In this post I will talk about the National League West, home of the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

We’ll be running through the rest of the National League and then the American League Divisions over the next week. I will give predictions and reasons to validate them, finishing with whom I think will make it to the World Series in 2011, and win it all.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants surprised a lot of people last year, myself included. But listening to what they had to say after they won it all, nobody in that clubhouse doubted they could do it. San Francisco is bringing back almost everyone from last year and will make another run. Their biggest loss was Edgar Renteria, but the signing of Miguel Tejada could make them better.

The Giants have good pitching: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez filling the top of the rotation, Madison Bumgarner and Barry Zito filling the four and five spot. The closer will be Brian Wilson, who looks like he hasn’t touched his beard, with the set up duties going to Jeremy Affeldt. They have an up and coming star, behind the plate in Buster Posey, and are good enough defensively and have the players to produce well offensively with Aubrey Huff, Tejada, Posey, Pat Burrell, Pablo Sandoval and Cody Ross in the middle of their line-up. Freddy Sanchez will start at second base, Mark DeRosa will start in left field, and Andres Torres will play center and bat leadoff.

Aaron Rowand should make the team as the fourth outfielder while Mike Fontenot is the utility infielder, and Eli Whiteside will be the backup catcher.

The mix of veterans and younger players looks good as well. Manager Bruce Bochy will have this team ready to go, and they will play with the same determination they did last season.

Prediction: I look for the Giants to win 90-95 games, enough to win the division.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres finished the 2010 season two games behind the Giants, but the one game they were behind in the wild card race was harder to take. Looking at the roster, it looks like the ownership is giving up. The Padres seem to be rebuilding, bringing over Jason Bartlett, Orlando Hudson, while signing Jorge Cantu and Brad Hawpe. They lost their best player, Adrian Gonzalez, to the Boston Red Sox. The Padres have some nice players in Ryan Ludwick, Chase Headley, Wil Venable, Nick Hundley and Cameron Maybin, but a run at the playoffs is unlikely. There just isn’t enough offensive fire power.

Mat Latos heads the rotation with Clayton Richard, Tim Stauffer, Aaron Harang, and either Dustin Mosely or Cory Luebke finishing out two through five. Heath Bell will be the team’s closer, if they can get to the ninth with a lead. Left handed specialist Joe Thatcher will be an important arm in the bullpen.

Prediction: Bud Black, the 2010 NL Manager of the year, will have a tough time of it this year, and winning 70 games will be good for the Fathers in 2011.

Colorado Rockies

After getting into the playoffs in 2009, the Colorado Rockies had a disappointing third place finish in the NL West in 2010. Barring any major injuries, this 2011 Rockies team could make a run at the wild card. If the main group of starters, like Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Lopez can stay healthy, the offense should be able to average between five and six runs a game.

Catcher Chris Iannetta also will play an important part, as he is going to be the main starter with Miguel Olivo leaving via free agency. Eric Young will get some looks at second base and in the outfield, as he possesses the ability to steal bases. If Lopez has trouble at second, Young would take over there. Ty Wigginton will be the utility infielder and could see a lot of playing time.

Prediction: With the pitching the Rockies have (Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, and Aaron Cook (currently on DL)), as the top three starters, Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Hammel getting spots four and five), they could win 90 to 95 games this year. That would put them in a race for first in the NL West with the Giants, and right in the thick of the wild card race.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a bad year in 2010, with injuries and clubhouse distractions being the main reasons why. The Dodgers appear to be ready to make a push for the division, but again, can they stay healthy as, aside from perhaps Matt Kemp, the distractions seem to be cleared up with the departure of Manny Ramirez.

The starting rotation looks strong, but can Chad Billingsley get better, and can Ted Lilly get back the form he had with the Cubs. If Vicente Padilla (forearm surgery) can get healthy, he could be a fifth starter, while Jon Garland (oblique strain) could start the season on the DL. The Dodgers may not need a fifth starter until the start of May, so they have stated they’ll stay in house for a replacement.

Free Agent catcher Dioner Navarro, who started his big league career with LA, is looking to prove Tampa Bay wrong for letting him go. Shortstop Rafael Furcal is getting older, and consequently may not have too many more seasons left. The Dodgers still have some talented younger players in James Loney, Andre Ethier, Tony Gwynn and Matt Kempall. Thirty-five year old Journeyman Gabe Kapler is also a non-roster invitee trying to win a backup outfield job.

Don Mattingly will have his hands full this season, his first as manager of a big league ball club, but he will get his team to play at a high level. I don’t know if it will be high enough though, as the NL West will be pretty tough again this season.

Prediction: I see the Dodgers winning 75-80 games, which won’t be enough to get into the playoffs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks had a disappointing 2010, finishing last in the division, only winning 65 games. Arizona signed free agent Henry Blanco to be a mentor for young catcher Miguel Montero. The outfield looks good with Xavier Nady, Justin Upton and Chris Young. Gerardo Parra and Willie Bloomquist will be the outfield backups. Non-Roster invitee Russell Branyan could be a surprise addition with a good spring.

The starters on the infield will more than likely be Stephen Drew, Melvin Mora, Kelly Johnson and Juan Miranda. Geoff Blum, Tony Abreu and Ryan Roberts will use the spring to see who can fill the backup roll. Brandon Allen will try and open some eyes as well, after a strong 2010 in AAA.

Arizona’s rotation will consist of Joe Saunders, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, Barry Enright and Zach Duke (out until May). Armando Galarraga will fill in for Duke, and whomever is faltering will be moved to the pen when Duke returns. J.J. Putz, signed in the off season after being the setup man for the White Sox last season, will be the closer.

I really don’t see Arizona competing in the NL West. If they are looking for at bats for non-roster invitee Micah Owings, who they are considering for the long relief role, it can’t be a good thing.

Prediction: The Diamondbacks may win 70 games this year, but at least they can look forward to the 2011 All Star game.
(All rosters are taken from mlb.com active rosters, depth charts and non-roster invitee lists as of 03-20-11)

Charlie Sheen has become pop culture in the last couple weeks. He really did all the work for me in coming up with the ideal player to return with when he mentioned his three favorite sports personalities were Zeile, Reggie Jackson and Mark Cuban. He also mentioned he would like to be Brian Wilson for a few minutes (who wouldn’t want to become one with THE BEARD?), and that the Reds need more starting pitching; so he obviously isn’t that out of it.

That said, let’s take a look at the man who has beguiled Mr. Sheen so much.

Zeile broke into the majors in 1989 as a catcher and the Cardinals’ most anticipated prospect. St. Louis manager Joe Torre wanted to make room for catcher Tom Pagnozzi and believed Zeile would be a more productive hitter with a longer career if he moved from behind the plate. Zeile would spend the majority of his career at third base, where he wasn’t exactly good, and at first base, where he wasn’t much better.

Zeile lead his league in errors by a third baseman on four separate occasions, and had the lowest fielding percentage in the NL in 2002 (.942). And if that weren’t enough, he led all MLB players in errors for the decade of the 1990s. These are the types of things Eric Hinske and Mark Reynolds only wish they could achieve at “the hot corner.”

Despite his obvious defensive shortcomings, and the fact that his offensive output was really just average (his 1997 and 1999 offensive lines were pretty darn good, but not really the stuff of legend, especially considering it was the late 90s), Zeile got the reputation of being a good “team guy”, being “scrappy,” and having “veteran presence”. So he never had any trouble landing work; he just had trouble keeping it.

Zeile also has the proud distinction of having played for 11 major league teams over the course of his career, and he managed to hit at least one home run for each of these 11 teams. This gives Zeile the illustrious accolade as the only player in major league history to have hit a home run for over ten teams. This is the baseball equivalent of dating the entire third string of a college football team. It’s impressive, but not for the right reasons.

Zeile also has the claim to fame of being one of only 41 players ever to hit a home run in his final at-bat, which he did on October 3, 2004 as a New York Met against the Montreal Expos’ Claudio Vargas. Zeile’s home run actually made him the last person ever to hit a home run off a Montreal Expos pitcher, as the Expos moved to Washington the following season. So yes, he did manage to kiss the second string quarterback at a party.

Considering his 253 round trippers rank him currently 189th all-time — in between such players as John Olerud and Bret Boone (expect both of them to eventually make an appearance here) — it’s really amazing he managed these feats.

In 1999, Zeile was part of the historic Texas Rangers “Z-Unit” (no one has ever called them that). Along with, the newly retired, Gregg Zaun and Jeff Zimmerman, he was one of three players on the team whose last names began with “Z”. Not since the 1916 Chicago Cubs had this occurred, when Joe Tinker assembled the all-star cast of Heinie Zimmerman, Dutch Zwilling, and Rollie Zeider. My sources indicate that Cubs team somehow managed to miss the World Series. I will have to get fact checkers on that.

I find it interesting that one of the most underrated second basemen in the game today, Kelly Johnson, has Zeile as his number two batting comp through age 28 (according to baseballreference.com). Johnson could do a whole lot worse (like his number 4 comp Kelly Gruber. Ewww). That being said, Johnson would undoubtedly hope to be remembered for more than an excessive amount of trivia about playing for losing teams.

You have to wonder if Sheen too just has a love of strange baseball players that are almost forgotten. Maybe he just assumes Zeile’s bizarrely historic dingers were as a result of the ultimate PED: tiger blood.

If you have any suggestions for future Obscure Players, drop them in the comments.

Let’s get down to it.

All too often, people in the world of sports have unfair advantages, and certainly extra pressure, due to their bloodlines. Some, like say Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and Prince Fielder, can exceed what their fathers accomplished. Most, however, say Dale Berra, Tony Gwyn Jr., and Josh Barfield cannot reach such lofty expectations.

Such was the case for Greg Gagne.

Greg’s father Verne Gagne was the 10-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion, an accomplished amateur wrestler and football player. He also happened to be the owner and promoter of the AWA by the time his son Greg was ready to lace up the boots.

Wait…

There are two Greg Gagnes?

Both tied to Minnesota?

Damn. There goes my great anecdote of staying home sick back in highschool when ESPN Classic was showing old AWA matches. I had some sweet Larry Zbyszko knowledge to spread to you, the gentle reader. Your loss.

*** I had written most of this earlier this week, before Gaby “The Lariat” Sanchez annihilated Nyjer Morgan with one of the finest clotheslines I have ever seen. Morgan never got hit that hard back in his hockey career. Wrestling and Baseball truly were meant to be discussed together this week. Enjoy this beautifully edited Youtube clip below.

Back to work.

The actual Greg Gagne was best known for his ten seasons of service as The Twins shortstop from 1983 to 1992. He was an integral part of the Twins two championship teams in ’87 and ’91. He is one of five Twins to play on both squads along with Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Gene Larkin, Randy Bush, and Dan Gladden.

His main contribution to those Twins teams was as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. The fact he was able to earn this reputation is a testament to the effort he put into improving himself on the field. He had 26 errors in 1986 then came back in ’87 to post 47 straight errorless games. Hopefully Edwin Scissorhands/Encarnation is reading this somewhere and learns that he too can learn to field ground balls.

For a guy who seemingly had very little pop in his bat, Gagne has some memorable home runs on his career obituary. Two that immediately jump out were hit on October 4, 1986 when Gagne became only the second player since 1930 to record two inside-the-park home runs in the same game. This thankfully shot his season OBP to .300 for the first time since August 23rd that year.

More famously, Gagne hit the game winning home run of Game 1 of the 1991 World Series, considered by many to be one of the finest Series in baseball history.

Everyone who remembers Gagne remembers him as a Twin. Yet, his best season came in 1993 with The Kansas City Royals. His line of .280/.319/.406 with a career high 57RBIs and an AL leading fielding percentage of .986 helped the Royals finish 84-78.

Greg Gagne vs Ron Garvin for the AWA TV Title

Greg Gagne As Random Retro Baseball Player from Sharapova’s Thigh

If you have any suggestions for future Obscure Players, drop them in the comments.

Fox will broadcast their usual Saturday afternoon games, TBS will pick up on Sundays, and for the most part, you can expect ESPN to have games on Sunday and Monday evenings. (Mid-week, you might look for your local team networks and eventually, on Thursdays, the MLB Network will be back for their second season, though the schedule has yet to be released).

The MLB national TV schedule, which is always subject to change, is at the end of this post below.

Before getting to that, we provide the 11 “best” games during the first half of the season – at least so far as I can surmise in March.

First though, we offer you some of the best deals you’ll find anywhere on MLB tickets:

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11 Best Early Season MLB Games on National TV

These are listed chronologically, not from best to worst or vice versa.

1. Yankees-Red Sox, April 4, 8pm EDT, ESPN2:

A baseball tradition unlike any other (cue Masters music — it’s that time of year too after all) — and on opening night, no less. You’ll probably see Sabathia vs. Beckett, Lackey or Lester. No further elaboration necessary.

2. Mariners-Rangers, April 10, 3pm, FOX (Regional):

Two major divisional challenges to the perennial champion Angels meet on the first weekend of the new season. Five days after the opener, the Mariners will be set to throw Cliff Lee or Felix Hernandez for certain in second 2010 start.

3. Rays-Red Sox, April 18, 130pm, TBS:

I cannot imagine the Red Sox have forgotten the upstart Rays ending their quest for back-to-back titles in the 2008 ALCS. Boston will probably also remember bold spring training predictions from Evan Longoria. These two teams now chase the Yankees, so every time they meet, it’s important.

4 & 5. Yankees-Angels or Mariners-White Sox, April 24, 4pm, FOX (Regional):

The Yankees and Angels have a lot of postseason history, with the Yanks finally topping Anaheim in the 2009 ALCS after losing to them in the 2002 and 2005 LDS – as well as constantly throughout the regular season this past decade.

The Mariners and White Sox have excellent and deep starting staffs, and both teams can potentially do damage in the 2010 AL.

6. Angels-Red Sox, May 3, 7pm, ESPN:

Look at the Angels recent history with New York and flip it versus Boston, all the way to the Halos finally besting the Red Sox in the 2009 ALDS — after losing to them in the same round in 2004, 2007 and 2008. These teams nearly always play stellar games. Former Angel icon John Lackey now pitching for Boston will up the intensity.

7. Twins-Yankees, May 16, 1pm, TBS:

The Yanks have stomped out Minnesota’s postseason dreams multiple times in the 21st century, including again in 2009. This will be their first series meeting in 2010.

8. Red Sox-Phillies, May 23, 1pm, TBS:

A matchup of two of the past three world champions based in big markets. A great regional interleague battle between two teams who’d love to unseat the Yankees come October.

9. Cardinals-Cubs, May 30, 220pm, TBS:

This is the only series these bitter rivals face off prior to the All-Star break. Few disagree that they are the two best teams in the NL Central as we look toward the 2010 campaign.

10. Angels-Mariners, June 5, 4pm, FOX (Regional):

Arguably the two best teams in the AL West match-up in the northwest. Chone Figgins, who played his entire eight year career with Anaheim, goes up against his former franchise.

11. Dodgers-Red Sox, June 19, 4pm, FOX (Regional):

Manny returns to Boston. That should say it all. Other than that, a great Interleague matchup between two legendary coastal clubs that just might meet in the Fall Classic.

MLB National TV Schedule (FOX, ESPN, TBS)

*********

* – Jake Peavy photo credit: Viva la Vidro

While most know of the Dodgers’ struggles the past fortnight or so, they finished by winning their final two games. 

And though St. Louis had little to play for other than home field in round one, the Redbirds dropped eight of their final ten, mostly to teams now playing golf.

Thankfully, perhaps, they avoided the Rockies, who took six of seven from them in 2009, and instead get the Dodgers, who limp into the postseason, after being arguably the NL’s best squad most of the season.

Here is the TV schedule and the pitching matchups for the Cardinals-Dodgers NLDS series:

Cardinals-Dodgers LDS TV Schedule and Pitching Matchups

Before winning Saturday and Sunday — the latter a meaningless game which Colorado played back-ups — Los Angeles had lost five in a row, four of them to the Padres and Pirates.

The Dodgers have been a solid home team this season, but they dropped two of three at Chavez Ravine to STL in late August. The reason? Cy Young frontrunners Adam Wainwright and recently-minted Comeback Player of the Year Chris Carpenter, who foiled LA’s lumber during the regular season, on their way to 41 combined victories despite the latter missing five weeks (and six starts) in April/May.

Those two fellows stand as Saint Louis’ biggest strength in the series.

Hitting had been a strength of the Dodgers all season, but lately, while Manny Ramirez has not homered since mid-September (4 for 28 this year against STL with no homers), key role players like James Loney and especially Russell Martin, have scuffled of late. Andre Ethier, the Dodgers big stick on the left side, will need to capitalize against a Cardinal staff full of right-handers. One strength Los Angeles has, that does not get enough attention in postseason but really matters, is defense. There is no playoff team better defensively than the Dodgers.

With journeyman Randy Wolf assuming the role of “staff ace” in a game one start versus Carpenter to be followed by 21 year-old Clayton Kershaw against Wainwright, LA could have major issues trying to get this series back to LA, as STL is bound to win one of those, if not both. Right-handed sluggers like Pujols, Matt Holliday, Ryan Ludwick and Mark DeRosa — 116 homers between the four this year — will be salivating to see Wolf, who allowed a startling 23 home runs vs righties in 2009. Heck, 2002 NL MVP (and right-side slugger) Troy Glaus will probably start a game or two as well. Defensive stud and 2006 NLCS hero, Yadier Molina, willstart game one despite missing most of the season’s final week.

On the other hand, the Cards need to split at worst in LA (home field means very little in the postseason) as they have major issues in the 3-4 starter area, with struggling Joel Piniero , spotty Kyle Lohse and  42 year-old John Smoltz getting the balls this weekend.Blue-collar closer Ryan Franklin has become a major issue for the Cards after having a sensational first half.

The Dodgers’ ace in the hole is Chad Billingsley, who’s been hurting, but when healthy is their best pitcher.  His status is unknown. So is the back-end of the rotation, though there are quality candidates. LA’s bullpen, however, worked the third most innings in baseball during 2009; the Cards’ pen, the fewest in baseball. Then there’s the Red Birds’ ”ace” is known to many, and can be the difference in any series: Mr. Albert Pujols.

Gerry Farley of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, explained why Saint Louisians should be confident:

“This is, by far, the better matchup for the Cardinals. The Dodgers lack a dominating starter. Their opening-game starter, lefthander Randy Wolf, is the bad-karma pitcher of the season. The Dodgers have nine blown saves behind Wolf, who has trouble getting beyond the sixth inning. Lefthander Clayton Kershaw allowed 4.79 walks per nine innings and also usually departs in the middle innings.”

There are many other great storylines in this one, and despite all the perceived mismatches, I could easily see it being the first division series since 2005 to go five games — and the only one to do so this season.

The Cardinals, arguably the “team of the decade,” at least in terms of consistent success, would like to add another deep run to their 21st century resume.

Yahoo Sports, which, for my money is far superior to ESPN.com, has done a great job with playoff synopses. St. Louis’ can be found here. A more local look at the NL Central champs is here. For more on the Dodgers, see here.

Some girl that I’ve never heard of before sang “God Bless America” last night at the Dodgers-Cardinals game and, well, it didn’t go so well. Follow the link to Busted Coverage’s account of Erika David failing miserably in her singing of “God Bless America”, and then watch video of said failure below.

And, yes, James Loney’s facial expressions are priceless.

Video: Erika David Fails Singing “God Bless America” at Dodgers-Cardinals Game

And now some other links from around the blogosphere for you:

• Jay Cutler, Jersey King — (Jay Cutler Superstar)
• Joe Mauer: MVP — (Josh Q. Public)
• Random Retro Baseball Player: Kelly Gruber — (Sharapova’s Thigh)
• NCAA’s respect weekend has big potential to fail — (MoonDog)
• Manstruction: How to write poetry — (Straight Pinkie)
• 35 Trippy Hippy VW Vans — (Hail Mary Jane)
• SEC Digital Network will change the game as we know it — (SEC Rivals)
• Kenny Powers makes his debut as an analyst — (Awful Announcing)
• A couple of nice Erin Andrews photos — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
• College football blogpoll ballot — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• The best Favre hate from around the web — (Tremendous Upside Potential)
• Reds stuck with Harang — (My Sports Rumors)
• Strasburg gets Capitol Punishment — (Zoner Sports)

The sweep was the Cub’s first since June 27-29 when they lost three straight games to their cross town rivals Chicago White Sox in Interleague play.

Ironically the Dodgers avenged an earlier sweep at the hands of the Cubs at the Friendly Confines back in May. The only difference is that the Dodgers are advancing to the National League Championship Series and the Cubs are looking to 2009 where they will hopefully find a way past the first round.

The Dodgers face the Phillies for the right to be called NL champs, with game one set for Thursday. The Dodger Blue return to the NL Championship round after a 20-year absence since the fatal blow by Kurt Gibson propelled them to the World Series in 1988.

The Fighting Phills return to the playoffs after 15 years of futility since the Phillies took centre stage in 1993 boasting a 97-65 mark. It was the only time in the 1990’s that the Phillies enjoyed a winning record making the best of it.

Since the Cub’s sweep of the Dodgers this season, first year manager Joe Torre has added slugger Manny Ramirez to the fold which has more than revamped a struggling lineup before the trade. The difference has been Night and Day for the struggling Dodgers.

Despite being one game out of the NL West race and one game below .500 and struggling for power due to injuries the Dodger Blue signed Ramirez just hours before the July 31^st deadline.

“If we didn’t have him, I don’t know what our chances would have been,” said third baseman Casey Blake, acquired five days earlier.

With Ramirez, the Dodgers went on an 18-5 tear to clinch the NL West and put Ramirez in the postseason for the 10th time in his illustrious career.

[tags]chicago cubs, los angeles dodgers, mlb, mlb playoffs, baseball, manny ramirez[/tags]

Dodger first baseman James Loney silenced the crowd connecting on a 3-2 pitch that sailed over the center field fence for a heartbreaking Grand Slam and a 4-2 lead. The Cubs suffered their seventh straight post season loss as Chicago coach Lou Piniella’s refused to pull the plug on starter Ryan Dempster who had clearly struggled through five innings on the hill.

The Billy Goat, Black Cat, or even Bartman were no excuse for any manager to keep a struggling pitcher on the mound, hoping to dodge bullets from the bats of the lethal Dodger’s lineup. The Cubs danced around a bases loaded third inning before outfielder Andre Eithier struck out to end the threat.

Dempster was on borrowed time all night giving up seven walks through five innings of work and never looking comfortable before Loney put an end to his night, and possibly the Cubs hopes to advance in the playoffs.

“I felt like I really let the guys down today,” said a solemn Dempster in the lock room after the game.

The lone bright spot for the Cubs came with one out in the second inning when Mark DeRosa put the Cubs up with a two run blast off winning pitcher Derek Lowe.

DeRosa, making his return after a calf injury forced him to miss the Cubs final four regular season games came out in grand fashion later came to the aide of his teammate. “You’re surprised by the walks,” Chicago’s Mark DeRosa said. “When you consistently put yourself in jams with walks, eventually somebody’s going to get a knock. That’s just the way the game is. I’m hoping he gets another chance. I want to give him that chance to get on the mound and redeem himself.”

The final dagger in the backs of the Cubs faithful came in the bottom of the ninth inning as Dodger manager Joe Torre trotted out two time Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux to close out the game.

Maddux was welcomed by the still respectful crowd that had remembered Maddux’s career in Chicago, but proceeding to ignore the accolades putting down the Cubbies in order to end the night and give the Dodgers the 1-0 game lead ending the Cubs home field advantage.

Another sidelight came when Alfonso Soriano ended the night going 0 for 5 and walking back to the dugout amidst a chorus of boos. The Cubs send their Ace Carlos Zambrano to the mound tonight in what should be a do or die game for Chicago, and given the hit or miss style of Zambrano, the Cubs might be in for a long night and an even longer off season.

[tags]chicago cubs, los angeles dodgers, lou piniella, mlb, mlb playoffs[/tags]