJ Hinch, whose contract runs through 2012. Arizona responded by losing three straight 1-run games. Pitching coach Brian Price resigned due to reservations for working for Hinch. The Diamondbacks' season has been especially rough with Brandon Webb injured. Bob Melvin bid a classy farewell to the organization Friday.

Josh Whitesell

#29 / First Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Apr 14, 1982

Josh Whitesell is finally getting his reward. With Tony Clark on the DL, the D-Backs called up Whitesell to be the starting first baseman, relegating Chad Tracy to the bench. Tracy is hitting just .209 and does not have a hit in May.

Tonight they face former D-Back pitcher Micah Owings for the first time since the Adam Dunn trade. Owings hit a 9th inning, 2-out, game-tying home run against the Cards Sunday.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Yusmeiro Petit	shoulder	05/09/2009
Tony Clark	other-excused	05/06/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (22-11, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 2-0 vs D-Backs, 1-1 vs Nationals, 1-2 vs Giants. LA was 3-0 last week until news came out of Manny Ramirez' suspension. They promptly lost a home game vs the Nats, blowing a 6-0 by giving up 10 runs in the final 3 innings. That was their first home loss of the season, and they followed it up with their first home series loss vs. the Giants. Coincidence?

This Week: 3 game series @ Phillies, 3 game series @ Marlins. Maybe a change of scenery from Joe Torre's press conference will help the blue.

News: Obviously, the big news is Manny Ramirez taking women's fertility drugs. Or more accurately, his 50-game suspension. His statement:

Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

Manny Ramirez

#99 / Left Field / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 30, 1972

The suspension frees up payroll, but since the contract is deferred, the Dodgers will save $2.7million this year, and $1.37million the following three. LA may choose to invest that money in more pitching. No need to go into this more...except to point out they are 1-3 without Manny so far, all four games at home after going 13-0 to start the year at Dodgers Stadium.

Juan Pierre now gets the chance he wanted to start, though Joe Torre has hit him 9th.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	oblique	04/07/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (13-19, t-3rd, L3, 8.5 GB)

Last Week: 1-1 vs Rockies, 1-1 vs D-Backs, 0-3 @ Astros. San Diego has lost 4 of 5 and 10 of 12.

This Week: 3 game series @ Cubs, 3 game series vs Reds. Jake Peavy pitches twice this week, so GM Kevin Towers has the opportunity to see his ace's trade value go up.

News: Cha Seung Baek re-injured his elbow in a rehab start Sunday.

Cha Seung Baek

#53 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-4

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 29, 1980

The Pads recalled OF Drew Macias from AAA and optioned LHP Arturo Lopez. Lopez made his MLB debut against the Rockies last week and failed to retire any of the four hitters he faced.

An interesting and terrifying thought: with the money saved from Manny Ramirez' suspension, can the Dodgers now afford to trade for Jake Peavy?

San Diego Padres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
David Eckstein	ribs	05/12/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Walter Silva	forearm	04/14/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009
Everth Cabrera	hand	04/20/2009

San Francisco (17-14, 2nd, W2, 4 GB)

Last Week: 1-1 @ Cubs, 1-1 @ Rockies, 2-1 @ Dodgers, 1-0 vs Nationals. The Giants pulled out an above .500 week despite being on the road the whole time, including going to Dodger Stadium. Frisco is 4-1 since the Manny suspension. Hmm...

This Week: Finish two game of a 3 game series vs Nationals, 4 game series vs. Mets. A nice reward of being home after a strong week last week.

News: With Buster Posey on the fast track to the big leagues, the Giants may not feel inclined to re-sign Bengie Molina this offseason.

Buster Posey

#28 / Catcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 27, 1987

3B Pablo Sandoval can also play third base. Molina talks about his future with Andrew Baggarly. Posey could be playing games at AT&T park as early as next season, even though his has yet to play at AA.

McCovey Chronicles was giddy at the Giants' chances to catch the Dodgers after Manny's suspension, and after disposing of them on the road over the weekend, they should be.

Eric Seidman at FanGraphs discusses Barry Zito's success this season.

If the popup rate regresses towards the levels of the last two seasons, though, do not expect this success to continue.

Still, he notes "there is no reason he could not be one of the best fourth starters in baseball." If only that's what Brian Sabean was paying him for.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	shoulder	03/27/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	04/28/2009
Sergio Romo	elbow	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Poll

How optimistic are you for this series?

Extremely - We're going to seriously beat some Astros!

19 votes

Mildly - I think we will win the series, but I'm protecting my heart from being broken

37 votes

Not very - I fear that even with paltry Houston, we have a problem.

23 votes

Not at all - Wake me up when September ends and this torturish season is over

7 votes

86 votes | Poll has closed

Kevin Towers: "For Jake [Peavy] to even be an attractive piece for another ball club, he's going to have to step it up as well"

jbox — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:29:39 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) by Darren Smith

Towers is scouting USC Shortstop Grant Green. He might be the Padres #3 pick in the draft. They tried to sign him out of High School and after his Junior year at SC.
Jake and CY haven't been able to go deep in the ball games. The young inexperienced bullpen has been overexposed.
Baek felt good after his performance last night. He got his work in, got his pitch count up and faced live hitters. The results weren't what they wanted though, but he'll have two more rehab starts.
Baek will come back as a starter and one of the other guys. Either Correia or Geer will be sent down or sent to the bullpen.
The Padres aren't using an advanced scout. Josh Stein has been doing the work in-house, breaking down video. KT isn't opposed to advance scouts. The manager has to be comfortable with his advance scout. KT offered Buddy Black the option of getting one if he felt like he wasn't getting enough information. The problem hasn't been the scouting it has been the executing.
KT is somewhat pleased with the offense, he's is disappointed in the pitching. He didn't forsee Peavy and Young not being able to get deep in ball games. KT doesn't think it's because of a lack of scouting or information. He saw the quote where Peavy said that he didn't have enough information on a hitter. KT said the information is there for him before the game, "some guys utilize it and some don't".
Giles has more history of being a consistent performer. Jim Lefebvre has Kouz making some changes to his swing and sometimes they take time to return results. Adrian needs some protection in the line up if the team is going to score. Gerut has been swinging the bat well. KT likes Eckstein in the two hole. Hairston and Headley have done a good job.
"For us to continue to score we need better performances from both Kouz and Giles, I'm hoping it's a slow start and a bad April"
Luis Rodriguez has been doing a real good job. He's low maintence, makes all the plays that he should make. He is playing out of position, he is used to playing second. He doesn't have the range, but he puts the ball in play. They are really missing Cabrera, KT liked the platoon between them at shortstop.
Cliff Floyd still has fluid in the back of the knee. The fluid hasn't come back yet. He might need surgery he'll be out 4 weeks. [Cyndi Lauper's "Girls just want to have fun" starts blaring]
KT doesn't have a date in mind to make a decision about moving Peavy. He thinks the Padres could easily be 13-7. He's pretty pleased that the Pads are 11-10 with Giles, Kouz and Peavy not performing.
"For Jake to even be an attractive piece for another ball club, he's going to have to step it up as well. We're certainly not going to just give him away just to move the dollars. Any Peavy deal we would consider doing we're going to have to get good players back and for that to happen he's going to have to pitch better. It's two fold, hopefully we stay in it and stay competitive Hopefully he pitches a little bit better for the next two and a half months, makes it a difficult decision for us either to move him or hold onto him. As for right now, plan on him being here."

Will a Padre series bring a merry conclusion to April?

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:33:54 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

Adrian Gonzalez and those putrid uniforms are next on the docket for the Rockies.

Browse more photos »

Rockies fans are feeling glum about the season so far, yesterday aside, and that is understandable. We are about to close out the first month of the season, and Colorado has only pulled out one series win, and that was three weeks ago. To all you whose mood reflects the gray weather, I say:

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
San Diego's coming to town

That probably seems silly, seeing as how the Padres are far enough ahead that we can't leapfrog them even with a sweep. But I assure you for this series, I know if they've been bad or good, and we'll be good for goodness sake.

San Diego Padres (10-8, L2, 2nd in NL West)

Monday-Wednesday : 3-game series at Colorado

The Padres were the surprise team in MLB to start the season, but their slide back to earth has already commenced. San Diego is losers of five of their last six with their only win being a one-run extra inning affair with the Pirates.

The most intriguing aspect of this series is complete opposite recipes for wins and losses for Colorado and San Diego.

	Games Decided by 2 or less	Games Decided by 3 or more
San Diego	6-2	4-6
Colorado	0-6	6-5

This not only suggests we need to beat them up early, it leads to an overall interesting conclusion: With a -10 run differential, the Padres have a worse Pythagorean expected win percentage than the Rockies. In fact, one would expect the Padres to be fourth in the NL West with the Rockies second.

So are the Pads lucky? A bit, but a lot of credit must go to Heath Bell, who is doing his best Brad Lidge impression by getting seven saves in seven chances and allowing just three hits and no runs in 7.2 IP.

Still, San Diego can't sustain a winning record, as their pitching overall is middle of the pack (14th) and their offense is 22nd. Add to that that 3/5 of their rotation is now on the DL (Shawn Hill, Cha Seung Baek and Walter Silva), and you have a recipe for a team to continue to settle towards the bottom.

San Diego is 4-4 on the road, with all four wins coming on a trip to Philadelphia and New York against teams that struggled out of the gate.

Probable Pitchers:

Today, 6:40pm MDT

Chris Young has been the brightest starter so far for San Diego. The Padres are 3-1 in his starts this season, with the only loss coming in his best start, when he allowed no runs on two hits in 7.0 IP at San Francisco. Garrett Atkins is 7-for-25 with 3 HR in his career against Young.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Chris Young	2-0	3.42	1.18	17	8

Jason Hammel will make his debut as a Rockies and NL starter tonight. After a nervous debut out of the pen, he has looked outstanding in allowing no runs on two hits in his last four innings. Jason Marquis' start yesterday afforded the bullpen rest, so should Hammel falter, a safety net is in place. Kevin Kouzmanoff is the only Padre to face Hammel, and he collected a double in three ABs.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	0-0	2.70	1.35	5	2

Tuesday, April 28, 6:40pm MDT

Josh Geer will be making his second start this season. His debut was a beauty against the World Champs April 19, but he faltered when he relieved injured Shawn Hill against Pittsburgh. Geer allowed just 3 runs in 10 innings in two appearanced vs Colorado in 2008.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Josh Geer	0-0	4.91	1.18	5	0

Jorge de la Rosa had a streak of nine straight scoreless innings break in his last start against Arizona, but he is nevertheless coming off of two strong outings despite not having his best stuff. He allowed 6 runs in 7.1 IP against the Padres last year, with both appearances at Coors Field.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	0-2	3.78	1.62	14	10

Wednesday, April 29, 1:10pm MDT

Kevin Correia has three starts and all of them very similar: 5-6 IP, 2-3 ER, 2-4 BB, and 3-5 K's on 95-98 pitches. His game scores have been between 48 and 51, so he has been the model of consistency and mediocrity. He is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA since 2006 vs Colorado. Consistent, mediocre and boring.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Kevin Correia	0-1	4.50	1.44	13	10

We all know about Aaron Cook. The "Ace" has yet to achieve a game score as high as Correia's worst start despite having two "quality starts." Cook's "best" starts of the season have come at home, so we'll see.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Aaron Cook	0-1	8.35	2.13	10	10

Adrian Gonzalez was 8-for-22 with 2 HR last week to continue a strong start, while Scott Hairston is 5 for his last 12 with a double and a triple. Heath Bell pitched another scoreless inning (of course).

Jody Gerut was just 1-for-17 last week while Nick Hundley was 1-for-13. Kevin Correia, Eulogio de la Cruz, Luis Perdomo, Jake Peavy, Cla Meredith, Josh Geer, and Shawn Hill all had ERAs over 5.00 last week.

Cha Seung Baek, Shawn Hill and Walter Silva are all on the 15-day DL, while Everth Cabrera is out for two months with a broken left hand. SS Luis Rodriguez was admitted to the hospital with an allergic reaction Saturday, but he has been released and cleared to play.

NL West Report after the jump

NL West Report

Arizona (7-11, 4th, W1)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Rockies, 1-2 vs. Giants. After rebounding against the struggling Rockies, the D-Backs were nearly swept at home by San Fran before they eeked out a walkoff win in the 12th inning yesterday

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Cubs, 4 game road series at Brewers. The week's schedule isn't kind for Arizona, but they will have Dan Haren pitching twice, including today.

News: Terrible news came down Saturday for Diamondbacks fans, as ace Brandon Webb will be forced to miss an additional six weeks with a shoulder injury.

Brandon Webb

#17 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 09, 1979

Missing Webb for well over a third of the season will be a difficult obstacle to overcome - since the start of 2007, Arizona is only 132-141 in games not started by Webb. Diamondbacks beat writer Nick Piecolo already suspects Arizona might be sellers at the trade deadline.

Shortstop Stephen Drew finally landed on the 15-day DL after the original injury eight days prior. Drew was completely ineffective in his attempts to return to the lineup Wednesday and Friday.

Arizona called up former Sky Sox IF Josh Wilson to take Drew's place and swapped Doug Slaten for Esmerling Vasquez.

Tom Gordon could also be activated today.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	elbow	04/27/2009
Stephen Drew	hamstring	04/25/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (13-6, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 1-2 at Astros, 2-1 at Rockies. Los Angeles failed to have a winning week for the first time this season. The red hot start was clearly cooled by hitting the road as evidenced by nearly getting swept by Houston and being outscored by four at Coors Field.

This Week: 3 game road series at Giants, 4 game home series vs Padres.

News: Another NL West Opening Day starter is having trouble in trying to get back to the mound. Hiroki Kuroda felt increased tightness in his oblique after a bullpen session.

Hiroki Kuroda

#18 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 10, 1975

Kuroda wouldn't call it a setback, citing that it felt better the next day, but any lingering tightness could spell future doom. He is on the DL indefinitely, as he will need several rehab starts once he is finally cleared to start.

Kuroda's absence brightens the limelight on the back of the rotation, James McDonald specifically. As Eric Stephen points out, McDonald has been fantastic to start games but falls apart after a few innings. This in part led to speculation that McDonald could slide to the bullpen in favor of Ramon Troncoso, but for now, McDonald remains in the rotation.

This would seem to imply that the Dodgers could sign Pedro Martinez, but

Ned Colletti thinks the price is too high.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	oblique	04/07/2009
Cory Wade	shoulder	04/12/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (10-8, 2nd, L2)

Last Week: 0-2 at Giants, 1-2 vs Pirates. Monday's game at the Phillies was postponed due to weather.

This Week: 3 game series at Rockies, 4 game series at Dodgers. The fall for grace is likely to complete this week after road series at the win-starved Rockies and division leading Dodgers, who are undefeated at Dodgers Stadium.

News: Everth Cabrera was hit by a pitch and broke a bone in his hand eight days ago. Cabrera will miss two months, so the Padres shook the foundations of the NL West by reacquiring Chris Burke.

Having three starting pitchers on the disabled list might make some GMs panic into acquiring a pitcher, but Kevin Towers will stick with internal options. Recently acquired Chad Gaudin will be brought up today, and he is a candidate to fill Thursday's opening in the rotation.

San Diego Padres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Luis Rodriguez	other-excused	04/27/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Walter Silva	forearm	04/14/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009
Everth Cabrera	hand	04/20/2009

San Francisco (8-9, 3rd, L1)

Last Week: 2-0 vs Padres, 2-1 vs Diamondbacks. The Giants are the NL West's hottest team, having won five of six.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Dodgers, 3 game home series vs Rockies. The Giants are in a good place, having allowed the third least runs in MLB, surprisingly behind Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Another good week in the division will go a long way in rebounding from their 2-7 start.

News: Chris Haft points out that the limit on walks have helped the pitching staff excel so far. He also features Fred Lewis as a potential All-Star. He has had a nice season, but seriously, don't pull out the comparison to Barry Bonds. That's just foolish.

Fred Lewis

#14 / Left Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Dec 09, 1980

There's a nice article about former Rockie Jeremy Affleldt being the first pro athlete to join Not For Sale, a foundation created to combat human trafficking.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	shoulder	03/27/2009
Sergio Romo	elbow	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Poll

You know the drill.

0 - Yep, the Rockies are bad enough to get swept at home by San Diego

1 votes

1 - I'm not predicting a series win until I see they are capable of doing it again

23 votes

2 - San Diego is just not that good. No sweep, but a series win to close out April for sure

27 votes

3 - The results don't show it yet but they will. We are just a better team.

27 votes

78 votes | Poll has closed

Kevin Towers pleased so far with the Padres

jbox — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:40:37 -0000

Kevin Towers Interview (MP3)

Padres are pretty pleased with the results so far. They knew they were going to have a tough schedule to start the season. KT is pleased but disappointed that they couldn't at least get the split in San Francisco with Peavy and Young pitching.
Bengie Molina has been a thorn in the Padres side the last couple of years. Moreno actually threw the ball well but Molina went down and got the change up away.
There is a lot of inexperience in the bullpen. Moreno threw the ball a lot better than he did in Philly.
Gregerson threw the ball really well two inning prior to the loss. If we could have gotten the runner on third base home with less than two outs then Bell would have come in and we wouldn't have needed Moreno.
Giles is pressing a bit. Opposing pitchers are pitching him high. When Giles is going good, he takes those pitches. Giles has only scored one run, which is amazing with Adrian hitting behind him. KT has a lot of confidence that Giles will come around. If Giles was swinging the bat well the Pads might have a couple more wins. KT will leave it up to Buddy Black if he wants to change Giles in the order. The worst thing you can do is sit Giles.
Cliff Floyd still has a little bit of swelling in the knee. There is no pain in the shoulder. On Friday they may send him to Elsinore for a few rehab games and be reactivated.
Baek will throw a simulated game this weekend or next week.
KT is hoping that Chad Guadin will be a solid middle of the rotation starter. They are trying to get his pitch count up. He's got an out clause on May 13th where they have to call him to the big leagues as a starter or give him his release so he should be up in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Know Your Foe: Visiting Chase Field never looked so good

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:40:47 -0000

More photos » by Eric Risberg - AP

The frustrated Diamondbacks are there for the taking if Colorado hopes to turn their own frowns upside-down.

Browse more photos »

The Rockies have completed four series thus far, winning one, tying one, and losing two. After a sweep punctuated by an embarrassing loss Sunday, a return to play Arizona in the desert might be just what Colorado needs. Did I just say that? Forget the past - that's history. What matters is right now, and the Rockies will be playing the coldest team in the majors, and the one team they have beaten in a series this year to boot.

Arizona Diamondbacks (4-8, L1, t-4th in NL West)

Monday-Wednesday : 3-game series at Colorado

As bitter as it tastes to be a Rockies fan after this past week, it's far worse being a D-Backs fan right now. Check it out:

Arizona managed just TWO runs in their weekend set at AT&T.
Despite allowing just four runs in three starts, Dan Haren is 0-3 - one total run of support will do that to you.
At one point last week, not a single D-Back crossed home plate for 20 innings.
Their run differential is -22, dead last in the majors (even the 1-10 Nats)
Six losses in eight games.
Rankings at the bottom of the barrel all around:

Team Stat	MLB Rank	Amt
wOBA	28th	.293
OPS	26th	.680
Average	28th	.227
Runs For	27th	40
ERA	20th	5.18
Runs Against	20th	62
K's For	25th	70

For perspective, their team wOBA is worse than Willy Taveras was last season. And those pitching stats aren't even misleading - their staff has allowed the 7th lowest BABIP in the bigs. Quite frankly, Arizona is performing like everyone thought San Diego would. DbacksSkins has issued advice to himself and his brethren. Jim McLennan at the 'Pit has 10 reasons to be fearful for Arizona fans.

Colorado faced the hottest team in the majors this weekend on the road, and now it's time to take on arguably the coldest. It will be a great opportunity to rebound while simultaneously returning the favor of sending Arizona spiralling downward in April.

Probable Pitchers:

Today, 7:40pm MDT

Battle of the new veterans:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jon Garland	1-1	8.44	1.96	2	8

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Marquis	2-0	1.93	1.00	5	4

Jason Marquis looks like the better veteran rotation addition so far. Anything close to his two previous starts should be a streak-breaker. Jon Garland has never faced the Rockies in his career. Marquis is 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA vs Arizona since 2006.

Tuesday, April 21, 1:40pm MDT

Battle of the pseudo-5th starters:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
009 - Franklin Morales	1-0	1.50	0.83	6	1

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Yusmeiro Petit	0-1	7.71	1.57	7	4

Yusmeiro Petit filled in the fifth spot in the rotation when Brandon Webb landed on the DL and struggled, while Franklin Morales returns to the fifth spot in the Rockies rotation after a scoreless outing in AAA. The Petit Unit has allowed two runs in seven innings in his career vs Colorado; Morales is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA vs Arizona in three career starts.

Wednesday, April 22, 1:40pm MDT

Battle of the unfairly winless:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	0-1	4.50	1.70	8	6

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Dan Haren	0-3	1.89	0.79	17	3

Dan Haren leads MLB with three losses, but he has been the victim of historically minimal run support. Jorge de la Rosa allowed no runs in his last start, but a blown save foiled his chance for his first win. Haren is 3-2 with a 2.85 ERA vs. Colorado since 2006, and DLR is 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA vs the Snakes.

Lineup:

What follows is what was considered the best line-up Arizona had to start the season, but as is evident, the struggling offense will breed a lineup shuffle in order and personnel.

Player	Avg	HR	RBI
Lopez	.370	2	4
Young	.238	1	3
Drew	.222	1	5
Jackson	.200	1	7
Tracy	.290	1	6
Upton	.185	0	1
Reynolds	.257	2	5
Snyder	.100	0	1

It's a bad sign when your best player is 0-3. Dan Haren (0-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 17 K) has allowed just four runs in his three starts but lost all three of them. Felipe Lopez stayed hot after his historic Opening Day. He hit .462 last week in 26 ABs.

How about the rest of the lineup? Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Eric Byrnes, Chris Snyder and Chris Young all failed to record as many hits last week as Ian Kinsler did Wednesday alone. The entire offense frozen, especially with runners in scoring position.

Stephen Drew left Friday's game with a left hamstring injury. He is day to day but has not played since Friday. Augie Ojeda has taken his place in the line-up, hitting leadoff and pushing the hot-hitting Lopez to the three-hole.

NL West Report after the jump

NL West Report

Arizona (4-8, t-4th, L1)

Last Week: 1-2 vs Cardinals, 1-2 at Giants. Arizona has lost every series this season, three of them at home. Getting buried early while

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Rockies, 3 game home series vs Giants

News: Brandon Webb threw a flat-ground bullpen session yesterday, and will throw off the mound tomorrow. Jim McLennan says it "doesn't seem he'll be back soon." The course of action Arizona will take with Webb is entirely dependent on his performance tomorrow.

Stephen Drew

#6 / Short Stop / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Mar 16, 1983

Stephen Drew left Friday's game with a hamstring injury and has not played since, and Mark Reynolds missed Sunday's game with a left quadriceps strain.

D-Backs fans can at least take refuge in the fact that their AAA team is going strong. Until the Sky Sox won yesterday, the Visalia Rawhide were undefeated. 2008 Minor League Player of the Year Josh Whitesell is on fire, so perhaps he could see some playing time soon over struggling Tony Clark.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Stephen Drew	hamstring	04/20/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	elbow	03/27/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (10-3, 2nd, W8)

Last Week: 3-0 vs Giants, 3-0 vs Rockies. The Dodgers have the greatest run differential in the majors at +42. That eclipses 11-1 Florida by 11.

This Week: 3 game road series at Giants, 3 game road series at Rockies. Los Angeles owns MLB's longest win streak this season, though all but two of those games came at home. Los Angeles will hit the road for their next nine games, so hopefully they will slow down away from Chavez Ravine.

News: The Dodgers are one of three teams rumored to be interested in Mark Mulder. The former Athletic and Cardinal is still a few weeks away from being ready to pitch.

Mark Mulder

#30 / Pitcher / Free Agent

Height: 6-6

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 05, 1977

Signed LHP Chuck Tiffany to a minor league contract and will be assigned to extended spring training. Tiffany was traded to Tampa Bay in the Danys Baez deal in 2006 and was released by the Rays last month.

The Dodgers traded OF Delwyn Young to the Pirates Wednesday for two PTBNL's. Young was out of options and injured.

Los Angeles is on a tear to start the season, but it can't last forever. Sky Kalkman ran the CHONE projections again Saturday for the remaining games, and the Dodgers finished just two games north of .500. If after the weekend sweep you want to see more bad press on the Dodgers, check out GM Ned Colletti's all-time team of players he gave up on.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	oblique	04/07/2009
Cory Wade	shoulder	04/12/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (9-4, 2nd, W4)

Last Week: 2-1 at Mets, 2-1 at Phillies. Despite facing the top two NL East favorites on the road, the Padres continue to roll. A blown save yesterday by Edwin Moreno prevented a 5-1 week. Heath Bell, who leads MLB with 7 saves (3 more than anyone else), was unavailable due to multiple recent appearances.

This Week: 1 game to finish 4 game series at Phillies, 2 game road series at Giants, 3 game home series vs Pirates.

News: 2B Trivis Denker was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox last Tuesday.

Travis Denker

San Diego Padres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 205

Born: Aug 05, 1985

Paul DePodesta answers questions regarding Denker, the sporadic use of Eulogio de la Cruz, and why the Friars carry 13 pitchers.

The Padres have surprised so far this season with their 9-4 record. If they remain in contention, they have the payroll flexibility to add a piece in a push for the playoffs.

Walter Silva strained his forearm and will head to the DL.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Everth Cabrera	other-excused	04/20/2009
Walter Silva	forearm	04/14/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009

San Francisco (4-8, t-4th, W1)

Last Week: 0-3 at Los Angeles, 2-1 vs Arizona. It is hard to gauge San Francisco, as they faced the division's hottest and coldest teams in the same week.

This Week: 2 game home series vs Padres, 3 game road series at Arizona.

News: GM Brian Sabean is reportedly back-tracking on another bad contract. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the Giants are trying to unload Aaron Rowand, with the White Sox as a possibility.

Aaron Rowand

#33 / Center Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 29, 1977

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Aaron Rowand	.297	.350	.541

For any trade to take place, San Francisco would have to eat a large portion of his contract. Such a trade would hurt former Rockie Scott Podsednik's chance to make a contribution in Chicago.

El Lefty Malo notes that many fans are pointing to 2010 as the year the Giants will compete. He isn't so sure.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	shoulder	03/27/2009
Sergio Romo	elbow	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Poll

How many games will Colorado take from Arizona this series?

0 - This team is in such disarray, even another struggling team will sweep them

10 votes

1 - That's the most you can hope for with the bottom three of the rotation in the queue

27 votes

2 - Arizona has lost every series this season and is ice cold. The Rox are struggling too much to expect a sweep, but a series win is in the bag.

54 votes

3 - We might be struggling, but Arizona is worse off than when we took two in the desert two weeks ago. The Snakes are banished to the cellar

26 votes

117 votes | Poll has closed

Know Your Foe: Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:15:08 -0000

Arizona Diamondbacks

There are not many teams that are this close to solidifying their 25-man roster for the 2009 season. That is largely due to the small turnover the roster felt over the off-season. Gone are Orlando Hudson, Randy Johnson, Adam Dunn, Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz but they were replaced aptly with Felipe Lopez, Tom Gordon, Scott Schoeneweis and Jon Garland as well as internal options.

via www.baseball-reference.com

Lineup:

All eight starters are already locked up for Arizona, and only Felipe Lopez differs from last year's line-up. The Diamondbacks hope the continuity and growth of their young hitters is enough to build a strong lineup. Even the line-up order is fairly set...Stephen Drew and Chris Young might swap positions against LHP.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Felipe Lopez	2B	552	.274	11	56	.349	.400	.335
2	Chris B. Young	CF	527	.260	25	77	.336	.482	.358
3	Stephen Drew	SS	532	.276	16	66	.340	.451	.346
4	Conor Jackson	LF	469	.296	14	75	.384	.465	.375
5	Justin Upton	RF	435	.257	16	60	.349	.444	.348
6	Chad Tracy	1B	445	.276	16	60	.339	.452	.346
7	Mark Reynolds	3B	468	.254	22	81	.333	.462	.347
8	Chris Snyder	C	332	.241	13	51	.344	.419	.340

Looking at wOBA, we can conclude the D-Backs line-up features zero elite hitters, one very good hitter (Jackson), five above average hitters (Young, Drew, Upton, Tracy and Reynolds) and two average hitters (Lopez, Snyder). That's a decent distribution, especially considering the relative youth of the line-up.

Arizona's line-up projects to score 4.924 runs/game (peaking at 4.959 arranged differently). That's the same as 797.7 total runs, which ranks them right in the middle of the NL West.

Bench:

The Diamondbacks bench is also very set. Eric Byrnes will remain an overpaid fourth outfielder, and pinch-hitter Tony Clark returns to continue blocking Minor League Player of the Year Josh Whitesell. Augie Ojeda fills in as the primary utility infielder, and Miguel Montero is an above average offensive back-up catcher.

Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Miguel Montero	C	178	.256	12	54	.329	.419	.330
Eric Byrnes	OF	495	.259	17	60	.322	.428	.333
Tony Clark	1B/PH	206	.238	11	37	.326	.437	.336
Augie Ojeda	IF	274	.245	2	27	.334	.321	.303
James Skelton	IF/C	370	.246	5	40	.351	.346	.320

The final spot on the bench is between James Skelton and Ryan Roberts. Both can play catcher, so Montero could be utilized frequently as a pinch hitter. Skelton is a Rule 5 draft pick from the Tigers, so that gives him a slight edge over Roberts, who has had a very strong spring.

Rotation:

The theme continues, as all five starting pitchers are set in the rotation. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren return as the best 1-2 punch in the NL West. Doug Davis is an average #3 starter at best, but I like recently signed Jon Garland in the #4 starter slot. Youngster Max Scherzer will be the fifth starter to start the year. Given worries about his arm following a winter injury, manager Bob Melvin will take great care with the young gun.

Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K
Brandon Webb	209	13	10	3.34	1.33	166
Dan Haren	203	12	10	3.41	1.23	190
Doug Davis	154	7	10	4.54	1.62	114
Jon Garland	187	9	12	4.48	1.50	102
Max Scherzer	83	5	4	3.84	1.29	94

The Diamondbacks' rotation is clearly a top two rotation in the division. If Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain falter after getting abused last season by Bruce Bochy, Arizona's rotation will easily pass the Giants as the class of the NL West.

Bullpen:

Chad Qualls assumes the closer role he probably should have had going into 2008 as Brandon Lyon left for Detroit. Tony Pena moves up to the set-up role, and former Washington closer Jon Rauch comes in as a solid 7th inning man. Scott Schoeneweis came over from New York to be Bob Melvin's LOOGY.

Role	Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K/9
Closer	Chad Qualls	70	4	3	3.50	1.29	7.97
Set-up	Tony Pena	75	4	4	3.85	1.23	6.72
7th inn.	Jon Rauch	69	4	4	3.84	1.28	7.70
LOOGY	Scott Schoeneweis	48	2	3	4.71	1.60	6.00
Long Relief	Yusmeiro Petit	117	6	7	4.74	1.32	7.15
Relief	Billy Buckner	77	3	5	4.71	1.42	6.70
Relief	Doug Slaten	47	2	3	4.44	1.42	6.60

Yusmeiro Petit, today's starter is the favorite for the long relief role, though Juan Gutierrez still has a longshot chance for the role. Billy Buckner will probably be the mop-up reliever, and Doug Slaten is battling with Travis Blackley for the last spot. Once Tom Gordon returns from injury, he'll take that spot. That's a pretty solid bullpen.

Why the Diamondbacks will win the NL West:

This is the most balanced team in the division. Their entire pitching staff just might be the best in the division, and their offense is competitive if not spectacular. For a team with very few question marks, a step forward for some of their young hitters could be enough to push them to the top.

Why the Diamondbacks will NOT win the NL West:

They might be balanced, but the line-up will still rank near the top of the league in strikeouts and is still relatively weak. To wit: Arizona's #3 hitter, Stephen Drew has a lower projected wOBA than EVERY projected Rockies starter except Clint Barmes. Then consider their cleanup hitter (and best hitter overall)) failed to hit a home run in his last 201 at-bats last year. Not a misprint - his last one was July 27. The offense will be improved as a whole but it still won't be enough to compete with other NL West teams with more flash.

San Diego Padres

The Padres are absolutely the antithesis to Arizona. San Diego has more question marks in the last week of the spring than I've seen from any team in a long time. They are going to be bad. Very very bad.

via upload.wikimedia.org

Lineup:

The core of the lineup is set with Giles, Gonzalez, Kouzmanoff, Headley and Hundley down the middle.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Jody Gerut	CF	381	.278	13	45	.348	.449	.350
2	David Eckstein	2B	461	.269	4	32	.337	.347	.310
3	Brian Giles	RF	512	.266	12	60	.371	.398	.346
4	Adrian Gonzalez	1B	554	.283	28	91	.359	.500	.373
5	Kevin Kouzmanoff	3B	487	.273	20	76	.324	.458	.341
6	Chase Headley	LF	488	.258	14	61	.342	.410	.335
7	Nick Hundley	C	416	.224	14	61	.284	.375	.292
8	Luis Rodriguez	SS	291	.261	3	24	.332	.351	.309

The unproven Luis Rodriguez could get bumped in favor of Adrian Gonzalez' brother Edgar. If so, David Eckstein would slide over to shortstop. Jody Gerut's sole competition is the man that almost prevented Rocktober: Scott Hairston.

This line-up would be expected to produce 4.443 runs/game as constructed (or a max of 4.543 with optimal orientation). This equates to 719.8 total runs during the season. That means the Padres have the worst line-up in the division, although they trail San Francisco by just .005 runs/game.

You know the drill. Let's look at wOBA. From that we can conclude that the starting lineup features zero elite hitters, one very good hitter (Gonzalez), two above average hitters (Giles, Gerut), two average hitters (Kouzmanoff, Headley), two below average hitters (Rodriquez, Eckstein) and one terrible hitter (Hundley). Their line-up has a wider variety of hitters than the Giants' line-up, but it is still just as bad. They'll need some surprises up the middle to be a threat.

Bench:

Former Rockie Henry Blanco was signed to back up the young Nick Hundley. Edgar Gonzalez and Scott Hairston are guaranteed bench spots if they don't crack the line-up. San Diego also signed Cliff Floyd, who has switched from being the DH for the AL champion Rays to being stuck on the bench for likely the league's worst team.

Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Henry Blanco	C	193	.223	4	22	.275	.321	.268
Everth Cabrera	IF	195	.205	2	10	.260	.259	.247
Edgar Gonzalez	IF	300	.266	5	33	.325	.381	.314
Scott Hairston	OF	333	.249	16	45	.322	.453	.338
Cliff Floyd	OF/1B	244	.246	9	36	.333	.407	.330

Of interest to Rockies fans, Everth Cabrera indeed looks to have a roster spot lined up after the Padres traded Chris Burke yesterday. Matt Antonelli, Emil Brown and Will Venable will see playing time throughout the season as well.

Rotation:

Jake Peavy will be the Opening Day starter for the fourth straight year. Chris Young tries to return to 2007 form after an injury-riddled 2008, but CHONE is buying none of that. Cha Seung Baek, average at best, was supposed to be the #3 starter, though he is injured and may start the season on the DL.

Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K
Jake Peavy	177	12	8	3.40	1.19	175
Chris R. Young	114	6	6	4.45	1.32	95
Cha Seung Baek	98	5	5	4.17	1.30	67
Kevin Correia	100	6	5	3.61	1.30	81
Walter Silva	No	pr	oje	ction	s avai	lable

Nothing is guaranteed past that. Kevin Correia is the favorite to be the fourth starter based on his experience, even though he's mostly been a bullpen arm in his career. The fifth starter job is absolutely wide open. Walter Silva, a 32-yo RHP San Diego purchased from the Mexican League, is the favorite currently for the #5 spot. Josh Geer, who had a five-start cameo last year, might fill that role eventually, although he was cut last Monday. Cesar Ramos might even get the nod despite posting an abysmal 1.60 WHIP and 5.29 ERA in his first year at AAA in 2008. The Padres did sign Shawn Hill, though it remains to be seen what his role will be. He might slip into the rotation while Baek is out.

Read between the lines...this is the worst rotation Petco Park has seen, and it won't get any better if/when Peavy is traded.

Bullpen:

If the rotation is a bad traffic collision, the bullpen is the Hindenburg. Now that Hell's Bells will no longer ring at Petco, the closer position will be filled by Trevor's most recent set-up man, Heath Bell, who figures to be solid in that role. Cla Meredith slides up to the set-up man, and the former Met and Dodger Duaner Sanchez is in line for late inning work. The Mets let Sanchez go; he hasn't been the same since a 2006 taxicab accident.

Role	Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K/9
Closer	Heath Bell	75	5	3	3.21	1.21	8.76
Set-up	Cla Meredith	74	5	3	3.48	1.26	6.57
7th inn.	Duaner Sanchez	42	4	2	3.77	1.36	7.13
LH Relief	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Relief	Mike Adams	65	4	3	3.33	1.23	9.00
Relief	Shawn Hill	76	4	5	4.13	1.41	5.53
Relief	Cesar Ramos	141	7	9	5.12	1.52	4.59

After that, your guess is as good as anyone's. Some have reported as many as four bullpen spots will be filled through waivers. Mike Adams may find himself a bullpen spot. Former Rockie Justin Hampson and Rule 5 pick from the Yankees Ivan Nova were placed on waivers last week, as was Jae Kuk Ryu, claimed by the Indians. Joe Thatcher was also cut, so two LHP from the bullpen last year won't be there to start. The Padres acquired RHP Luke Gregorson to complete Khalil Greene trade and Eulogio de la Cruz, who was bought from the Marlins last week could find a bullpen or rotation spot. UPDATE: Ivan Nova was returned to the Yankees.

Getting the picture? It's true...one week until Opening Day, and the Padres bullpen is not even half resolved. What a disaster. Keep an eye on the waiver wire - many pitchers ousted at the end of Spring Training could find a home in San Diego, including Juan Morillo or Baltimore RHP Hayden Penn, if the O's are careless.

Why the Padres will win the NL West:

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Why the Padres will NOT win the NL West:

Going into 2008, the Giants were nearly the unanimous choice to finish last in the NL West. But given their solid rotation, it was easy to imagine a scenario where they would surprise. That is NOT the case with the Padres.

They have the division's worst lineup, a suspect bench, their worst rotation this decade, and an abominable bullpen. Not only do they have no chance of winning the division, but you have to wonder if there's a chance they could avoid 100 losses.

Know Your Foe: Who is James McDonald?

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:30:07 -0000

"It is time for the 2009 World Series. The NL West champions send out their young stud to the mound, a 25-year-old right-hander who brings an intimidating swagger to the mound despite his gangly 6' 4" 200-pound frame. The young gun whips a 95mph fastball past the hitter with ease, then drops a knee-buckling curve perfectly through the zone. It is apparent this kid has top-of-the-rotation potential for years to come."

Rockies fans are certainly hoping the above scenario applies to Ubaldo Jimenez this fall. However, it could just as easily be James McDonald of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

James McDonald

#52 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-5

Weight: 195

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Oct 19, 1984

The lanky right-hander from Long Beach was an 11th round draft pick in 2002 of the Dodgers. Arm trouble facilitated his transition to the outfield for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. McDonald was atrocious with the bat, as he could hardly manage a .600 OPS as he toiled in rookie ball in both seasons. He retook the mound in rookie ball once again 2005 at age 20 and began his ascent.

McDonald moved up a level per year until 2008, performing exceedingly well at each. He never had an ERA over 4, or a WHIP over 1.30. Complete minor league stats.

The Long Beach product completed his ascent with an impressive major league debut on September 17, 2008 against the Pirates and completed the regular season with six innings pitched. He also tossed 5.1 scoreless innings in the NLDS vs. Philadelphia. But Eric Stephen from TrueBlueLA points out that McDonald was pitching in minimal leveraged situations in regular season and called his playoff outings "mop-up" duty.

McDonald, on his postseason debut: "It wasn't nervousness - it was excitement. This is where I wanted to be. This is where I expected to be."

Scouting Report

McDonald may have a similar wiry frame to Jimenez, but his approach is altogether different. In fact, his repertoire more resembles Brandon Hynick.

Ed Price at Baseball America reported that McDonald had the best control and best changeup in the Dodgers' organization even before his breakout year in 2008. He waslisted as the No. 2 starter in the ~~2012~~ 2011 projection. McDonald also boasts a plus 12-6 curve.

TrueBlueLA's Eric Stephen weighs in:

"I think James McDonald will be a very good starter, but alas it seems he is destined, at least to start 2009, to be in the bullpen. I don't really agree with the move, because I think he is the best option to be the club's 5th starter. Wherever he pitches in 2009, I expect McDonald to excel."

I personally agree with the allocation of JMcD in the bullpen. His top two pitches are his curveball and changeup. Adding a third plus pitch to that makes him devastating out of the bullpen. Reports are that he has added 4-5mph to his fastball while working out of the pen, so now his "weakest" pitch is a fastball that can touch 96mph. A pitcher with three plus pitches and exceptional control spells DOOM for offenses late in the game.

The Dodgers' current setup man for closer Jonathan Broxton is Hong-Chih Kuo. McDonald has the talent to step into that setup role by season's end if Kuo falters or is injured.

If you're interested in more, check out Kensai's analysis at Fire Ned Colletti Now.

Projections

You won't get anything from the projections at fangraphs. Marcel projects far too few innings. Oliver and Bill James don't even bother to chime in. CHONE has him listed as a starter. TrueBlueLA has no finite projections.

Verdict: Don't put too much stock into McDonald's success thus far at the major league level - all were mop up duty. The guy was in AA at this point last year and aas a predominant minor league starter, he may need to adjust to life in the bullpen.

With that said, you don't get a "young" player with three plus pitches and very good control all that often. His control will help avoid the rookie meltdown. Don't be surprised if Joe Torre turns to him in higher leverage situations quite soon.

Arizona (3-2)

AZ Snakepit voted on the biggest threat to the D-Backs divisonal hopes in 2009. The Rockies got just 2% of the vote, and even got outvoted by Slumdog Millionaire.

Tony Pena

#56 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 09, 1982

Signed RHP Tony Pena Saturday to a 1-year $430k contract. Pena pitched in 72 games in relief for Arizona in 2008, recording three saves and a 4.33 ERA. Also signed in the past week are pitchers Yusmeiro Petit, Leo Rosales and Kyler Newby, who each signed one-year deals near the league minimum.

R HP Juan Cruz signed with Kansas City Saturday on a 2-year, $5.5million contract. The 30-year-old led NL relievers in K/IP in 2008. The signing did not involve a sign-and-trade deal, so Arizona will receive compensation for the Type A-free agent, a week after obtaining Los Angeles' 17th overall pick in compensation for Orlando Hudson.

Rox Girl reports that the Diamondbacks have odor issues.

Hasty Haiku:

The Diamondbacks stink

Pen loses Cruz, keeps Pena

Have many high picks

Los Angeles (2-3)

The soap opera courtship between Manny Ramirez, Scott Boras, Frank McCourt and Ned Colletti continues, with still no contract. They are reportedly less than $2million apart. . I'll leave it at that.

The news spring training home of the Dodgers (and Tucson deserting White Sox) Camelback Ranch opened yesterday.

via www.latimes.com

Agreed to terms with six players for 2009 on Saturday. They are Blake DeWitt, Scott Elbert, Victor Garate, Matt Kemp, Lucas May and James McDonald.

Eric Stephen at TrueBlueLA rated the projected double play combos in the NL West. Barmes/Tulowitzki came up last offensively, but first defensively.

Signed IF Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league contract. Mientkiewicz could fill in on the bench.

Hasty Haiku:

Signed Doug Mientkiewicz

Desert Camelback opens

Manny still unsigned

San Diego (2-1-2)

Signed 29 pre-arbitration players to one-year contracts Friday. Those notable include Cla Meredith, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Cha Seung Baek, Wade LeBlanc and Chase Headley.

Blogger Lyle Spencer dreams up a scenario of trading Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez for 10 players.

Jake Peavy reportedly sang "Go Cubs Go" in a Las Vegas bar in December. Naturally he denies this. Yet he still could be a Cub by May.

Brian Giles

#24 / Right Field / San Diego Padres

Height: 5-10

Weight: 205

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jan 20, 1971

Evidence that nothing is going right in San Diego: OF Brian Giles is being sued for $10million by his former fiance, Cheri Olvera, citing his physical abuse led to a miscarriage. From the article: "Giles has denied the allegations and has countersued, accusing her of striking him, pulling his hair, slapping him, kicking him and hitting him with a car." Giles was charged with domestic violence for Olvera at a bar in 2006.

Hasty Haiku:

Giles has misplaced punch

Peavy thinks he is a Cub

Cellar forthcoming

San Francisco (2-3)

Signed LHP Jonathan Sanchez to a one-year $455k contract.

The Giants acted quickly in free agency, adding Edgar Renteria and Jeremy Affeldt at the dawn of free agency. Despite seeing the market plummet for other free agents, they don't regret the quick contracts.

Edgar Renteria

#16 / Short Stop / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 07, 1975

Tim Dierkes at MLBtraderumors.com reviews the Giants' offseason.

Grant at McCovey Chronicles is in love with Tim Lincecum, as evidenced by his recent projection.

Hasty Haiku:

Edgar's contract bad

Dierkes claims super offseason

Grant loves Lincecum