The National League West
The experts at ESPN - 46 of them, actually - made their picks for the winners of each baseball division, playoff round including the World Series, and just three of them picked the champion San Francisco Giants to make the World Series again, and just one (Buster Olney) picked them to repeat.
The NL West's best pitcher has his own logo.Now, to be fair, I'm sure absolutely none of them picked either the Giants or Rangers to make the series last year so it's not like these picks actually mean anything. And if I had to make a bet on who would win the World Series before a single game had been played, I'm fairly sure I'd choose the Red Sox like almost all the experts did.
But ... so few of these folks even picked the Giants to win the NL West that I find it stunning. First, to be clear, the Giants have the best pitching staff - starters and bullpen - in the NL West. That's indisputable - in the NL, only the Phillies have a better rotation (presumably) and a far, far worse bullpen.
But even on offense, this team is poised to win. Check this out:
PosArizona D-Backs Colorado Rockies Los Angeles DodgersSD Padres SF Giants CommentsCMiguel MonteroChris IanettaRod BarajasNick HundleyBuster PoseyA no-brainer win for the Giants. One of the best young hitters in baseball, regardless of position.1BRussell BranyanTodd HeltonJames LoneyBrad HawpeBrandon Belt or Aubrey Huff I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but ... seriously, who would you want? I'll take the hotshot rookie or last year's MVP candidate.2BKelly JohnsonJose LopezIvan DeJesusOrlando HudsonFreddy SanchezLet's give this one to Kelly Johnson in a contest of some overall mediocre talent. SSStephen DrewTroy Tulowitzki Rafael FurcalJason BartlettMiguel TejadaA solid position across the division, but an easy win for Tulo here.3BMelvin MoraIan StewartJuan Uribe.Chase HeadleyPablo SandovalI'm calling this a push - good young hitters in Stewart, Headley and Sandoval, two decent vets in Uribe and Mora. A toss-up.RFJustin UptonSeth SmithAndre EthierRyan LudwickAubrey Huff / Cody RossDodger fans might vote for Ethier, but I'll go with Upton, a potential five-tool player.CFChris YoungDexter FowlerMatt KempCameron MaybinAndres TorresEven with an off-year in 2010, Kemp is the class of this position, with apologies to Torres and Young.LFXavier NadyCarlos GonzalezTony Gwynn, Jr.Will VenablePat Burrell / Aubrey HuffMuch like Posey at catcher, one of the best young hitters in baseball, regardless of position.SP1Ian KennedyUbaldo JiminezClayton KershawMat LatosTim LincecumGreat aces, all. But two Cy Youngs and a World Series win? It's TIMMY TIME.SP2Daniel HudsonJorge De La RosaChad BillingsleyTim StaufferMatt CainYou can talk about Billingsley, but this isn't close.SP3Joe SaundersJhoulys ChacinTed LillyAaron HarangJonathan SanchezYou want to give this to Ted Lilly or Jhoulys Chacin? Tell me why. SP4Barry EnrightJason HammelHiroki KurodaDustin MoselyMadison BumgarnerA lot of questions, but I'll once again take Mad Bum.SP5Armando GalarragaEsmil RogersJon GarlandClayton RichardBarry ZitoZito has the best record but I'd rather have Garland, Galaragga or maybe even Richard. Sorry, Zeets.RPJuan GuiterrezMatt BelisleHong-Chih KuoLuke GregersonSergio RomoGregerson could be closing for half the teams in the league. I love Romo but Gregerson is lethal.CLJ.J. PutzHuston StreetJonathan BroxtonHeath BellBrian WilsonA lot of talent across the board, but I - like most batters - still fear the beard.
Naturally, I'm not accounting for injuries (Latos, Wilson and perhaps a few others are already on the DL, for example) but here's the thing...if there's a team with the most talent across the board in the division, it's the Giants. If you want to argue that the Rockies or even the Dodgers have the ability to compete, I'll listen - but this is the Giants division to lose. And any "expert" shouldn't find that too difficult of a conclusion to arrive at.
In related news, tomorrow is Opening Day. Baseball ... is back.