The Giants Baseball Blog

AMERICAN LEAGUE AWARDS AL MVP: Vladimer Guerrero (Should lead the Angels to the playoffs with a huge year, even w/limited protection) AL Cy Young: Johan Santana (Still the best and will dominate again in '07) Rookie of the Year: Daisuke Matsuzaka (He has looked as good as advertised this spring) Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia ( Has his work cut out for him creating a lineup around Vlad) Comeback Player: Sammy Sosa (If this spring is any idication, Sosa is in for big things in '07) NATIONAL LEAGUE AWARDS NL MVP : Carlos Beltran ( Now in his 3rd year in NY, look for Beltran to have a career year) NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt ( Should be a 20 game winner this year with that lineup) Rookie of the Year: Troy Tulowitzki (Should break onto the scene with a big year in '07) Manager of the Year: Willie Randonlph ( Many feel he should have won it last year) Comeback Player: Armondo Benitez ( Should save more games this year than last 2 combined) PLAYOFFS: ALDS: Tigers over Re

1st Place, Los Angeles Dodgers Lineup: CF Juan Pierre SS Rafael Furcal 1B Nomar Garciapara 2B Jeff Kent LF Luis Gonzalez C Russel Martin RF Andre Eithier 3B Wilson Betimet Rotation: RHP Jason Schmidt RHP Derek Lowe RHP Brad Penny LHP Randy Wolfe RHP Chad Billingsly SU: Jonathen Broxten Closer: Takashi Saito As much as it pains me to do so, I have to pick the Dodgers to win the west at this point. I think they have the most complete team overall in the division. Their bullpen is the best in the division as well. Their top of the order is as good as any in the game, and as long as they keep Nomar and Kent healthy they are going to score more than enough runs to win games. If Jason Schmidt pitches like the pre-2005 version of himself then the Dodgers could be the best in the NL. 2nd Place, San Francisco Giants Lineup: CF Dave Roberts SS Omar Vizquel LF Barry Bonds 2B Ray Durham 1B Rich Aurillia/Ryan Klesko RF Randy Winn C Bengie Molina 3B Pedro Feliz Rotation: LHP Barry Zito RHP Matt Cain

1st Place, St. Louis Cardinals Lineup: SS David Eckstein LF Chris Duncan CF Jim Edmonds 1B Albert Pujols 3B Scott Rolen RF Juan Encarnacion 2B Adam Kennedy C Yadier Molina Rotation: RHP Chris Carpentar RHP Anthony Reyes RHP Kip Wells RHP Adam Wainright RHP Ryan Franklin Closer: Jason Isringhausen The reigning world champs are going to have to out-slug everybody else again this year with all their questions regarding their pitching. Carpentar, Reyes and Wainright should be solid, but Wells and Franklin will leave a lot to be desired. Jason Isringhausen has to be healthy or else Wainright goes back to the pen and the rotation gets even weaker. If Carpentar goes down for any length of time the Cards are in trouble. The best thing they have going for them is their weak division. 2nd Place, Houston Astros Lineup: CF Chris Burke 2B Craig Biggio 1B Lance Berkman LF Carlos Lee 3B Morgan Ensberg RF Luke Scott/Jason Lane SS Adam Everett C Brad Ausmus Rotation: RHP Roy Oswalt RHP Jason Jennings R

1st Place, New York Mets Lineup: SS Jose Reyes C Paul LoDuca CF Carlos Beltran 3B David Wright 1B Carlos Delgado LF Moises Alou RF Shawn Green 2B Jose Valentin Rotation: LHP Tom Glavine RHP Orlando Hernandez RHP John Maine LHP Oliver Perez LHP Dave Williams Closer: Billy Wagner The Mets Lineup should be better this year if Moises Alou gives them 120+ games. Jose Reyes could break out and have a20 home run/ 80 stolen base season. There bullpen should be a strength as well, especially when Guillermo Mota returns from suspension, only question with them is their starting pitching. If they can hang in until Pedro Martinez returns in August, they should be OK. They will have some heat on them in the best division in the NL. 2nd Place, Philadelphia Phillies *NL Wild Card Winner Lineup: SS Jimmy Rollins RF Shane Victorino 2B Chase Utely 1B Ryan Howard LF Pat Burrell 3B Wes Helms CF Aaron Rowand C Rod Barajas Rotation: RHP Brett Myers LHP Cole Hamells RHP Freddy Garcia LHP Jamie Moyer RHP Adam

1st Place, Los Angeles Angels Lineup: CF Gary Mathews Jr. 3B Chone Figgens RF Vladimir Guerrero LF Garret Anderson DH Shea Hillenbrand 1B Casey Kotchman 2B Howie Kendrick SS Orlando Cabrera C Mike Napoli Rotation: RHP John Lackey RHP Jered Weaver RHP Ervin Santana RHP Kelvim Escobar RHP Bartolo Colon Closer: Francisco Rodriguez The Angels offense lost one of their best run producers in Juan Rivera, but they do have a surplus of young hitters, so one of them are bound to step up and fill his void. Getting a solid rebound season from Bartolo Colon would give a deep rotation even more strength. Their bullpen is just as strong as it's been in the last 10 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver all breakout with 18-20 win seasons. 2nd Place, Oakland Athletics Lineup: C Jason Kendal CF Mark Kotsay RF Milton Bradley LF Nick Swisher 3B Eric Chavez DH Mike Piazza 1B Dan Johnson SS Bobby Crosby 2B Mark Ellis Rotation: RHP Rich Harden RHP Dan Hare

1st Place: Detroit Tigers Lineup: CF Curtis Granderson SS Carlos Guillen DH Gary Sheffield RF Magglio Ordonez C Ivan Rodriguez 1B Sean Casey 2B Placido Polanco LF Craig Monroe 3B Brandon Inge Rotation: RHP Justin Verlander LHP Kenny Rodgers RHP Jeremy Bonderman LHP Nate Robertson LHP Mike Maroth Closer: Todd Jones/Joel Zumaya The Tigers have the best pitching staff in the division and their offense will be better than last years' with a healthy Gary Sheffield. Nate Robertson is one of the more underrated starters in the game and Mike Maroth could be a #3 on most staffs in the majors. Todd Jones will start the year as the closer, but I think it's only a matter of time before Joel Zumaya and his 100 mph fastball are manning the 9 th inning for the Tigers. There only big weakness is their lack of speed on the bases. They aren't going to be able to keep Marcus Thames on the bench too long. 2nd: Chicago White Sox Lineup: CF Scott Podsednik 2B Tadihito Iguchi 1B Jim

Over the next few posts, I will doing a small breakdown of each division ranking each team in the order I think they will finish. I am going to start with the AL East: 1. New York Yankees *Division Winners Lineup: CF Johnny Damon SS Derek Jeter RF Bob Abreu 3B Alex Rodriguez LF Hideki Matsui DH Jason Giambi 2B Robinson Cano C Jorge Posada 1B Doug Mienkewicz Rotation: RHP Mike Mussina LHP Andy Pettite RHP Chin-Ming Wang LHP Kei Igawa RHP Carl Pavano Closer: Mariano Riviera The Yankees are getting older, and I have a lot of questions regarding their starting rotation, but as long as Mariano Rivera is healthy and throwing well, the Yanks are going to be tough. If Pettite and Pavano pitch like they are capable of, they will run away with this division. Keep an eye on the young outfielder Melky Cabrera, he started coming on strong at the end of last year and if he continues to grow the Yanks' are going to have to start him somewhere. 2. Boston Red Sox *AL Wild Card Winner Lineup: 2B Jul

Most of the talk regarding the Giants this spring has been about Barry Bonds and the teams' new ace Barry Zito , but the guys who are really making the headlines are the three young outfielders who have been tearing the cover off the ball. Two guys who seem to have been in the Giants' system for ever, Todd Linden and Jason Ellison, are finally emerging as two major league level hitters. Ellison leads the team in hitting this spring with a .609 average(14-23), and a team high 9 RBI's and 11 runs. Linden has been almost as hot, going 14-31 with a home run and 7 RBI's . Bruce Bochy said earlier in the spring that he had plans for Todd Linden, hinting that there was going to be room on the 25-man roster for Linden but if Ellison ends the spring hitting around .500, it's going to be extremely tough not to carry that bat north. Another guy who has emerged into the mix is Freddy Lewis. Lewis is the least likely guy to make the team out of the three, but he has broken out

The Giants' bullpen got a nice shot in the arm on Sunday as Armondo Benitez made his first appearance of the spring. Benitez has been on the chopping block all winter, and really has been ever since he put on a Giants' uniform. In his first inning back on the mound since late August, Benitez struck out one and allowed one hit before retiring the side and looked good in the process. This is big news for what has been a pretty disappointing spring thus far for the Giants' bullpen. The only two Giant relievers who are projected to make the opening day roster that currently have an era below 6 are Vinny Chulk and Brian Wilson. As much as Giants' fans despise of him and want him gone, Benitez holds the ticket to this bullpens success. The offense has been heating up as of late, and the starting pitchers, besides Matt Cain, have gotten in at least one decent outing. The area that has lacked so far this spring which also has been the same case for the last 3 years is th

Some of the Giants hitters who started the spring out cold are starting to swing the bats a little better. Rich Aurilia and Randy Winn each had their best day of the spring on Wednesday. They both hit their first home runs of the spring and both had 3 hit games. It's good to see those guys start up because the Giants are going to need good years out of both of them. One of these guys are likely to end up being the 5 th place hitter behind Barry Bonds and Ray Durham. The three guys who haven't been able to get into any kind of grove yet are Durham, Omar Vizquel and Bengie Molina. Durham has been the Giant that has been hit hardest by the flu and just hasn't been healthy enough to string together any kind of consistent at bats. He was in the lineup Wednesday hitting cleanup for the first time, a spot which he may man all season, and drove in his first run of the spring. Molina and Vizquel have been healthy and playing but they just haven't been swinging the bat well.

Barry Bonds collected his first 2 hits of the spring on Tuesday and he did it hitting from the 3rd spot in the batting order. It was Bonds' first time in the 3 hole since 2002, and according to Bruce Bochy , it may be something that the Giants seriously consider going forward. I found it kind of odd because Bonds' flat out refused to entertain that thought when Felipe Alou suggested it. Maybe there really were terms in Bonds' new contract that is forcing him to be more cooperative with the team. I have mixed feelings about Bonds hitting 3rd. I like the fact that it gets him up in the first inning which causes major trouble for starting pitchers right out of the gate. It would also enable Bonds from leading off the second inning and coming up with the bases empty which he has done too often over the last few years. The thing I don't like about him hitting 3rd is that it moves Ray Durham up to the 4 th hole and as much as I enjoyed Durham's turnaround season last y

The Giants have looked pretty good through the first weekend of spring training as they have compiled a 3-1 record over their first 4 cactus league games. The new arrivals have all looked comfortable and have contributed nicely so far. Dave Roberts has been the most impressive newcomer, causing problems for opposing teams at the top of the lineup. I would like to see this guy stay healthy for 140+ games, he really could be better than Juan Pierre at 1/2 the price. One of the guys yet to find there rhythm is Rich Aurilia . Aurilia is still looking for his first hit of the spring, but has played well at first base. One of the things I was worried about with Aurilia making the permanent transition to first base was how it would effect him at the plate. It's still early in the spring though and It's not time to worry about anything really besides health. On the health front, the Giants have been pretty well off besides some players suffering from the flu that hit the clubhouse t

Russ Ortiz made his first appearance back with the Giants a good one as he not only pitched very well in his perfect 3 innings of work, but he also came up with a 2 rbi double in the 4 th inning. He struck out 3, and although it's only the spring, this is very good news. Barry Zito also pitched a scoreless inning in his only frame of work to start the game. The offensive star so far (posted in 5 th inning) besides Ortiz has been Tomas De La Rosa who hit a solo jack. I never once questioned taking a flier on Ortiz, and if things pan out, the Giants are getting a steal for $380K this season. Ortiz is fighting for the 5 th spot in the rotation, but unless he gets injured or something drastic happens, the spot will be his, and Jonathen Sanchez will start the year off in the bullpen. I was glad to hear Bochy say that he plans to use Sanchez in only one role this season, and that role likely being late relief. I think it's crucial to have some continuity within the pitching st