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NL preview At last, Bonds may be set for World Series shotPosted: Monday March 25, 2002 12:37 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- His future spot in the Hall of Fame is secure -- four MVPs, 10 All-Star selections and 73 home runs guarantee him a plaque in Cooperstown. Only one thing is missing for Barry Bonds. The biggest thing there is for a ballplayer. "All I want now is a World Series ring," he said. He's certainly had his chances. Five trips to the playoffs, five times his team hasn't won a series. His postseason stats? A .196 average, one homer and six RBIs in 97 at-bats. At 37, his time to win a championship -- and silence the anti-Barry sentiment -- is starting to run out. Fortunately for Bonds, he might get another opportunity this year. The San Francisco Giants are poised to make one more run. To reach the playoffs, manager Dusty Baker's team will need to get past the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. The World Series champions did not do much in the offseason, perhaps allowing the improved Giants and age catch up to them. "We had time off to enjoy the spectacular season we had last year," Arizona first baseman Mark Grace said. "Now it's up to us and the veteran guys to make sure it's just that -- last year. We have targets on our backs, but it's a good feeling to be the team to beat, and I think we are." The Atlanta Braves remain the team to beat in the East, in line for their 11th consecutive division title. The St. Louis Cardinals, minus Mark McGwire, should hold off Houston in the NL Central, and the revamped New York Mets are in position to win the wild card. A look at the NL in predicted order of finish:
NL EASTAtlanta Braves One of these days, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will break down and the Braves will not finish in first place. No one is ready to bet that it'll happen this year, though. Certainly not after Atlanta pulled off a steal in the offseason, getting Gary Sheffield (.311, 36 HR, 100 RBIs for Los Angeles) from Los Angeles for Brian Jordan, Odalis Perez and a prospect. Sheffield will fit into a slugging outfield that includes converted 3B Chipper Jones (.330, 38, 102) and Andruw Jones (34 HR, 104 RBIs). Rafael Furcal, the 2000 NL Rookie of the Year, comes back after missing half of last season with a shoulder injury. The Braves found out he's 23 instead of 21, and laughed it off. Maddux (17-11, 3.05 ERA) and Glavine (16-7, 3.57) will both be 36 by mid-April. John Smoltz (10 saves) turned down a chance to join the Yankees and will try to become the full-time closer. New York Mets GM Steve Phillips vowed to revitalize the majors' worst offense, and did it in stunning fashion. Newcomers Roberto Alomar (.336, 100 RBIs, 30 SBs), Jeromy Burnitz (34 HR, 100 RBIs), Roger Cedeno (55 SBs) and slugger Mo Vaughn (injured last year) join a new-look New York lineup that already includes Mike Piazza (.300, 36, 94). Phillips also acquired Shawn Estes and Pedro Astacio to replace Kevin Appier and Glendon Rusch in the rotation. Overall, hard-to-please Mets fans liked the deals, and are eager to get going after a disappointing 82-80 finish. Florida Marlins The best young rotation in the NL may pitch Florida into the playoffs -- in a few years, that is. A change in ownership moved manager Jeff Torborg from the Expos to the Marlins right before spring training, along with most of the front office. The few fans left in Montreal can vent their feelings when Florida opens the season at Olympic Stadium. Brad Penny (10-10, 3.69), Ryan Dempster (15-12, 4.94), A.J. Burnett (11-12, 4.05) and rookie Josh Beckett (2-2, 1.50) lead a staff full of power arms. Philadelphia Phillies After seeing the Braves and Mets make big deals this winter, Philadelphia fans were disappointed GM Ed Wade's major move was getting pitcher Terry Adams. If Scott Rolen stays in town, all might be forgiven. Rolen (.289, 25, 107) turned down a whopping offer and seems intent on becoming a free agent. His contract status is sure to be a sore point all year. Manager Larry Bowa spurred the surprising Phillies in his first season, keeping them in contention until the final week. He'll be hard-pressed to do it again, especially if he and Rolen remain at odds. Montreal Expos A few early wins could turn the poor, little orphaned Canadian club that no one wanted into America's team. Yet despite the best efforts of new manager Frank Robinson and GM Omar Minaya, the franchise owned by major league baseball -- how weird is that? -- is a little too short. Vladimir Guerrero (.307, 34, 108) is destined to win an MVP award. It may not be this year, almost certainly the Expos' last one in Montreal. Javier Vazquez (16-11, 3.42) is sure to attract trade offers by July 31, but it's impossible to predict whether Minaya will be free to make big deals.
NL CENTRALSt. Louis Cardinals It probably sounds sacrilegious to say in St. Louis, but it's true: Minus Big Mac, the Cardinals may be even better than they were last season. Tino Martinez (34 HR, 113 RBIs) did a great job of succeeding Don Mattingly with the New York Yankees, and his steady play will fill Mark McGwire's spot. Jason Isringhausen (34 saves) gives Tony La Russa the stopper he's been looking for. There are plenty of starters, led by Matt Morris (22-8, 3.16) and Darryl Kile (16-11, 3.09). Even if Rick Ankiel cannot make it back to the majors, the Cards can throw no-hit rookie Bud Smith. NL Rookie of the Year Albert Pujols (.329, 37, 130) and J.D. Drew (.323, 27, 73) provide plenty of pop. Houston Astros They've changed managers -- Jimy Williams for Larry Dierker -- and the name of the ballpark -- Astros Field instead of Enron Field. Yet the challenge remains the same in Houston: getting past the first round of the playoffs. Jeff Bagwell (39 HR, 130 RBIs) and Craig Biggio (20 HR) got a nice boost from Lance Berkman (.331, 34, 126). The Killer Bs will miss Moises Alou, however. Wade Miller (16-8, 3.40) and Roy Oswalt (14-3, 2.73) are among the best young pitchers in baseball. Dierker guided the Astros to four division titles in five years. But they never reached the NLCS, and he was fired after the Braves swept Houston in October. Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa, Alou and Fred McGriff form a mean-looking middle of the order. Even so, the Cubs need someone to get on base to start games, along with a closer to finish them. Alou (.331, 27, 108) signed with Chicago, lured by the lobbying of Sosa (.328, 64, 160). By the middle of spring training, Slammin' Sammy also was talking to Bonds, having patched up their odd little feud. Jon Lieber (20-6, 3.80) and Kerry Wood (12-6, 3.36) lead a rotation that will soon include can't-miss prospect Mark Prior. But there's a big hole in the bullpen, with Tom Gordon (27 saves) out for the foreseeable future because of a shoulder injury and setup men Kyle Farnsworth and Jeff Fassero trying to take his place. Milwaukee Brewers The Brewers added leadoff man Eric Young and starter Glendon Rusch, though their biggest acquisitions might've been coaches. Gary Matthews was brought in as the hitting instructor to help a team that became the first club in major league history to finish a year with more strikeouts than hits. He spent spring training preaching patience at the plate, and hopes Richie Sexson (45 HR, 125 RBIs, 178 Ks) and Jose Hernandez (25 HR, 185 Ks) will listen. New pitching coach Dave Stewart can teach his big-game stare, but can he transform a staff that had no one win a dozen times? Pittsburgh Pirates Their last winning season came way back in 1992 with Bonds. Now, the Pirates and Brewers are both trying to avoid becoming the first NL team with 10 straight below-.500 finishes since expansion Montreal from 1969-78. Coming off a league-leading 100 losses, the outlook is bleak beyond Brian Giles (37 HR) and Aramis Ramirez (.300, 34, 112). Kris Benson is still recovering from elbow problems that sidelined him last year and OF Derek Bell (.173) threatened to go into "Operation Shutdown" unless he was given a starting job. Cincinnati Reds Somehow, this is not what Ken Griffey Jr. envisioned when he took a trade to his hometown team. Griffey (.286, 22, 65) was hobbled by a torn hamstring last year and saw Cincinnati lose 96 games. This spring, Junior heard ex-Reds talk about how he wasn't a good teammate. Plus, his dad quit as a coach. Adam Dunn (19 HR in 244 at-bats) was a rookie sensation. Yet with little pitching, prospects are poor in Cincinnati's final season at Cinergy Field.
NL WESTSan Francisco Giants The decision by Bonds to sign a five-year, $90 million contract and stay by the Bay attracted all the offseason attention. The Giants' drive to improve their defense might mean the most once the games begin. 3B David Bell (15 HR for Seattle) and CF Tsuyoshi Shinjo (56 RBIs for the Mets) will significantly improve a team that had trouble catching the ball. Reggie Sanders (33 HR for Arizona) joins a lineup that has no trouble scoring. Rich Aurilia (.324, 37, 97) and Jeff Kent (106 RBIs) both make it easier for Bonds. Even without Estes, the rotation is fully capable, provided Jason Schmidt (7-1, 3.39 after being acquired from Pittsburgh) is healthy. Ramon Ortiz (17-9, 3.29) is the ace, and the bullpen is extremely deep with Robb Nen (45 saves) and Felix Rodriguez (9-1, 1.68). Arizona Diamondbacks Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Co. provided a thrilling finish to the 2001 season, beating the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7. Chances are, manager Bob Brenly and the Diamondbacks will not be able to overcome age this year. Grace (37), Steve Finley (37) and injured Matt Williams (36) are slowing down. Todd Stottlemyre's comeback bid is dicey, closer Matt Mantei is still hurt, and there's no telling how Byung-Hyun Kim will pitch after last year's late meltdown. World Series co-MVPs Johnson (21-6, 2.49, major league-leading 372 Ks) and Schilling (22-6, 2.98) were overwhelming in the postseason. Rick Helling (12-11, 5.17 for Texas) joins a rotation that could be shaky past the big two. Luis Gonzalez (.325, 57, 142) won the Series with a blooper. Still, his broken bat ended up at the Hall of Fame. Los Angeles Dodgers Chan Ho Park and Sheffield are gone, and the Dodgers' chances of winning their first postseason game since 1988 may have left with them. New GM Dan Evans was active, getting Jordan (.295, 25, 97) and pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideo Nomo, Omar Daal and Paul Quantrill. Yet it's uncertain whether ace Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby can stay healthy all year, and Darren Dreifort's future is in doubt after his second major elbow operation. San Diego Padres With Tony Gwynn gone, Padres fans can look forward to watching a new crop of promising prospects. Sean Burroughs, last seen hitting long drives in the Little League World Series, takes over at 3B. Ramon Vazquez will soon be ready at SS, and the pitching staff is young. Phil Nevin (.306, 41, 126) and Ryan Klesko (30 HR, 113 RBIs) are the big hitters. They proved that in a pair of spring-training brawls with Anaheim, and both were penalized by new baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson. Colorado Rockies The Rockies kept reshuffling their roster, adding the likes of Todd Zeile and Benny Agbayani while losing Jeff Cirillo. Then again, it did no good last winter as Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle became the latest pitchers to get clocked at Coors Field. Hampton, who signed for $121 million didn't help -- he went 5-11 with a 7.37 ERA in his last 19 starts. Larry Walker (.350, 38, 123) and Todd Helton (.336, 49, 146) again excelled at altitude.
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