NL WEST
Baseball has arrived and not a minute to soon for me. Just a little over a week, now and I am intrigued by what I see, especially in the National League West, a tricky division that stands to really entertain. The San Francisco Giants are the defending World Series Champions, as they beat the Kansas City Royals in a very tight and on-the-edge-of-your-seat game 7 in one of the better Series I’ve seen in quite some time. Will the Giants repeat, or will they be the on again off again World Champions that we have seen taking it every other two years since 2010? Certainly they have the tools to make it happen, but their having a rough start, kicking off the season in last place. Then there are the Los Angeles Dodgers with their incredible payroll and a lineup that for all intense and purposes should get the job done. With some good bats and the reigning Cy Young and NL MVP in Clayton Kershaw, lots of Dodger fans are hoping for this team to get over the hump; they are a roller coaster ride to say the least. The other three remaining teams also appear to want to make a splash, as the San Diego Padres made a ton of moves on the off season collecting quite the weapons to put them in contention. One definitely must give them an E for effort. They certainly hope it pays off. Lastly there are the Colorado Rockies, the new affiliate to the Albuquerque Isotopes. The Rockies have started the season as a surprise, coming out the gates in first place. They have my attention, and now we will see plenty of Rockies in and out of the Duke City on rehab assignments etc., enough for us to keep our finger on the pulse of Colorado. As for Arizona, a team who really struggled last year, they may start to develop and make some noise. Ha-ha, still way too early to tell. I hate to go cliché on you all, but as they say, it is not a sprint it is a marathon. But so far I love watching this division and how it’s unfolding.
