NL West: D-backs should slither past talented foes

BY KEN DAVIDOFF | ken.davidoff@newsday.com

April 1, 2007

No division received more of an offseason energy burst than the NL West. And now this quintet of teams, the laughingstock of the industry back in 2005, should feature one of the most exciting, well-played races.

The division imported six Cy Young Award trophies; Randy Johnson and his five returned to Arizona from the Yankees and 2002 AL winner Barry Zito crossed the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco. Greg Maddux, who has won four Cy Youngs, moved within the division, from the Dodgers to the Padres. And the reigning NL Cy Young winner is the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb.

Longtime Giants ace Jason Schmidt, moreover, moved south to the Dodgers.

Figure on plenty of high-profile pitching matchups, therefore, as the Diamondbacks, Giants, Padres and Dodgers have considerable depth and talent behind these biggest names.

So who will prevail? The bet here is the Diamondbacks.

They have been rebuilt meticulously in the last few years, with the products of their farm system all over the field. Johnson, off his rough 2006 with the Yankees, will be looked upon as a supporting player; it's OK if he can't dominate anymore.

Between Johnson, Webb, Livan Hernandez and new arrival Doug Davis, the D-Backs shouldn't have to lean too heavily on their suspect bullpen.

The Giants, with Zito around to take away at least some attention from his more sour namesake, Barry Bonds, have an underrated pitching staff. GM Brian Sabean seemed to replace outgoing veterans with different veterans, yet there should be enough here to compete. Bonds seems poised for his best season since 2004.

The Dodgers are stacked with pitchers, as lefthander Randy Wolf joins Schmidt as a newcomer alongside Derek Lowe and Brad Penny. But will Los Angeles hit enough? And can manager Grady Little successfully integrate all of the pieces?

The Padres brought back the ageless David Wells, so with Maddux, they have two over-40 pitchers. Yet they lost Mike Piazza to Oakland, and it's optimistic to think that new second baseman Marcus Giles can help make up for that.

San Diego also made the riskiest managerial change, letting Bruce Bochy go to division rival San Francisco and hiring longtime pitching coach Bud Black.

And then there are the Rockies, who do seem to be steadily improving but are not yet ready to climb out of last place.

STATLINE: The Giants' all-time home run leader is Willie Mays with 646. Barry Bonds enters this season with 558 of his 734 as a Giant.

(1) ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Manager: Bob Melvin (third season, 153-171; fifth overall, 309-339).

General manager: Josh Byrnes

2006: 76-86, fourth-place tie.

Outlook: When they won the 2001 World Series, in just their fourth year of existence, the Diamondbacks were a rush job, constructed (skillfully, it turned out) for a quick hit before age and payroll overload took over. Now, six years later, this Arizona club is built for the long haul, and it appears to be built for success, as well. The starting pitching should be deep, and the bullpen, while suspect, has some promising arms. The lineup, replete with youngsters like SS Stephen Drew and OF Chris Young seems ready to blossom - although, if it doesn't, run support could be a problem.

Player to watch: RHP Jose Valverde. Can he stick as closer, after being the on-again, off-again guy for a few years now?

What to expect: Their first division title since 2002.