Page 118 - Phoenix2000-01

Thursday; March 15. ;WOI _ Page)4 SPORTS Baseball 2001 preview: Who will be on top in,tl.e'NL?f' MATfHEW E. HURFF 1." '.\ ' <\ n' Spans Editor definitely vital for their chances. their confidence away from the Mile High Furthermore, they, will have to figure out Well, it is March, and that means that IfMcGwire is healthy, and as long as left- City. It will be imperative that they pitch what they will do 'at secon'cl·i,ase. towns such as Clearwater. Vero Beach, Mesa, handed hitting Jim Edmonds can continue well when they visit their NL West oppo- Right now, Mark DeRo'sa is they leading Tuscan, Bradenton, and Dunedin are the cen- the success he had last season, and JD Drew nents, where they will have to face off against candidate after having an impressive winter ter of the b~eball world right now. That's and Peruantlo Vina can provide some punch, the likes of Kevirt'Brown, Chan Ho Park, league performance. Will he be able to fill right, spring training is underway. After a the Ca'rds should be successful offensively Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Livan this spot for the Braves? , busy winter of trading and free agency this season. Hernandez and-Shewn Estes. ". Nevertheless, you can never count out the signings, who are this season's strong teams If things fall into place, St. Louis should While these three teams are my choices Braves in the postseason. The talent level leading the pack in the National League? not need much offense though. That is be- to win their respective divisions, there is still of this team is easily good enough to make In the NL East, I predict a changing of cause their pitching rotation contains Daryl a heated race for the wild card slot. Con- waves in the postseason, and wily manager the guard with the Mets edging out the Kile, Andy Benes, Dustin Hermanson, Rick ceivably, I would say that there are 8 teams Bobby Cox will certainly have them prepared Braves for top honors. Ankiel, and-Matt Morris. out there that could obtain the wild card to do so . . _ 'The Mets come into the 2001 season Benes and Kile and Hermanson have berth, I would like to choose two best bets: Out west, the Giants have a very balanced boasting-a strong-offensive threat once again. been consistent performers for a number of the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco team, with power hitting, speed and solid Mike Piazza is the best offensive catcher in years, while Ankiel has showed a great deal Giants. pitching, both in the starting rotation and in the game today (even though his defensive of promise while battling f!1~c,~l.!-ni,?~!p!R,b~\1 The Braves have been major players in the bullpen. game is lacking). lems (while being a good hitter to b6btJ. -' every baseball season since they pulled out At the plate, their biggest threats include, Expect Piazza to see some lime at first Morris has returned to full strength after hav- a worst-to-first pennant run in 1991. Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, JT Snow and Eric base in the near future, especially if some- ing surgery in '99. Throughout the '90s they ha~e been able tc'" Davis all of whom are well rounded hitters. thing happens to Todd Zeile. Robin Ventura Beyond these pitchers, the Cards also put together a slew of championship caliber Beyond them, center fielder Marvin Bernard is a perennial Gold-Glove award winner at possess 16 game winner Garren Stephenson, teams, and this season is no different. How- shows a great deal of speed from the leadoff the hot corner, along with being a strong left-. who will be on the shelf with injuries for ever, I sense that the Braves are on the down- slot and Rich Aurilia is a strong fielder with handed batter. awhile, but could return later on, and Alan tum. some offensive punch. The major problem Meanwhile, in second baseman Edgardo Benes, who is not quite full strength yet. They still have a dominating pitching with the Giants is that they are relying on Alfonzo, the Mets have one of the most com- Nevertheless, while there are many teams staff consisting of Greg Maddux and Tom some older offensi ve talent to carry the plete players in the game today. Theirstable in the NL Central, I do not foresee any of Glavine. But what about the pitchers beyond weight of their team. of outfielders is a little suspect right now, the' other five teams being able to challenge them. Will John Smeltz be able to return to While Barry Bonds was back to his MVP however, there is a good chance that will add the Cards. None of them are deep or confi- his previous form after Tommy John sur- form last season, will he be able to keep go- potent power hitter Gary Sheffield to the mix. dent enough. gery? ing at that pace? Meanwhile, Jay Payton was promising last If the Astros regain their composure af- Which Kevin Millwood will show up this On the hill, the Giants have a strong season, hitting .290 with 17 homers and 62 ter faltering in 2000, they might supply some year, the one who had a 10-13 record with bullpen consisting of closer Robb Nen, and RBIs. pressure. 4.66 ERA in 2000 or the pitcher that was setup men Felix Rodriguez, Alan Embree, However, they need to find a better lead- Out west, the leading team in 200] should 18-7 with a 2.68 ERA in 1999? If Millwood Tim Worrell and John Johnstone. off hitter than Benny Agbayani, who appears be the Rockies. can return to this form, the Braves will cause This is definitely a luxury for manager (Q be the number one candidate for this slot. Over the past two seasons, they have major problems for the Mers. Ifhe does not, Dusty Baker, but he may not have 10 call on The leadoff hitter is key in setting the table greatly-revamped their team from a slow, but the Braves better shop for another starter if them often with the strong rotation of Livan for the rest of the offense. Maybe some op- powerful team built around the likes of Vinny they want the NL East crown. Hernandez, Shawn Estes, Russ Ortiz, Kirk r-,-_.t?io_n., _w_i\l_o.;,p,~'n~u..;p_~_or_t_he~m..;aMs_th_e_,_ea..so..n_cwa~""i.I,~.and Dante Bicherte, to a quick, good ....tA~~!e~i::~~e:;f~s!~~ th~n~raves have Reu~e~:;~e~~~~ ~:~~~illhave to prove from their minor league system, or maybe a amount of power. At first base, they possess Their marquee hitter is the switch hitting themselves in the moSt'd.ifficult division in . trade with another team. Todd Helton, a true all-around hitter. Last Chipper Jones, who can be counted on to hit the NL, possibly even in Major League Base- . Their pitching staff has been knocked season his batting average was hovering over.300 with 120 RBI and 30+ homers each ball. Nevertheless, look for the Giants to be down a peg with the loss of Mike Hampton, around .400 until it finally dropped to an season. They also have solid bats in Javy but they still have AI Leiter, Rick Reed, and impressive .372. They also have stellar right Lopez, Andruw Jones-and Brian Jordan along Glendon Rusch along with newcomers fielder Larry Walker, who is returning from with promising shortstop Rafael Furcal. Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel. an injury riddled season, promising second However, they are suspect at a number VIA: Backing them up, Bobby Valentine has baseman Todd Walker, and third baseman of other positions, namely first base. They Who holds the MLB the luxury of one of the best bullpens of the Jeff Cirillo. lost Andres GaJarraga to the Rangers in the game. In the off season, the Rockies have also off-season, and now have the trio of Rico In the NL Central, the best bet for first upgraded their starting rotation by adding. Brogna, George Lombard and BJ Surhoff place are the Cardinals. The Cards boast a Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle. vying for the job. still potent offense with Mark McGwire as It will be interesting to see how the two Unless one of these three step up, the its centerpiece. Will McGwire be felled by handle pitching half of their games in Coors Braves will have a sore spot to deal with. ...!:::;::~==:fO!===::::f=~=:9 back or other injuries as he was last season? Field. If they can survive and allow their r- If he is, the Cardinals better think of a offense to keep them in games they should plan B as they did last year when they ac- be in good shape. It is also important that FREE TAX HELP ' quired Will Clark from the Orioles. He is they do not let their high ERAs at Coors hurt, By appointJnent only Classified .i.lu,';.. 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