April 16, 2007
Major League Baseball Preview: NL Central, NL West
By KRISTY FASANO and
RYNE CRABB
Sports Reporters
KLF2OO@PSU.EDU, RECI6I@PSU.EDU
The Lovable Losers of $136 million contract, will tries to regain his potential Bottom Line: Over/
Three to to* the North Side spent have the biggest spotlight. ’ Triple Crown swing. Big "Z" under on skipper Sweet
Alfonso Soriano $3OO million to get talent One-time savior Wood will Carlos Zambrano leads a . Lou Pinella throwing
woBBFm Derrick Lee comparable to the Cards show fastball in the bullpen solid rotation. bases at umpires this
Kerry Wood and Mets. Soriano, he of the for the first time, and Lee year: 3.5
THE CAPITAL TIMES
Adam Wainwright
Jason Isrlnghausen
Albert Pujols
Craig Biggio
Lance Berkman
Carlos Lee
Ken Griffey, Jr
Adam Harang
Adam Dunn
Bill Wall
Prince Fielder
Ben Sheets
Adam Laßoche
Freddy Sanchez
Jason Bay
Newcomers David Wells, atmosphere. Is this the year league stud Kouzmanoff
Three to Greg Maddux, and brothers Peavy finally turns in aCy finally gets his shot in the
Jake Peavy Marcus and Brian Giles Young-caliber performance? bigs, too. Should compete
Kevin Kouzmanoff have turned San Diego's Chris Young might be the for division
Giles Brothers clubhouse into a frathouse best in the rotation. Minor
Nomar Garciaparra
Jason Schmidt
Juan Pierre
Barry Bonds
Barry Zito
Matt Cain
Brandon Webb
Randy Johnson
Stephen Drew
Garrett Atkins
Todd Helton
Troy Tutolwitski
Editor’s Note: Although the Yankees are not part of the NL West, there was a misprint in Issue 9 regarding their preview. Here is the corrected preview
Three to See
Andy Pettite
Jason Giambi
Doug Mientkiewicz
In 2006, outstanding
pitching and timely hitting
led to a championship.
What's in the cards for this
year's Cards? 1 Isringhausen
Another team of hope. The
'Stros are hoping Jason
Jennings and Woody Williams
replace departed Andy
Pettitte and Roger Clemens,
Bet you didn't know: Griffey,
Jr is now 38 years old.
Harang had the most wins
AND strikeouts in the NL last
year, Dunn led the league in
If gambling was legal, the by veterans Geoff Jenkins Sheets throws strikes, and
Brewers are a sweet bet at and Johnny Estrada. Tony Dave Bush keeps improving,
40/1 to win the Fall Classic. Gwynn, Jr looks a lot like the Brew Crew will be this
Fielder and Hall are both dad swinging the bat, but year's surprise team
young studs complimented is still a few years away. If
Jason Bay is a perennial All-
Star and Laßoche has the
potential to join him this
year. Sanchez was last year's
NL batting champ, but has
All teams in the NL West,
with the possible exception of
the Rockies, have something
in common: Strong pitching.
Newcomers Randy Wolf and
Next week we're writing an
article debating the good
and bad of Barry Bonds, so
I won't waste space here.
Simply put, the Giants went
Cy Young Award winner
Brandon Webb leads a
rotation that features
the return of the most
celebrated pitcher in club
Two things are certain at
home games: The beer is
always Coors, and the score
is always high. The Rockies
enter 2007 with another
The House of Steinbrenner
goes into 2007 hoping for the
championship ring that has
evaded the Bombers since
2000. Pettite is back in the
NL Central
is back from injury, rookie
sensation Wainwright moves
to the rotation. Pujols is on
a mission after being robbed
of his 2 nd MVP. They have the
hoping Lee provides much
needed protection for
Berkman, hoping Morgan
Ensberg and Brad Lidge
recover from their respective
strikeouts, too, as a hitter.
The Reds have the division's
best starting five, and one
of the strongest bullpens to
yet to settle into a position
for this year's club. The
real story is the pitching:
youngsters lan Snell, Zach
Duke, and Paul Maholm all
NL West
Schmidt bolster a rotation
including Derek Lowe and
Brad Penny that helped
LA into the playoffs last
year. Offensively, they rely
from being the oldest team
in MLB history to simply
being an old team. Zito
had 126 million reasons to
come here, and youthful
history, Randy Johnson.
However, the Snakes bullpen
is their biggest question
mark entering the season.
Offensively, the youth
stacked lineup: Atkins is one
of the big's best 3Bs, Helton
the unquestioned face of
the franchise, and young
Tutolwitski enters at SS.
Bronx, is there enough left in
his tank to be effective in the
tough AL East? Giambi, who
has always hit better playing
18, is now a permanent
heart, but offseason trades
have weakened the pitching
staff and may keep the
Cards from repeating.
slumps, hoping Roy Oswalt
pitches at a Cy-young level,
most of all, hoping not to
finish last in the NL Central
boot, but a lot of holes in a
lineup that lacks the punch
needed to compete in an
improved division.
showed signs of promising
careers for the Steel City.
Tony Armas Jr rounds out
the starting five.
on Garciaparra remaining
healthy and Pierre living up
to his huge contract. Good
luck.
Cain infuses some life into
the rotation. Offensively,
this team leaves a lot to be
desired in many areas.
movement has begun in
the desert; the D-Backs will
feature five position players
under 24 in their starting
lineup.
Unfortunately, the pitchers
are a bunch of has-beens
and who-is's. That doesn't
cut it in the NL West.
DH. Mientkiewicz wears the
pinstripes for the first time;
he'll have to prove himself.
Bottom Line:
The leaders of this
team show some grey,
but won't let the team
lose its focus
Bottom Line: Biggio
will get his 3000 th hit
this year, and, well,
did I mention Biggio's
3000 th hit?
Bottom Line: Pete
Rose will again be the
most newsworthy Red
0f2007, that's not a
good thing.
Bottom Line: Cubs
spent the money,
Cards have the ring,
but watch out for
Milwaukee's Best.
Bottom Line: This
might be Pittsburgh's
best team in a decade,
but 1 year away from
competing
Bottom Line: All
the NL West teams
improved, question is,
did San Diego improve
enough?
Bottom Line: If
greybeards Jeff Kent
and Luis Gonzalez still
contribute, they are the
west's best
Bottom Line: In order
to compete, the Giants
need 352 HRs and 70
wins from their two
Barrys
Bottom Line: Too
old in some spots,
too young in others,
Arizona won't be great
or horrible
Bottom Line: If the
humidors are firing on
all cylinders, they're
the surprise team of
the West
Bottom Line: Can Joe
Torre stay awake long
enough to inspire this
team of aging super
stars?