Well, Matt Holliday will have a glossy book this offseason, and I'm guessing it won't dwell much on his home-road split.

87-63

Loney will get a chance to play the whole season. Kemp figures to do the same. Ethier could be either platooned or traded. Gonzalez is out, Pierre can't possibly play any worse. Furcal figures to be healthy.

The Dodgers should at least get 3rd place, since the majority of the team is already set into place, including the rotation.

Things will change if Ned decides to tinker...

In my hummmmble opinion, I think the entire Rockies pitching staff is peaking at the right time. This might be shades of White Sox 2005. I won't expect that kind of pitching two years in a row, but I am open to suggestions to the contrary.

He certainly can, especially as his speed declines with age.

I think Giants fans know they will stink next year.

Repeat of last year.
Plug Loaiza into the Tomko/Hendrickson role.
Plug LaRoche into the Loney role, with Nomar being the roadblock.
Plug Juan Pierre into well, Juan Pierre.

Dbax/Rockies should be good again.
Padres will slip.
Dodgers stay the same.
Giants stay the same.

That might be.
But it could be that Morales/Jiminez are legitate top of the rotation guys.
Jeff Francis is solid.
Aaron Cook should be back next year.

The Rox will never win based on their pitching anyways. Its their bashing of the ball that carries them. Hawpe, Holiday, Atkins, Tulo, Helton arent going to get any worse.

If they can deal Tavares in the off-season and play Spillborgs full time in CF, they could be the best offense in the league easily, regardless of park factors.

Going into 2008 the Dodgers should have one less weak arm in the outfield and perhaps play more games with more speed at second base.

Nomar could have a decent year at third and LaRoche might contribute there as well--something mostly missing last year from third base.

If that means Abreu, then it probably also means less power and OBP at second base.

Colorado
LA
Arizona
San Diego

San Fran

I don't see the Padres improving much on their own either. Who in their starting lineup can we expect to be significantly better next year? Maybe Kouzmanoff, though his ceiling doesn't seem that high to me. And their current outfield is old and injury-prone.

---

I remember there was one year, I think it was 2004, where the Steelers did not have a single Monday night game and probably just one Sunday night game... remember that team? They only finished 15-1. Predictions based on the last year are hard to do.

I would not be surprised to see our current pitching staff supplemented with NRI's (as opposed to rookies) in 2008. Which would not be good.

And don't count out Elbert for next year.

Baseball could be becoming more like football in the sense that a lot of teams are so closely matched that just the randomness of an injury, an emergence of a new player, sometimes maybe one error in a key game could swing the difference. Yes, larger payrolls do help but they are no guarantees to success.

It certainly won't be easy but I think every team in the NL West can say that but I will take the easy way out and say I will wait until Spring to make a prediction.

Very few... picking the Dodgers to finish in first...

That is, if A-Rod isn't signed... which seems probable.

--

I heard an interview with John Sherholz (sp?) this morning, and in it, he criticized the ridiculousness of A-Rod's potential 300 million dollar contract, to a point where he said that anyone who goes for it is "idiotic". Score one for sanity.

ps: I think 30 mil a year for A-Rod is reasonable, but it should be more like a 5 year, 7 year contract.

20 - So you think it'll be the Dodgers who go 122-40??

http://tinyurl.com/2b77ac

No, I disagree. Torii Hunter at $18 million is insanity. A-Rod, with everything he brings to the franchise -- wins, merchandise, bigger TV deals, butts in seats -- is worth so much more.

There is a point at which A-Rod becomes too expensive -- did somebody above say $40 million per? -- but $30/year is, in this market, not it, in my opinion.

Right you are, Humma K. I noted that 30 million was reasonable towards the end of 24 . I guess I was just pointing out that many folks think that 30 mil is a ton no matter what the implications.

No offense taken :)

So we all agree! A-Rod for $30million. Done. Anybody have Boras's number? Somebody should let him know.

(666) 666-6666

It could be Abreu or a player obtained in a trade. In either case second base is not typically filled with a team's clean up hitter. Players have two roles, defensive and offensive. Offensively speaking, the urgency of Kent having more power than Abreu or Abreu having more speed than Kent has more to do with whether or not both are hitting in the same spot in the batting order--or something like that.

You have reached Hell. Your call is not even remotely important to us. Due to high call volume, waits may be up to 28,107,204,570,437,730 years. Please continue to hold. Mr. Boras will be available shortly, in geologic terms.

(cuts to hold music; plays "I Just Called to Say I Love You" 93 times in a row)

Maybe I am jaded a bit because I have been around the law game for long time but Scott Boras is only doing his job when he makes a good deal for his client. He is not responsible for the health of the game or fair distribution of talent.

While we shouldn't forget about Elbert by any means, next year may be too early. He pitched in all of three games in April before having surgery on his throwing shoulder. '08 will only be his age 22 season - I'd guess the club will take it slow with him, give him a lower workload this year (even if he's 100%) and have him gunning for an '09 midseason call-up.

Round
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel thats turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

A. Full seasons of Loney, Kemp, Ethier
B. A full season of Billingsley as our #3
C. No dead weight batting 3 and 5 (Nomar/Gonzo)
D. A full season of Schmidt as our 4 (maybe a pipe dream)
E. Loaiza as #5 > Tomko or Hendrickson (even a slight improvement here helps)
F. I'm still not sold on the D-Backs starting rotation sans Webb
G. I'm still not sold on the Rockies starting rotation sans Francis
F. The Pads have Peavy, and 1/2 good Young, 1/2 bad Young...still no offense

Prediciton:

Dodgers 92-70
Rockies 85-77
D-Backs 83-79
Padres 81-81
Giants 75-87

It's nowhere close to a given that Nomar won't get enough PAs in the 3/5 spots to hurt the team.

Granted, I do think his clients should be in control enough to make their own decision regardless of Boras' recommendations. However, I think a lot of players are very hands-off when it comes to contract negotiations and it seems like it wouldn't be too difficult for an agent to color the negotiations one way or another to steer his client towards a certain team.

That's all just food for thought...I'm not trying to call Boras out as unethical or anything since I obviously have no idea how he conducts his negotiations. Other than, you know, the glossiness.

I think most of the Frankenstein stuff (Every Breath You Take, Wrapped Around Your Finger, King of Pain)off Synchronicity is pretty well written for pop music.

Blender Magazine. Who the heck runs that magazine anyway? All of their "Top 100 Best or Worst" lists are way off.

Dodgers 95-67
Rockies 90-72
Padres 82-80
Dbacks 82-80
Giants ----*

* Due to some bunk travel arrangements en route to an
overseas pre-season game, the entire team was captured
by pirates. In a cruel twist of irony they were forced to
help manufacture synthetic hormones for dairy cows.
Upon their release on June 16th Bud Selig, learning of
their horrible acts, suspended them for the rest of the
regular season.

They realize he didn't write the PDiddy version of "Every Breath You Take," right?

Sounds like a grudge move.

Jimenez and Morales look like future stars. Two power pitchers to compliment Francis and you've got a really tough rotation.

http://screenjam.toaster.tv/archives/840931.html#lastcomment

D4P stops in from time to time, to, but don't let that stop you.

Schuerholtz is right about the ridiculousness of Boras' demands. All the hype about A-Rod's butts-in-seats and peripheral nonsense is just that. The problem with A-Rod at that price is that, well, you still have the rest of the team to fill out, and in the absence of a LOT of good, young players, the team suddenly looks mighty thin.

A-Rod's whining on the way out the door from Texas (where he knew he would be the big dog on a relatively young offensive club) is exactly why I would never ever want to see him wear the colors of any team I rooted for. New York is the ideal place for him; there he can stay, and let the Yankees and their bloated budgets fester should he prove to be Griffian in his dotage.

I want ARod. I do not think that we will get him, though. Here is what I think we could do. Trade either Ethier or Young for some pitching and sign Bobby Abreu. I know the outfield defense could be better, but the following lineup could win lots of games:

Furcal
Pierre
Kemp
Abreu
Kent
Loney
Martin
LaRoche/Nomar

Along with some better pitching out of the 4-5 slots, we could be right where we need to be. I think that doing nothing will not improve our team enough offensively. It is doing too much that Ned has the issue with. Abreu would provide us with some pop, speed, OBP and a decent right fielder for a relatively short (3-4 years) contract. He would also not block anyone that is better.

Rockies: I do believe that Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales are the real deal. Aaron Cook (if he can stay healthy, a big if) and Jeff Francis are solid rotationmates; and it's been pretty well established that the Rocks can actually hit, and then some (second in the league in runs scored). What fooled people for so long, I think, and what kept them out of contention, was using the wrong pitchers in the first half or simply not having them available (Jimenez and Morales). With impressive defense (that Tulo sure can pick 'em, can't he?) and a generally young team, these guys could be in a very good place over the next several years, the big possible drawback being regressions from said pitchers. That said, I don't think this is a 95-win team, either.

San Diego: The oldest rotation in the league will necessarily get worse. They've got the best 1-2 in the division and maybe the league, or did until the emergence of Jimenez in Colorado. Their offense is pathetic, and with little in the farm, 2007 may have been a last gasp for the current team construction. Sandy Alderson will sleep well at night, though, because I expect some phenomenal drafts.

Los Angeles: All rests on Ned Colletti. Does he have the courage to let the kids play? There are some encouraging signs (Kemp, Loney, and Billingsley all finally got starting jobs this year) and some not-so-encouraging signs (signing Pierre, Wolf, and Schmidt were ill-advised, and similar moves on the bench turned up sewage). I don't want to make it sound like it's all kids=good, vetruhns=bad, but the ex-Giants/ex-Red Sox parts of the Dodgers rostter assembled by Colletti have definitely stunk.

San Francisco: FINALLY recognizing that the Barry Bonds era is over, and they're in a full rebuilding mode. Peter Magowan must be hating life.

Arizona: Along with Colorado, the class of the division, but it's a thin line separating these guys from the Dodgers. They're going to have to get those young hitters hitting, and beating their Pythagorean totals again will be a challenge.

So: my scientific wild-@ss guess about next year's finishes:

Rockies: 90-72
Dodgers: 88-74
Diamondbacks: 86-76
Padres: 82-80
Giants: 74-88

This sounds like a team I know.

Unfortunately, I figure it's basically gonna be a replay of 2002, when the Dodgers had a solid 92-win season but still finished in 3rd place. The Rockies and D-Backs will also be improved, and will probably finish with 90-95 wins apiece. Maybe the breaks will finally go our way, who knows.

Jimenez and Morales are 23 and 21 and they are pitching effectively in the major league playoffs right now. They might not be dominant next year. They have a lot of development left to do, particularly Jimenez, who isn't really seriously trying to control any of his secondary pitches right now. But they are unlikely to completely fall off the cliff, barring injury.

I think Mariano Rivera would definitely have to change numbers if he came to the Dodgers. There are only some places where 42 can be "unretired" and L.A. isn't one of them.

That said, I doubt the Dodgers would be interested in Rivera.

The Dodgers have much cheaper closers. They should put their saved money in the ARON piggy bank instead.

77 Yes, I can certainly promise that he won't give up ninth inning homers to Holliday that won't be shown over and over. If he gives up homers like that, they will be shown over and over again.
Good point about the #. And LA is the last place to unretire it, I get that.
And, good. I guess the Mets would be the main bidders.

Ned doesn't use a computer, thank you very much. We don't like those kinda GMs.

http://tinyurl.com/27o5bx