San Francisco Giants
2012 Record: 94-68, Won world series
Manager: Bruce Bochy
Projected Starting Pitchers: Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong, Barry Zito
Projected Starting Fielders: C Buster Posey, 1B Brandon Belt, 2B Marco Scutaro, SS Brandon Crawford, 3B Pablo Sandoval, LF Gregor Blanco, CF Angel Pagan, RF Hunter Pence
2012 Recap: Well, what can I say, they came back and won their second world series title in the last three years, and did it in convincing fashion. They had a lot of ups and downs at times, but remained in control of this division practically the entire season, but that is to be expected with this team. Matt Cain threw a perfect game, but other pitchers like Tim Lincecum struggled, even being removed from the rotation for the playoffs. Of course you can't help but mention Buster Posey's return from a gruesome injury in 2011 to return to his old form, and the downside of Melky Cabrera's 50 game suspension for PEDs.
2013 Outlook: Well, this is complicated, because for the most part they stayed put with their talent, didn't make many moves, and the Dodgers made strides to get better. I'm not saying that they'll completely drop out of first and not compete for the division, but I don't believe that they'll win it by 8 games the way they did last year. From what I can see, if everything goes well, they top 90 wins, but it will be a dogfight throughout the year for the division with the Dodgers.
2013 Projected Wins: 90
I guess he's trying to channel Greg Maddux by stealing his haircut?
Los Angeles Dodgers
2012 Record: 86-76
Manager: Don Mattingly
Projected Starting Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett, Zach Greinke, Chad Billingsley
Projected Starting Fielders: C AJ Ellis, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 2B Mark Ellis, SS Luis Cruz, 3B Jerry Hairston, LF Carl Crawford, CF Matt Kemp, RF Andre Ethier
2012 Recap: Well this year started off with a bang, and a welcome one; an ownership group that includes Ervin Magic Johnson bought the team, ending the drama of the McCourts. To me, this team had an extra bounce in their step as soon as that was announced, and it ended up paying off on the field later in the year. They made a huge trade with the Boston Red Sox acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett, to bolster a good team. This team ended up being too far behind in the end to win the division, but laid the foundation for success in the future, and should see the results soon.
2013 Outlook: This team made moves to get better since the new ownership group took control, and now they'll be able to see it on the field, not just on paper. I like the trade for Beckett Gonzalez and Crawford better now that they're starting the year with the team, and healthy more then I did when it was first made. I still don't know about the Greinke trade however, he has been inconsistent from year to year, and I don't think he was worth the money that they gave him.
Projected 2013 Wins: 90
Arizona Diamondbacks
2012 Record: 81-81
Manager: Kirk Gibson
Projected Starting Pitchers: Ian Kennedy, Brandon McCarthy, Trevor Cahill, Wade Miley, Patrick Corbin
Projected Starting Fielders: C Miguel Montero, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Aaron Hill, SS Cliff Pennington, 3B Martin Prado, LF Jason Kubel, CF Gerardo Parra, RF Cody Ross
So, I don't know a ton about this team, so these will be short, they didn't make the playoffs and they struggled to make it to .500. The team is young but has a mixed bag of talent, both in the pitching staff and the fielders. Kirk Gibson isn't that bad of a manager from what I've seen, and the Diamondbacks have had a lot of patience with managers in the past, and I don't see him looking over his shoulder for at least one more year.
Projected 2013 Wins: 82
San Diego Padres
2012 Record: 76-86
Manager: Bud Black
Projected Starting Pitchers: Edison Volquez, Clayton Richard, Eric Stults, Jason Marquis, Tyson Ross
Projected Starting Fielders: C Nate Hundley, 1B Yonder Alonso, 2B Jed Gyorko, SS Evreth Cabrera, 3B Cody Ransom, LF Carlos Quentin, CF Cameron Maybin, RF Chris Denorfia
This is a team I know almost nothing about, except what I've seen in the past from these players. Last year, they did almost nothing, and everyone expected them to do nothing. Honestly, I don't know if they'll make it to 76 wins this year, and Bud Black should be looking over his shoulder in my opinion. I would put him on my shortlist of managers likely to lose their jobs this year if they don't compete.
Projected 2013 Wins: 72
Colorado Rockies
2012 Record: 64-98
Manager: Walt Weiss
Projected Starting Pitchers: Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Jeff Francis, Juan Nicasio, Jon Garland
Projected Starting Fielders: C Wilin Rosario, 1B Todd Helton, 2B Josh Rutledge, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 3B Chris Nelson, LF Carlos Gonzalez, CF Dexter Fowler, RF Michael Cuddyer
Here we go, the last team, and quite possibly one of the three worst teams in the league. The Rockies have been bad since they lost the world series in 2007 to the Red Sox, and don't appear to be getting better in my opinion. Their manager search in the offseason was interesting, it even included Jason Giambi interviewing, and saying that he would retire in order to manage. The manager job went to Walt Weiss a former player who was an extremely smart shortstop, so it will be interesting to see what happens this year.
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