NL West Talk

[Bolts]

Yup.

I am OK with picking the dogs as the champs. I dont agree with it, but any of the three teams getting picked to win can be defended.

The DBacks and Giants just have fewer question marks than the Dodgers. You really need to assume that MORE will fall right for the dogs to win than you need for either the Giants or DBacks to win, though.

Besides the "even year" situation for the Giants, they have a strong lineup and an improved rotation with or without Cain being healthy. They also need guys who got hurt last year to stay healthy and the shark and cueto to bounce back from a bad season(shark) and 2nd half(cueto).
The DBacks greatly improved the weak rotation without turning the offense or defense into negatives. They also need the back end of the rotation to hold up, BP to improve(idk how good their BP is, might not be a weakness), and for their young players to not struggle now that the team has big expectations.
Dodgers have the best pitcher on the planet and an improved lineup with Seager over Rollins. They also need the BP to improve and have guys like Ryu and Anderson give them over 100 innings each because they are good when healthy.
Padres and Rockies.....well they need a lot more and have a lot less.
The top 3 each have reasons to be optimistic, but also have things that could hold them back.

 

[LASports96]

FWIW - right now I do think it'll be a really tight race between the Dodgers and Giants, I haven't denied that. And the DBacks are right behind on the periphery.

 

[HammerDown]

FWIW - right now I do think it'll be a really tight race between the Dodgers and Giants, I haven't denied that. And the DBacks are right behind on the periphery.

What about the Padres and Rockies?

 

[calsnowskier]

Besides the "even year" situation for the Giants, they have a strong lineup and an improved rotation with or without Cain being healthy. They also need guys who got hurt last year to stay healthy and the shark and cueto to bounce back from a bad season(shark) and 2nd half(cueto).
The DBacks greatly improved the weak rotation without turning the offense or defense into negatives. They also need the back end of the rotation to hold up, BP to improve(idk how good their BP is, might not be a weakness), and for their young players to not struggle now that the team has big expectations.
Dodgers have the best pitcher on the planet and an improved lineup with Seager over Rollins. They also need the BP to improve and have guys like Ryu and Anderson give them over 100 innings each because they are good when healthy.
Padres and Rockies.....well they need a lot more and have a lot less.
The top 3 each have reasons to be optimistic, but also have things that could hold them back.

Good assessment.

The Giants potential problems going into 2016...

1) #4 and #5 SP. Peavy and Cain are both former aces, but those days certainly behind Peavy and almost certainly behind Cain. Cain has a chance to have a big comeback season, but he also has a chance to be completely washed out. Peavy should be what he is; a 5-6 IP pitcher who will give a 3.75 - 4.00 ERA. If one or both of these guys falter, the Giants have 5 kids to choose from to take their spots, starting with Chris Heston and Clayton Blackburn.

2) Second Base. Joe Panik was a well-deserved all-star in 2015. But he missed much of the second half of the season due to back issues. Back problems have a tendency to become chronic. He has no history of back issues, but this is a concern.

3) #3 SP. Samardzija is a bit of an enigma. With the Cubs in 2014, he was a CY contender. When he went to the A's, he pitched well, but not necessarily at a CY level. 2015 for the ChiSox was an unmitigated disaster. But late in the season, he discovered he was tipping his pitches, and after making the mandatory adjustments, ended the season on a very strong note. Was his 2015 due ENTIRELY to tipping pitches, or is this story just a bunch of hot air?

4) CF. The Giants currently have Pagan penciled in as the starting CFer. When Pagan is healthy, he is a more-than-adequate lead-off hitter and CFer. The problem is that he is almost never healthy. He is, however, going into a contract year, and Pagan is a bit of a prima-donna, so that may be the motivation he needs to put together a nice contract-year.

5) LF. The Giants currently have a three-headed platoon of Blanco, Parker and Williamson penciled in for LF, with an outside shot going to Blanks. This WILL be addressed this off-season. Whether the Giants sign a big boy (Cespedes, Gordon, Upton) or go after a second-tier player (Byrd, Jackson, Parra) remains to be seen. But there will be some kind of addition here.

6) Back up 3B. The Giants have NOTHING behind Matt Duffy. If Duffy were to go down, I have no idea what they would do to fill this hole. Adrianza could fill in somewhat adequately with the glove, but he has ZERO bat. It is unlikely that Tomlinson has the arm to play 3B.

7) BP. To place this on a list of Giants problems is a real stretch. Casilla has done an admirable job as closer. I list this here really only because the Giants will be transitioning the BP in '16 away from the "Core Four" towards a bunch of kids coming up from the system. Ray Black or Hunter Strickland could be the closer by the end of the season and Casilla, Romo and Lopez will likely all be gone by 2017. The Giants appear prepared for this transition, but there are still question marks that come with change.

 

[Montalban]

I think you're overthinking this...

He always does. He finds imagined slights in any article written about baseball that has the Giants nothing less than top three teams in baseball.

 

[HammerDown]

Good assessment.

The Giants potential problems going into 2016...

1) #4 and #5 SP. Peavy and Cain are both former aces, but those days certainly behind Peavy and almost certainly behind Cain. Cain has a chance to have a big comeback season, but he also has a chance to be completely washed out. Peavy should be what he is; a 5-6 IP pitcher who will give a 3.75 - 4.00 ERA. If one or both of these guys falter, the Giants have 5 kids to choose from to take their spots, starting with Chris Heston and Clayton Blackburn.

2) Second Base. Joe Panik was a well-deserved all-star in 2015. But he missed much of the second half of the season due to back issues. Back problems have a tendency to become chronic. He has no history of back issues, but this is a concern.

3) #3 SP. Samardzija is a bit of an enigma. With the Cubs in 2014, he was a CY contender. When he went to the A's, he pitched well, but not necessarily at a CY level. 2015 for the ChiSox was an unmitigated disaster. But late in the season, he discovered he was tipping his pitches, and after making the mandatory adjustments, ended the season on a very strong note. Was his 2015 due ENTIRELY to tipping pitches, or is this story just a bunch of hot air?

4) CF. The Giants currently have Pagan penciled in as the starting CFer. When Pagan is healthy, he is a more-than-adequate lead-off hitter and CFer. The problem is that he is almost never healthy. He is, however, going into a contract year, and Pagan is a bit of a prima-donna, so that may be the motivation he needs to put together a nice contract-year.

5) LF. The Giants currently have a three-headed platoon of Blanco, Parker and Williamson penciled in for LF, with an outside shot going to Blanks. This WILL be addressed this off-season. Whether the Giants sign a big boy (Cespedes, Gordon, Upton) or go after a second-tier player (Byrd, Jackson, Parra) remains to be seen. But there will be some kind of addition here.

6) Back up 3B. The Giants have NOTHING behind Matt Duffy. If Duffy were to go down, I have no idea what they would do to fill this hole. Adrianza could fill in somewhat adequately with the glove, but he has ZERO bat. It is unlikely that Tomlinson has the arm to play 3B.

7) BP. To place this on a list of Giants problems is a real stretch. Casilla has done an admirable job as closer. I list this here really only because the Giants will be transitioning the BP in '16 away from the "Core Four" towards a bunch of kids coming up from the system. Ray Black or Hunter Strickland could be the closer by the end of the season and Casilla, Romo and Lopez will likely all be gone by 2017. The Giants appear prepared for this transition, but there are still question marks that come with change.

As always, I hope they fall flat on their faces.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I like the Giants to win the West at the moment, but the offseason isn't over yet. I don't think the Dodgers are done making moves.

 

[calsnowskier]

Dogs just got Kazmir...

 

[LASports96]

I like the Kazmir signing, decent pitcher with some upside and the contract is certainly pretty good for the team and with the opt out, for the player too.

Now I have a feeling we ain't done here as this gives us a 5 man lefty rotation, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing, but I think it will change... somehow, some way. Bullpen arm to be added probably too.

A good start though...

 

[calsnowskier]

Kaz is a good signing. I have not seen the details, but the dogs needed something. And he doesn't cost them a pick.

I assume he will be their 2? This does not put their rotation anywhere near the top rotations in the game, but certainly adds to their depth.

 

[LASports96]

Kaz is a good signing. I have not seen the details, but the dogs needed something. And he doesn't cost them a pick.

I assume he will be their 2? This does not put their rotation anywhere near the top rotations in the game, but certainly adds to their depth.

3 years/$48 million... player opt out available after the 2016 season.

Probably friendly for team and player, IMO.

Definitely not going to be as sexy of a rotation but 1-5 should be better.

 

[Bolts]

Kazmir is still good, although he struggled some after being traded to the Astros. Dodgers are gonna have a lefty heavy rotation, the only RH starters I see on their roster right now is McCarthy and Bolsinger. If healthy, it's a solid rotation. Big IF though.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

3 years/$48 million... player opt out available after the 2016 season.

Probably friendly for team and player, IMO.

Definitely not going to be as sexy of a rotation but 1-5 should be better.

After MVPuig and KeMVP, I figured you'd go for MVPederson or some shit like that.

Judging by the prices other starting pitchers went for, this is a good deal.

 

[LASports96]

Kazmir is still good, although he struggled some after being traded to the Astros. Dodgers are gonna have a lefty heavy rotation, the only RH starters I see on their roster right now is McCarthy and Bolsinger. If healthy, it's a solid rotation. Big IF though.

I think they'll add in a RHP somewhere here soon.

After MVPuig and KeMVP, I figured you'd go for MVPederson or some shit like that.

Judging by the prices other starting pitchers went for, this is a good deal.

Damn, I sure missed the boat on MVPederson, you're right.

 

[dredinis21]

Good signing for the Dogs. Lefty heavy rotation is interesting. 16 mil per for a guy that has been up and down but did a decent job as of late in rebounding.

 

[calsnowskier]

Dogs get Maeda.

No real surprise, but decent couple days for the Smurfs.

I still like the Giants and DBacks top 3 better, but the dogs have made a dent in that deficit.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

The rotation is being held together with toothpicks and bubblegum, guys.

 

[dredinis21]

The rotation is being held together with toothpicks and bubblegum, guys.

Serious question for you. What are Dodger fans' expectations of this rotation outside of Kershaw? Anderson took the qualifying offer after a solid year, McCarthy is on the shelf until mid season, Ryu is coming back from injury as well, Wood is relatively new to the team, Bolsinger was decent last season and Kazmir is coming from the AL. What you are expecting from these guys?

 

[LASports96]

I think our rotation is really fucking good now. It's gonna be a different style this year with no ace #2, but it will be better 1-5, gonna have a good chance to win every night.

 

[calsnowskier]

When is Ryu expected back? Isn't he not expected until the ASB or so?

I see your rotation as 1 Ace, 3 #3s and a bunch of of questions.