Odds and Sods

We here at Odds and Sods would like to apologize profusely.  We are sure that our five rabid readers noticed that the season previews have been in alphabetical order by division, and that we subconsciously forgot about the Colorado Rockies.   Which should say something, about how irrelevant of a franchise they have been since entering the league in 1993.

The Rockies finished 76-86 last season, tied for fourth in the NL West.  This was their 9th straight  season finishing 4th or below in the division, and their 7th finishing below .500.  They have never won more than 83 games in a season, and their sole playoff appearance was in the strike-shortened 1995 when they were defeated 3-1 by the Atlanta Braves in the division series.

Starting Pitching

The thin air in Denver has traditonally reaked havoc on Colorado pitching staffs.  Balls travel farther meaning more hits, more runs scored, more pitches thrown, and higher earned run averages (frequently in the 5 range).  Recovery time and flight of pitches are also affected, with the result that pitching in Coors Field is a nightmare from which few pitches can recover.  Only astronomical contracts, like that given to Mike Hampton, can attract reputable free agent arms to come to Colorado.

This year’s staff is not exactly imposing either.  Middlers like Aaron Cook, Rodrigo Lopez, and Josh Fogg.  Youngster Jason Hirsch will also attempt to cement a spot in the rotation, after a disappointing MLB debut last year where he was 3-4 with an ERA over 6.

The most notable name will be projected #2 starter Jeff Francis.  This highly touted 26 year old will be looking to emerge in his third year as a regular in the rotation.  His record was nearly identical (14-12 in 05 vs. 13-11 in 06), but his ERA dropped from 5.68 to 4.16 (which was in the upper 3 range for much of the year).  It remains unclear how much of this improvement was due to him, and how much was due to the humidor affecting the baseballs and drastically reducing the number of runs scored.  However, his stats were nearly indistinguishable Home-Away last season, so it is fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.  He will have to emerge big time for Colorado to salvage any hope of a Major League caliber rotation.

Bullpen

Brian Fuentes is a serviceable veteran closer, coming off back to back 30 save seasons.  His numbers have been virtually identical the last two seasons, since he entered the closer’s role, and there is no reason to think that he cannot recreate that success.

They have a number of young arms like Ramon Ramirez, Manny Corpas, and Ubaldo Jimenez, whom they hope will provide a solid nucleus.  They also have some intriguing veterans like former Twins set-up man and Cubs’ closer LaTroy Hawkins and former Diamondback and Red Sox closer Byung-Hyun Kim.  This should be a solid pen, though, given the rotation, they may get a fair bit of work.

Lineup

It is normally a daunting task to project a Rockies’ lineup, as the true skill of many players is unknown, since nearly everyone hits well at Coors Field.  The biggest name in the lineup is Todd Helton.  His power numbers have dwindled (now a 15-20 HR a season guy rather than 30-40), again it is unclear how much of this is him and how much of this has been tampering with the baseballs.  However, he is still a solid veteran hitter and can be counted on to hit about .300 and get a lot of walks.  With contending teams looking for a bat, he may not last the season in a Rockies’ uniform.

Left-Fielder Matt Holliday may be the best overall hitter.  The 27 year-old emerged in a big way last season hitting .326 34 HR and 114 RBIs.  He may not reproduce that power, but with seasons of .290 and .307 under his belt, he will still be a very good hitter.  The only thing that should worry the Rockies are his home-away splits (he hit .373 at home vs. .280 away) and had nearly twice as many home runs in Coors Field, despite playing an equal number of games.  Third Baseman Garrett Atkins also had a monster year last season (.329 29HR 120 RBI), though his stats were more equally distributed than Holliday.

Ex-Astro Willy Taveras will give them some speed on the basepaths.  Hawpe is another decent hitter, and 22 year-0ld Rookie Shortstop Troy  Tulowitzki will hope to make a big impression.  The Rockies lineup should score a fair amount of runs, at home at least.

The Scuttlebutt

There are three intriguing stories for the 2007 season in Colorado.

1. The first is whether or not a franchise can exist long-term in Colorado.  The altitude has prevented them from ever having a decent major league caliber pitching staff.  Having to cater to their ballpark, they always have a significant homefield advantage, but are garbage away from home.  Rather than building a fanbase, they appear to be losing one.  They drew an average of 25,982 fans last season, as opposed to 55,350 the first season of their existence and averages in the mid 40,000 range during the 90’s.  They also have one of the lowest proportions of revenue spent on team payroll.  The team has yet to seriously compete, and it is unclear whether they ever will be able to do so.

2. The second issue is humidor-gate.  The disparity in runs scored at Coors’ Field last season, as opposed to years previous, was too great to ignore.  It went from one of the highest scoring parks in the league, to one of the lowest in the space of one year.  Colorado has permission to use a humidor, which they have since 2002, to keep the balls from becoming distorted by the altitude.  It is alleged that the Rockies organization has tampered with this to reduce the flight of the balls hit, and consequently the  horrific wear and tear on the arms of their pitchers.

3. The third issue is a more interesting one, regarding the Christian motivations of the Rockies organization.  A USA today article reported that the club has attempted to institute a Christian-code of conduct.  This included the removal of men’s magazines, such as Maxim, and the banning of music with sexually suggestive lyrics.  Former players, such as Jason Jennings and Mark Sweeney have been openly critical of the overt Christian influence imposed upon the lockeroom.  The lockerroom in baseball, as in other sports, is hallowed territory for athletes and a place for them to let loose and recoil from the pressures of the outside world.  This reputation in Colorado may affect and inhibit the types of players the team will look to bring in, and consequently affect the performance on the field.  But hey, they have tried everything else to produce a winnng team, why not turn to Jesus Christ their savior?  Maybe he can devise a breaking pitch that won’t be useless in that altitude?

Outlook: Nope

This will be a stereotypical Rockies’ season.  Their lineup will score runs.  Their pitching will allow the other team to do so.  They will be formidable at home, and shit on the road.  They may get on a run at some point, but it won’t last the entire season.  They can pray all they want, but they will still finish with between  65-80 wins and be irrelevant come playoff time.

(Note: I attempted to get a picture of the infamous “Derek Lowe face.” When unable to find one in an LA uniform, I was too lazy to look up another Dodgers photo on google.)

The Dodgers experienced a resurgence in 2006 after a disappointing 4th place effort the previous season. They finished 88-74 tying with the San Diego Padres for 1st place in the National League West in 2006, however, since the Padres owned the tiebreaker, Los Angeles entered the playoffs as the NL Wild Card. They were swept in the division series by the New York Mets.

Starting Pitching

Derek Lowe once again proved his values to the Dodgers with a solid effort in 2006 (16-8 3.61 ERA). He has been consistently proficient and healthy since moving to the National League and to the more spacious surroundings at Dodger stadium. There is no reason to think that he won’t relive that effort, particularly in a contract year.

Jason Schmidt was the major free agency acquisition for L.A., crossing rivalry boundaries from the Giants. He hasn’t been pleased with his Spring so far this year, but if he can get it together he has the potential to be one of the better pitchers in the NL and post an ERA under 4.00.

Brad Penny had a good year last year, with a 16-9 record. If he can stay near his career averages of around a 3-4 ERA. He will win some games and be an effective third starter. Ex- Phillie lefthander Randy Wolf has the potential to contribute, but he hasn’t pitched more than 136 innings in a season, since 2003 and his health will be a serious concern. Brett Tomko should be a decent 5th starter. Chad Billingsley may be the candidate to fill in, should one of them go down.

The Dodgers have a solid veteran rotation. They should be fairly good. The only worry will be keeping them on the field.

Bullpen

Japanese closer Takasi Saito will once again fulfill that role for the Dodgers this season, who let Eric Gagne go in free agency. He was devastatingly effective last year after moving to the Major Leagues, converting 24 out of 26 save opportunites. The only concern is whether he can recreate this form at 37 years of age.

Youngsters Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton should be relied upon to carry much of the load in addition, as well as veterans like Joe Beimel. If Saito can nail down the closer role, this should be an effective unit.

Lineup

The Dodgers have a deep and talented lineup. They have experienced veteran hitters like Jeff Kent, Luis Gonzalez, and Nomar Garciaparra. They have exciting youngsters like Andre Ethler, Russell Martin, and Wilson Betemit. They have plenty of speed with Rafael Furcal and new free agent signing Juan Pierre.

The lineup will be good and score runs on aggregate. Though, like last season, they will have a glaring weakness in the power department. They have a number of 15-20 home run per season guys, but they still lack a true power hitter to supplement the other good hitters and drive in runs consistently. Over the course of the season this may not be a problem, but could be in a short series.

The Scuttlebutt

In a rarity for Los Angeles, there shouldn’t be a plethora of gossip surrounding this team. In a starfilled town, they lack a true star, and should stay somewhat in the background (particularly as their fans arrive in the 3rd inning and leave in the 6th). Hopefully, the storyline will concern the emergence of young talent like Andre Ethler.

Outlook: Positive

The Dodgers were a contender in 2006, and there is no reason why they should not be in 2007. They did lose J.D. Drew. However, the addition of Juan Pierre and Luis Gonzalez should ameliorate that. They have a solid veteran rotation, a talented bullpen, and a good National League lineup. Their division should be tough, but L.A. has the horses to get it done.

Despite having the NL Cy Young winner with Brandon webb, 2006 was a disappointment for the Diamondbacks. After being in contention much of the season, the Diamondbacks faded down the stretch, losing 18 games in the month of August. They limped into the finish at 76-86, 12 games behind the Padres.

Starting Pitching

Brandon Webb, last year’s Cy Young winner, is obviously the ace on this staff. He had a great year last year (16-8 3.10 ERA). He is 27 years old and just coming into his prime. Unless he goes down to a fluke injury, he shouldn’t be an area of concern for the D-Backs.

The reacquisition of Randy Johnson was the big move of the offseason for Arizona. Despite a 34-19 record on his 2 year stint with the Yankees, Johnson never relived the dominant form that New York had required (posting an ERA of 5.00 last season). This year he will try to return from back surgery, a daunting task for any pitcher, particularly someone who will turn 44 in September.

Last year’s midseason acquisition Livan Hernandez will fill in the 3rd slot. Though one feels like he has past his prime, remembering his remarkable run for the 1997 World Series Winning Marlins, his best statistical stretch came from 2003-5. His 4.83 ERA last year was rather pedestrian, but it was 3.76 after the trade to Arizona and he could finally settle down to business. He has the potential to be a very effective third starter.

The back end will feature Doug “.500″ Davis, who has successfully posted consecutive records of 12-12, 11-11, and 11-11 the past 3 seasons for the Brewers. His ERA jumped more than a run last seasons to 4.91 which should be a bit of a concern. Youngster Edgar Davis will hope to nail down the 5 spot.

Arizona looks to have a solid starting staff with both talent and experience, and won that could be overpowering if Randy Johnson can be reinvigorated by his return.

Bullpen

The bullpen shouldn’t be that bad either. Jose Valverde is set to be the closer again this season, though he is far from a sure thing. He has never saved 20 games in a season, and his 5.84 ERA last season could be troublesome. Though, he did rack up 69 strikeouts in only 49 innings so if he can get his stuff under control he should be decent.

They have guys like Medders and Lyon who can be pitch in the set-up role in the 8th inning. Doug Slaten has had a phenomenal run in AA and AAA, and can give them a good left-hander to throw into the mix as well. Human trade-bait Jorge Julio (extremely attractive potential but lack of performance to cement spot at any stop) provides them with some depth, as well as a tradeable commodoity.

Lineup

The youth will arive en force for Arizona this season. Only Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson can really be considered veterans in what should prove to be an extremely young lineup. Highly touted prospect Stephen Drew will be at the head of the list. J.D’s younger brother hit over .300 in 200 AB last season, and will hope to project that pace over his first full season. First Baseman Connor Jackson will hope to develop into more of a power threat afte 15 HR in his rookie campaign. They also have two rookie outfielders with Young and Quentin.

They have some depth provided by signing ex-Angel and super sub Jeff Davannon. They also have Tony “the Tiger” Clark to serve as a backup 1st baseman and a DH in AL parks. The lineup is talented, but due to the youth and inexperience they may prove a bit inconsistent. They also lack a true power threat to consistently produce and anchor the cleanup position.

The Scuttlebutt

New Unis! After nine years, Diamondbacks management finally realized that purple and tourquoise might not be the most traditional or aesthetically pleasing. They kept similar logos (the A and the D) but replaced the color scheme with “sonoma red” and black, which has largely been considered both uninspired and unappealing. They have also added an edgy new “db” logo, not in any way superfluous. They look a bit like older model Astros jersey knockoffs. This might be what happens when your marketing and developing department still considers U2 to be young, hip, and modern.

Outlook:Not Quite Yet

The D-Backs have a good veteran pitching staff. However, they have an incredibly young lineup with no stabilizing veteran presense in the middle. They also have a decided lack of power. They could still compete in a weakened National League, but would probably need a veteran bat or two at the deadline to sustain a challenge. The future looks bright, but the emphasis should be on “future.”

Though having the third worst record for a playoff team in the history of baseball (83-7 and nearly blowing an 8 1/2 game lead on Sep. 20th, the Cardinals were the last team standing, beating the Tigers 4-1 to earn their 10th World Series title.

Starting Pitching

The Cardinals rotation looks to be a bit of a mess coming into 2007. They were much maligned going into the playoffs last year, and this group looks even worse after losing Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver, and Jason Marquis to free agency.

Chris Carpenter remains the ace, after another stellar season last year (15-8 3.09 ERA). Beyond that, however, the starting situation appears to be an enormous black hole.

Kip Wells was a highly regarded Pirates prospect, but had an ERA over 6 last season and has a combined 15-30 record over the past 3 seasons. Anthony Reyes proved dominant in the playoffs, but had an ERA above 5 in the regular season. Adam Wainwright was a reliable closer, replacing injured Jason Isringhausen, but hasn’t proven yet that he can handle the rotation. Ditto for ex-Mets and Marlins closer Braden Looper, who wil be making the conversion to the rotation to fill out the 5th spot. LaRussa limped into the playoffs with his rotation last year and fooled us all, but St. Louis’ starting pitching just looks plain bad.

Bullpen

The Bullpen could be a bit of a question mark as well. Jason Isringhausen is healthy, but his stats from last year should be a bit worrisome. He blew 10 saves in 43 opportunities. His walk-strikeout ratio rose significantly (38-52) as opposed to (27-51) and (18-41) the previous two seasons. He also gave up 10 HR, though he had only given up 11 combined in the previous three seasons. At 35, they will have to hope last season was a hiccup rather than a pattern.

Ricardo Rincon should be a decent veteran arm if healthy, and youngster Brad Thompson has been pretty good in his first two seasons and will hope for more of the same.

They need Adam Wainwright to help stabilize the rotation, so the pen will rely upon Isringhausen. If he is good and can stay healthy, they should be fine. If not, the bullpen could be another liability.

Lineup

As with last season, the lineup will revolve completely around Albert Pujols. We here at Odds and Sods still have yet to discover the reason why any team would bother pitching to him. Left-Fielder Chris Duncan should be an exciting bat next year, he hit 22 HR in only 280 at bats last year. They still have a veteran nucleus with Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, and former Angels double play combo Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein, but they have gotten a year older and not necessarily a year better. The lineup will be decent and score some runs.

The Scuttlebutt

Manager Tony LaRussa was arrested last week for drunk driving, but this is St. Louis. The fans and media will be too busy thinking of rainbows and flowers, coming up with cutesy nicknames for their players, and stroking Joe Buck’s ego to focus on any real controversy.

Outlook:Stagnant

In the Darwinian world of Major League Baseball, staying pat is a death sentence. Despite winning the World Series last year, the Cards won a mere 83 games during the regular season, and can’t expect that to be enough to get them in in 2007. Not only have they not improved, but they have quite possibly gotten worse. “They are the Cardinals” is the only real argument for them being a contender this season.

The Pirates finished an abysmal 67-95 in 2006, the latest in what has been a putrid stretch for the franchise (though they did finish 37-35 down the stretch). It was their 7th straight season finishing 4th or lower in the NL Central. They have not finished above .500 since 1992 when they won 96 games and lost to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. They builts a new state of the art ballpark, and now they hope to field a team to be worthy of it.

Starting Pitching

The Pirates’ rotation is young, but looks promising. Zach Duke and Ian Snell both got a full season under their belts last year, and the club will hope they can continue toward developing into top of the rotation material. Youngsters Paul Maholm and Tom Gorzelanny will also look to be in the rotation, with veterans Tony Armas and Shawn Chacon duking it out for the last spot.

If their young pitchers can emerge, Pittsburgh’s rotation could be a force with which to be reckoned. However, they lack the savvy veteran figure, like a Kenny Rogers, to maintain stability and lead the youngsters could be detrimental to their development.

Bullpen

The pen should prove to be a strength for the team, as it was for last year’s team. Soloman Torres was excellent as a fill-in closer late in the year after Mike Gonzalez went down with injury, and looks capable of taking over permanently. Youngster Matt Capps and the lefty combo of Damaso Marte and John Grabow give the team more options, making this a talented and deep bullpen.

Lineup

Jason Bay has emerged as one of the premier sluggers in the game, last year was his second consecutive year finishing with over 30 HRs and above 100 RBI’s. The free agent signing of Adam LaRoche gives the Pirates another power threat, as he hit over 30 HRs in 2006 as well. They have players like Paulino, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, and Xavier Nady who can put the ball in play. This should be a fairly decent lineup.

The Scuttlebutt

The new ownership shouldn’t prove much of a turnover, as Robert Nutting was part of the group that bought the Pirates in 1996 and has served as chairman of the board since 2003. The story should be the development of this young team, the first sign of hope for this franchise since Barry Bonds left.

Outlook:Promising (Down the Road)

The Pirates, for once, have a decent bullpen and a major-league caliber lineup. However, their starting pitching will most likely prevent them from being a force this season. They have a lot of talent, but also a lot of inexperience. Like the Tigers, it may take a few years under their belt and the addition of a veteran before this rotation becomes a force. They won’t be the doormat of years past, but it is hard to see them as a serious contender this season.