There will be a team from California in the 2014 World Series and no it won’t be the Dodgers or Angels; it will be the San Francisco Giants. Again. It hurts me to say, but the Giants are the most complete team in the league, and are better than their Southern California counterparts. Since winning two World Series titles in the last four seasons, the Giants have quietly been one of the better teams in baseball but haven’t got the recognition they deserved because of all the hype of their So-Cal rivals. I’ve got to give credit where credit is due.

Madison Bumgarner has lead the Giants back to the fall classic in 2014. By SD Dirk on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

They handily beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card game in Pittsburgh, then the Washington Nationals who had the best record in the National League. The Giants dispatched them in four games.

The pipe dream would have been to finally see a Dodgers-Giants NLCS, but the Dodgers couldn’t live up to their part of the deal and handed the Cardinals a series win thus setting up another Cardinals-Giants NLCS showdown.

A combination of great pitching from the Giants and injuries and mistakes for the Cardinals gave San Francisco the series win and another World Series appearance.

The San Francisco Giants will meet the red-hot — and surprising — Kansas City Royals in the World Series starting October 21^st in Kansas City. Recent history favors the Giants to win the series, but the way the Royals are playing anything is possible. My advice to the Royals would be to make sure to take the first two games in Kansas City, otherwise the Giants might get to party in San Francisco, celebrating a third consecutive even-year World Series title.

The off-season hot stove is heating up. For the Dodgers, it’s time to start making moves and scout new players to fill the holes on the roster. Many questions have surfaced about the team — linking them to almost every free agent player and wondering whether or not manager Don Mattingly would return. Mattingly will, in fact, be back. Who are the players he’ll be managing, though?

Re-signing Brian Wilson is a key part to the Dodgers offseason, especially so he doesn’t end up back with the Giants. By Thephatphilmz (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

The key for the Dodgers to have a successful offseason begins and ends with one name — Brian Wilson. When Wilson signed with the Dodgers, it was basically an audition for teams to see how he could pitch after his injury and Wilson impressed. Wilson’s presence was a key to the Dodgers run into the NLCS. He posted a 0.66 ERA with a record of 2-1 in 18 regular season appearances and didn’t allow a run in three innings in the playoffs.

So what’s the problem? Wilson was great, so why is it so hard to sign him back? The primary answer is that Wilson wants to be a closer again and the Dodgers already have a good closer in Kenley Jansen. Many teams have expressed interest in Wilson and the Dodgers needs to do something about this fast. Wilson has interest and would stay in Los Angeles if he were to be paid closer-type money. I think the Dodgers should pay the man whatever amount he is asking for. If there is one team who can sink closer money into a player who isn’t a closer, it’s the Dodgers. Wilson has become a fan favorite already and having both him and Jansen at the end of the bullpen is a scary sight for opposing teams.

The Dodgers management needs to re-sign Wilson before making any other moves. He will be a key factor in this team trying for a title run. Winning close games is something you have to be able to do. Wilson will help to this end. Losing him would be a huge blow to a team that had bullpen problems last season. I say the Dodgers should pay the man and keep the rest of the National League West fearing the beard.

This Giants fan called himself a “torture survivor.” He got his picture taken with the trophy last Thursday. By Owen Main

I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect. For the second time in three years the Giants had won the World Series and so for the second time in three years, the Giants’ World Series trophy came to town.

The last time I did this, the trophy was in the center of Farmer’s Market — on a table outside on a street corner. This time, the line was just as long — snaking around the block with some fans waiting up to two hours to get a chance to get their picture taken with the ultimate prize.

Two years ago I had some brethren around. Other Dodger fans roamed downtown on a Thursday night, showing their pride with t-shirts or hats, letting people know that the Dodgers still had the key foothold on fansmanship in the city and county. I didn’t get booed for my Dodgers hat last time either, Giants fans instead choosing to celebrate their first championship on the West coast with a class that made me super-depressed.

The Dodgers responded to the Giants’ title by imploding in 2010-11.

This year was different, though. I saw one other LA hat, and it was all-black and hard to read. I saw hardly any blue throughout Farmer’s Market. I felt like I had entered some Twilight Zone in which the blue San Luis Obispo skies I had always known growing up turned black and orange. It was like the apocalypse of San Luis Obispo baseball fansmanship.

I rounded the corner onto Higuera and was met with a chorus of boos — Giants fans not just content to be excited about their second title in three years. Person after person I talked to agreed that San Luis Obispo had become a Giants town.

The funny thing was, the last trophy presentation was more depressing for me. Before their first title three years ago, I always had a HUGELY long stretch of West Coast title-less years to hold over my Giants friends. As the Giants won their first title, the writing was on the wall for what happened soon after with the Dodgers. The fact that Giants fans handled their celebration with a little more joy and a little less hate had me seething inside.

Getting booed was not pleasant, but in a way it recharged my fansmanship in the same way that it killed it two years ago. Despite the Dodgers fans in SLO county disappearing into the woodwork, the Dodgers are on the upswing — loaded with a level of talent that should allow them to more-than-compete in the division. Giants fans are once again complaining about the amount of money the Dodgers are spending and all seems to becoming right with the world.

All, except the fact that the Giants have the trophy. That is never right. Whether you’re in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Luis Obispo.

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Now that the poor excuse for America’s favorite sport has finished its season with a blackout rather than a bang, it’s time for Major League Baseball teams to report for Spring Training in preparation for what could be one of the greatest seasons in the sport’s history.  For the second time in three years the World Series champion came out of the National League West. The only problem with this is that it was the San Francisco Giants, both times.  2013 is a new season, and as the rest of the teams in the NL West demonstrated this past offseason, it is going to be very difficult for the Giants to repeat as division winners or World Series champions.  Here’s everything you need know about the National League West as Spring Training gets underway.

Arizona Diamondbacks

2012 Roundup:

Record: 81-81 (38-34 vs. NL West); finished 3^rd, 13 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .259

Team ERA: 3.93

The 2012 Diamondbacks started the regular season on a very positive note with a three game sweep of the eventual champion Giants, but after a 5-1 start they found themselves with a 23-28 record at the end of May.  They were never able to find their stride, hovering around the .500 mark throughout the rest of the season. Nevertheless, these Diamondbacks showed the rest of the division that they will be competitive in 2013.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Traded Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to the Braves for Martin Prado, Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers; they subsequently signed Prado to a four year contract.
• In a three team trade with the Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins, the Diamondbacks traded Chris Young and cash to Oakland for Cliff Pennington and minor leaguer Yordy Cabrera, then turned around and sent Cabrera to Miami for Heath Bell.
• In a three team, nine player trade with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, the Diamondbacks sent Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, and Bryan Shaw to the Indians in exchange for Tony Sipp and Lars Anderson, and Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati.  Anderson was later cut.
• Signed J.J. Putz to a two year extension after picking up his option.
• Traded Ryan Wheeler to the Rockies for Matt Reynolds.
• Signed free agent Brandon McCarthy to a two year contract.
• Signed free agent Cody Ross to a three year contract.
• Signed free agent Eric Chavez to a one year contract.
• Signed free agent Eric Hinske to a one year contract.
• Signed free agent Rod Barajas to a minor league contract.

After showing a lot of promise in 2012, the Diamondbacks are looking to capitalize on a strong offseason by putting together a 2013 regular season worthy of winning the NL West.  This roster has a lot of versatility with guys who can play everywhere, and a pitching staff that has the ability to surprise a lot of people.  However, it could be harder than ever to win the division this season with the deep pockets in Los Angeles hell-bent on winning it all right away.

Colorado Rockies

2012 Roundup:

Record: 64-98 (28-44 vs. NL West); finished 5^th, 30 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .274

Team ERA: 5.22

The Rockies began the 2012 season with a fairly decent April, finishing with a respectable 11-11 record. With the benefit of hindsight, they probably would have preferred if the season ended then.  May, June, and July brought a combined record of 26-53 with the team reaching double digit wins in only one of the three months.  Injuries took their toll throughout the entire season as the Rockies stumbled to a last place finish for the first time since 2005.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Signed Dexter Fowler to a two year contract.
• Traded Matt Reynolds to Arizona for Ryan Wheeler.
• Signed Jeff Francis to a one year contract.
• Signed Chris Volstad, Manny Corpas and Yorvit Torrealba to minor league contracts.
• Named Walt Weiss manager.

A quick look at the projected lineup for the 2013 Colorado Rockies shows what could be a very strong team offensively, but there are questions surrounding the team’s pitching.  The Rockies switched to a four-man pitching rotation in mid-June, and reports out of Denver late last season were saying the team planned on utilizing this strategy in 2013 as well.  With superstar players such as Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos González locked up long term, the Rockies have put together a solid base for success in the future, it’s just a matter of placing the correct pieces around them, and that starts with pitching.

Can Clayton Kershaw round back into Cy Young form and lead a voracious starting rotation to the promised land in 2013? By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Clayton Kershaw”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2012 Roundup:

Record: 86-76 (35-37 vs. NL West); finished 2^nd, 8 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .252

Team ERA: 3.34

The 2012 regular season could not have gotten off to a better start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  After starting 9-1, the Dodgers finished 16-7 in the month of April, marking the most wins in franchise history in the first month of the season.  A ten-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox gave them a 42-25 record on June 17, which was quite impressive considering the injuries (specifically to Matt Kemp) the team had endured up until this point.  Alas, this marked the beginning of the end for the Dodgers; they lost fifteen of their next twenty games leading into the all-star break, and played .500 baseball throughout the second half of the season.  In mid August, the new owners attempted to salvage the season in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox, but it proved too be late.  In the trade, the Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, along with their contracts that totaled over $260 million.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Signed free agent Zack Greinke to a six year contract.
• Signed free agent Ryu Hyun-jin to a six year contract.
• Re-signed free agent Brandon League to a three year contract.
• Signed free agent J.P. Howell to a one year contract.
• Traded Jake Lemmerman to the Cardinals for Skip Schumaker.
• Signed Mark McGwire as hitting coach.
• Named Sandy Koufax advisor to the chairman.
• Agreed to a one year extension with Vin Scully.
• Reports of a $7 billion Television deal with Time Warner (reports last week said Major League Baseball still has not received the paperwork to review this deal).

Although 2012 did not finish the way Dodgers fans would have liked, the events that transpired throughout the regular season and well into the offseason have provided renewed hope that the Dodgers organization can finally rise out of the ashes left behind from the oppressive reign of Frank McCourt. One of the most important additions in all of baseball this past offseason could be the addition of Mark McGwire to Don Mattingly‘s coaching staff. His legacy is tainted with steroids, but his talent as a pure hitter was matched by few and his insight will be important to the Dodgers lineup. This roster has the potential to be the best in baseball.

San Diego Padres

2012 Roundup:

Record: 76-86 (34-38 vs. NL West); finished 4^th, 18 games behind the Giants.

Team BA: .247

Team ERA: 4.01

It seemed as if the San Diego Padres were doomed from the very beginning of the season; a 3-12 start led to a 34-53 record at the end of the first half. They followed this up with a 42-33 record in the second half of the season, and made a strong push at the end in an attempt to finish with a .500 record before they dropped six of their last 8, ultimately finishing with a 76-86 record.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Traded Andrew Werner and Andy Parrino to Athletics in exchange for Tyson Ross.
• Re-signed free agent Jason Marquis.
• Signed free agent Freddy Garcia.
• Signed Chase Headley to a one year extension.

The Padres did little this past offseason to help their chances in the NL West, and the one year contract to Headley seems to send the signal they have zero interest on keeping him long term. With that being said, this is not a bad team by any means, it just doesn’t help that other teams in the division have gotten much better as of late. The pitching rotation needs to get better if the team wants any chance of contending late in the season.

To win the NL West, you’ve got to go through AT&T Park. By Coasttocoast at the English language Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

San Francisco Giants

2012 Roundup:

Record: 94-68 (45-27 vs. NL West); finished 1^st, tied for the third best record in the NL.

Team BA: .269

Team ERA: 3.68

At the start of the 2012 regular season it did not seem as if Buster Posey was going to win his second World Series title.  The Giants limped out to a 24-23 record by May 27. From then on they went 70-45 to finish a top the NL West for the second time in three years.  In the first two rounds of the postseason, the Giants went 6-0 in elimination games after coming back from series deficits of 0-2 and 1-3 against Cincinnati and St. Louis, respectively. Against the Tigers in the World Series, the Giants pitching posted a 1.46 ERA and held Detroit to a .156 batting average, clinching the World Series with ease.

Key Offseason Moves:

• Re-signed free agent Angel Pagan to a four year contract.
• Re-signed free agents Jeremy Affeldt and Marco Scutaro to a three year contracts.
• Signed free agent Andres Torres.
• Lost Melky Cabrera, Brian Wilson and Aubrey Huff.

In 2012 the Giants once again showed the baseball world that pitching is the key to winning in the playoffs, but will their passive offseason plan payoff?  Similar to the offseason after their World Series title in 2010, the Giants opted to keep the core of their team intact and focused on keeping the chemistry together; this plan clearly did not work in the 2011 season, so who’s to say it will work now? This past season the Giants got a lot of help since their number one hitter, for much of the season, was using steroids.  This offseason approach has created a number of questions that they Giants will be forced to answer this season.  With the roster the Dodgers have put together, making a case for the Giants to win the division has become much harder, but their pitching, once again, gives them the best chance to do that.

With the Super Bowl right around the corner, the time of year has returned once again. This particular pocket on the calendar serves as the preparation point that will give way to the onslaught of sport for the year to come.

As we speak, New Orleans is being blitzed and invaded by 49ers fans and Ravens fans alike, not to mention the straight-up football fans and “party fans” that are piling in. It is Bourbon Street, after all.

Even the First Super Bowl Party gets a little loose! By White House (Pete Souza) / Maison Blanche (Pete Souza) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We know the pageantry and performance of the big game won’t disappoint. The annual pinnacle of American sport never lets us down, and even if the scoreboard is lopsided, one of your friends at the party seems to always end up that way as well, making the whole Super Bowl party experience a let-down-free zone.

Pushing all the rif-raf to the peanut gallery, the 49ers open, and will most likely remain, favorites – and with good reason. Colin Kaepernick is a dynamic force that is currently surfing the wave that most young phenoms always seem to – “they don’t even know where they are right now.”

The combination of Colin Kaepernick riding the whitewash of momentum, coupled with his elite, dual-threat ability coming of age right before our eyes, makes the 49ers an extremely dangerous favorite. The 49ers could win by a slim margin or a big margin. This is something you can’t necessarily say about the Ravens.

If the Ravens get over, it will be a ‘Rice, Rice, Flacco to Boldin or Pitta 3rd down conversion’ type of game. The deep bomb to Torrey Smith is something I don’t really see the defense of the 49ers allowing, given the prowlace their two all-pro safeties.  At the same time, I would also be foolish if I didn’t consider the magic a retiring Ray Lewis and his defense seem to have going.  Underdogs can still overachieve.

Analysis of the game aside, the unbridled fun of the Super Bowl also serves as a recognizable signaling of the year to come in all other arenas of sport.

The NBA all-star game is on the horizon, and unfortunately for most fans, the taste of purple and gold is impossible to remove from the palate of NBA water-cooler talk everywhere.

Dwight Howard throw-downs have been few and far between so far this season. By Fido (Flickr: Bucks @ Lakers) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I know everyone is exhausted with the revolving Laker discussion, but the reason the Lakers continue to hoard the headlines is a reason you rarely equate with this franchise – their ineptitude.

Give me an “A” or give me an “F,” right?  Unfortunately, “F” sells in a huge way, and sadly, sells even more than “A” does – but you can’t blame the Lakers for all the attention they are recieving.  Another main reason the Lakers are hogging print and air waves is because nothing around the rest of the NBA is making waves.

The Heat are dominating in their defense of the title. The Celtics, Knicks and Rose-less Bulls are still nipping at their heels in the East.  Great.

In the West, the Thunder are still running, the Spurs are still lurking, and the Clippers and Grizzlies are still up-and-coming. Great.

Yawn.  Alright!  I’m awake!

Moving on — what or who else looms near this time of year? You got it – everyone’s favorite worst guy ever, the infamous “bracket guy.”

Unrightfully so, no one pays an emphatic amount of attention to the national NCAA basketball scene until March rolls around, but when it does, get ready to throw down your bracket and your bucks.

Cinderellas will be the overlying theme as they always are, and golden chariots will turn back into pumpkins in the end like they always do – but the overall saga of March never comes up short.  One.  Shining.  Moment.  I’m welling up just thinking about it.  No I’m not.

Seamheads are beyond hyped this time of year as well. Everyone is a potential pennant winner in spring training, and pitchers and catchers report in less than a month.

With the Giants coming off another World Series Championship and the Dodgers having huge expectations, the rivalry only looks to get juicier. By andyrusch (http://www.flickr.com/photos/asrusch/5748267516/) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Money, money and more money has morphed a perpetual big-market underachiever into the new West coast version of the New York Yankees. Trading for the gigantic contracts of super stars has given way to monumental stadium renovations for the Dodgers, which will create more revenue, and eventually give way to taking on even more gigantic contracts of super stars.

Moneyball may get you to the dance, but big money allows you to go home with the prom queen in the end. The Dodgers have officially taken on the new face of baseball’s dark side, and will become even more of a polarizing team than they were before.

Spoiler alert: yes, the rebels eventually win in Star Wars, but in baseball the empire always eventually wins in bulk. Blue thinkers finally realizing gold once again could be right around the corner.

From progression to regression – congratulations on almost killing your sport one more time, Gary Bettman. Hockey is back, but now the few casual fans that existed before care even less.

Kings captain Dustin Brown hoists the cup, a trophy of a dying sport. By Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States (DSC00815 Uploaded by JoeJohnson2) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

On a positive note, the Kings raising the banner was beyond due.  It was an awesome run last season and a championship that was well deserved for Kingdom loyalists — but the realistic future of hockey has essentially become a dimming light, one that now can barely even be seen by a telescope in the night sky of the American sporting realm.

It wouldn’t be an all discussion without mentioning eagles and earplugs, two associations about to start the longest campaigns of any professional leagues in the United States. 10 months?  Forget campaigns, try marathons.

There are niches in our sports melting pot that absolutely live for the PGA and Nascar circuits. And strangely enough, they couldn’t be more polar opposites.  Its the quietest sport and the loudest sport.  Its the high-class perception and the low-class perception.  And given the differences, it’s kind of ironic how the hardcore fans of both circuits would probably never get along, yet the 19th hole and the 5th wheel effectively serve the same purpose.  I guess that’s one thing everyone can agree on – booze.

So there it is and here it comes – the great American sporting landscape.  And with all of the anticipation and excitement on the horizon, there’s honestly nothing I can see that could put damper on the cornucopia of sport all of us fans are in line for, could there be?

April 15th. Yea, the smartass went and did it.

Plastic props and face paint, making Raider Nation the most ridiculous fan base in California. By BrokenSphere (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

It’s obvious why Raider Nation is the most annoyingly destructive dress up party in California: A nation where skull-headed silver and black wackos drunkenly throw beers, curse and shank opposing fans with their straws. Every wannabe-hoodlum drops the baggie jeans and the side-cocked hat, replacing them with face paint and cheesy plastic side props. I’m all for the camaraderie threaded between like-minded fans, but when that fandom becomes a burlesque side show flashing gang signs and grills, it begins to get a little too weird.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Becoming a Laker fan is a laissez faire decision. It is like being born into a wig-wearing aristocracy, where you sip soup with your silver spoon, and dance in one-of-a-kind clogs.  It’s just too damn easy. And yet Laker fans are still this annoying?

Not annoying because they win championships, but annoying because they complain, mope and point the finger at everyone else like a bunch of spoiled brats, if they don’t.

And if you don’t side with the Lakers, guess what you are? You’re a Laker Hater— the most adolescent tongue-sticking term coined by any fan base ever. Last I checked, most of us grew up and became secure enough in ourselves, not to use over simplified slander in order to be heard. But I guess that’s something Laker fans still have to learn. And oh, by the way, LeBron James is the best player post-MJ. Just sayin’.

3. USC Trojans

The University of Spoiled Children is a place where backroom deals are done like no other. From the Reggie Bush scandal  to the deflated balls incident, the Southern California Spoiled Children continue to soil their name with little to any moral remorse. And despite this, their fanbase blindly follows suit with a passion as persistent as any.

There is a time when as a fan, it is okay to walk away. My wife’s boss for instance: a longtime Dodgers fan, who after the brutal attack on Brian Stow, turned to the Giants as his new team of choice.

Maybe it is the tanning oil causing such defunctory? Maybe it is the madness of Southern California smog-infestation? Maybe it is the effects from large doses of botox bugging the brain? Whatever it is, it is hard to take serious any school like the Trojans. Each and every year the ridiculous gets more ridiculous.

4. San Diego Chargers

This ranking probably throws you off a bit. And I understand why. But anytime fans come out from the fringes when their team suddenly becomes a consistent competitor, irks me to no end. Where were you when your team was a joke?

If there was a ranking for most fickle fan in all of sports, I would rank the Chargers numero uno. I have always said that Ladainian Tomlinson literally saved the Chargers franchise by electrifying a lazy uninspired fan base into sudden outrageously inconsistent diehards.

5. San Francisco Giants*

Honestly, I had no problem with Giants fans until 2010, when it became sexy and cool to be so. Being an Angels fan made it easy for me, as I was suspended above the heated rivalry shared between Dodgers and Giants fans.

I grew up around my friends’ fathers who were lifelong fans of the Giants, and not because it was hip or cool. These men lived hours from San Francisco and told stories about greats like Willie Mays. They were far from cool. They were working men, wearing trucker hats with oil stained on their hands.

The new era Giants fan cocks a hat sideways, like a clown, and calls him/herself a real fan. Two world series in three years and being born in the Bay Area is all of a sudden a silly equation for one’s authenticity.

*My wife believes this ranking belongs to the Dodgers, because Dodger fans “kill people.”

Can Clayton Kershaw round back into Cy Young form and lead a voracious starting rotation to the promised land in 2013? By SD Dirk on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Clayton Kershaw”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Here is my sixth installment and this time I’m taking my talents to the National League, breaking down each team’s potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (I know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but I’m doing it anyway…): This time, the spotlight is on the NL West…

San Francisco Giants:

1. Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79 ERA, 193 Strikeouts)
2. Madison Bumgarner (16-11, 3.37 ERA, 191 Strikeouts)
3. Tim Lincecum (10-15, 5.18 ERA, 190 Strikeouts)
4. Ryan Vogelsong (14-9, 3.37 ERA, 158 Strikeouts)
5. Barry Zito (15-8, 4.15 ERA, 114 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.77

Los Angeles Dodgers:

1. Clayton Kershaw (14-9, 2.53 ERA, 229 Strikeouts)
2. Zack Greinke (15-5, 3.48 ERA, 200 Strikeouts)
3. Josh Beckett (7-14, 4.65 ERA, 132 Strikeouts)
4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, stats from Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) (9-9, 2.66 ERA, 210 Strikeouts)
5. Chad Billingsley (10-9, 3.55 ERA, 128 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.37

Arizona Diamondbacks:

1. Ian Kennedy (15-12, 4.02 ERA, 187 Strikeouts)
2. Trevor Cahill (13-12, 3.78 ERA, 156 Strikeouts)
3. Brandon McCarthy (8-6, 3.24 ERA, 73 Strikeouts)
4. Wade Miley (16-11, 3.33 ERA, 144 Strikeouts)
5. Tyler Skaggs (1-3, 5.83 ERA, 21 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.04

San Diego Padres:

1. Edinson Volquez (11-11, 4.14 ERA, 174 Strikeouts)
2. Clayton Richard (14-14, 3.99 ERA, 107 Strikeouts)
3. Jason Marquis (8-11, 5.22 ERA, 91 Strikeouts)
4. Eric Stults (8-3, 2.91 ERA, 55 Strikeouts)
5. Casey Kelly (2-3, 6.21 ERA, 26 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.49

Colorado Rockies:

1.  Jose de la Rosa (0-2, 9.28 ERA, 6 Strikeouts)
2.  Jhoulys Chacin (3-5, 4.43 ERA, 45 Strikeouts)
3.  Drew Pomeranz (2-9, 4.93 ERA, 83 Strikeouts)
4.  Juan Nicasio (2-3, 5.28 ERA, 54 Strikeouts)
5.  Jeff Francis (6-7, 5.58 ERA, 76 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 5.90

The stats above are from the 2012 season and based off of ERA alone. We know averaging ERA’s isn’t a great metric, but we’re doing it anyway.

This is one of the tricky divisions to evaluate because I believe that every team in this division can be good next season. That being said, a “good season” has a different meaning for each team.

For the Colorado Rockies, their pitching can’t get any worse than it was last season, with the starting rotation posting almost a 6.00 ERA (above). The Padres numbers also weren’t pretty, but San Diego is a young team and young teams can do some damage in this division.

Three teams can actually contend: The Giants, Dodgers, and D-backs.

Arizona contended until the last week or so of the season until finally fading away.  The Diamondbacks won 81 games last season and 94 in 2011, winning their division with basically the same core players that they have now. There is no reason they can’t repeat that success this year.

Speaking of those big-dogs, how can we forget the World Champs? The Giants have the same rotation and lineup as they did this past year. Why fix what isn’t broke, right? Repeating is a very difficult thing to do in sports (except in the Alabama football program’s case) but with reigning National League MVP, Buster Posey, it isn’t too farfetched to think about a repeat. The Giants will be trying to become the first team since the Yankees from 1998-2000 to win back to back championships.

As for the other big-dog team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have spent a whole lot of money on what people are now calling, “the new look Yankees”. Throw in the Boston deal from August combined with the offseason spending (Greinke and Ryu) and the Dodgers payroll for the 2013 season is over $200 million. The main question being asked about this team is “Will they live up to the hype?” and my answer to that is yes. They went 8-2 to end the season, just barely missing the Wild Card.

Not often am I to say this about my favorite team because I am a very harsh critic about sports (I will admit it) but I truly believe that Magic Johnson and the rest of the Dodgers management will end the 25-year title drought and bring the title back to Los Angeles. Whether or not I am right about the Dodgers, the NL West is set to be a barn-burning race.

I idolize/d Byron Scott and Magic Johnson. Loved the 39-win team in 1993 that nearly knocked off the all-mighty Charles Barkley-led Suns. At the age of 12, I loved Sedale Threatt. Embraced Cedric “the Garbage Man” Ceballos as the most underrated swing man of the 90’s and still root for the grinning spin doctor of humor with a dominate unrelenting game and a personality to match it: Shaquille O’Neal.

You see….I like me some Lakers. But I just don’t love the maniacally self obsessed Kobe Bryant. That’s it.   

That was in my opinion (key word there…pay attention), the worst move in franchise history, when the team opted to send Shaq packing to Miami in favor of Kobe. It set a precedent that anyone and everyone was/is recyclable. And Shaq, the man who made Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant is not ever, for one second, recyclable. 

So I began asking the question: Why do I have to go down with the ship if I hate the captain? Why don’t I get to be a free agent with my fansmanship? Why do I have to keep rooting for a team whose face I no longer support? Little did I know just how common my Central-Coast -swing-state perspective was.

A perfect example of this was documented by our own Owen Main in the Spring of 2011. Main asked the question in this article: Is the Central Coast a Giants or Dodgers country? And the answer was neither. What we discovered about ourselves was that we just don’t take sports that serious here. We have beautiful women, concerts in the plaza, an electric farmers market, beautiful downtown’s, stunning antique architecture, award-winning wine country, great bars, rolling Irish-like hillsides, hiking, rugged beaches, pines by the sea, clean air, low crime, abundance of restaurants, wonderful school systems, plentiful tourism, fishing, lakes and according to Oprah, one of the happiest environments in the world. 

Hakuna Matata.

Here, we embrace the many shades of grey and not the childish infatuations or irrelevant loyalty to organizations that have no grip whatsoever on our SLO life.

So here is my short opinion on the Dwight Howard landing in Los Angeles:

I think the move to land Dwight Howard was the second worst decision in team history. He’s a malcontent disconnected character with a lust for Hollywood stardom. And though I agree that Andrew Bynum was a glass kneed fool with a cheap and uninspired heart, he was, for the time-being locked up longer than one freaking year.

One year. 

In the Summer of 2013 when Howard is an unrestricted free agent, he will do as he’s promised all along by signing an enormous contract with the Brooklyn Nets to become the billboard face of Jay-Z’s franchise. And then what? Steve Nash is 40, Bryant a crippled 35 and Meta World is off in India learning to braid hair and meditate. 

The Lakers now have one year to win Bryant his sixth ring and are still only the third best team in the Western Conference. Not to mention I give them only a smidgen of a shot against the deep defensive minded Bulls and no shot whatsoever against the steam-rolling, LeBron-led Heat. I can name four teams right now with a deeper rotation: the Thunder, Spurs, Bulls and Heat.  And the upstart Pacers are on the fringes.    

So just remember this article when Dwight Howard is an underachieving underwear model with his low seeded Nets teams and you’re stuck watching pick and rolls between Steve Blake and Jordan Hill.  Learn to stop throwing rocks and sticking your tongue out at pragmatic realists with a fair take on things. It’s getting tiring and old and I would like to have a mature conversation.  

According to a recent tweet by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports News, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have the piece to lure Cole Hamels away from the Phillies.  

With Victorino headed for free agency, Bourjos likely would intrigue the #Phillies in any Hamels talks.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 5, 2012

A move that makes the speedy 25 year-old Bourjos all the more alluring from a trade standpoint, considering Cole Hamels and starting centerfielder, Shane Victorino’s, looming free agencies. 

Boujos is clearly the Angels’ most movable player right now for a myriad of reasons. He’s young  and cheap — signed through 2014 on a rookie level contract — and has been replaced by the emergence of Mike Trout. Through 63 games Bourjos is hitting just .233 despite an impressive debut last season.  Despite his slow start to the season, he has tremendous offensive upside coupled with a gold glove in the outfield.

The question is whether or not the Angels have the ability to realistically ink Hamels long-term while solidifying  Trout and Mark Trumbo as the franchise faces. Hamels will seek a long-term contract worth at least $20 million per season. While I look forward to the concept of slotting him third of fourth in a rotation abounding with lock-down guys like Jared Weaver, Dan Haren and C.J Wilson, I’m uncertain as to how prudent signing another mega contract would be.

Despite Ervin Santana’s inconsistency in the fourth slot in the rotation, the 29 year-old has historically been a second half pitcher. Last year, he started 1-9 in the first half and finished 10-3 with a low two era and a no hitter in late July.  Signed through 2013 the Halos have another year to assess whether or not Santana is worth another three to five year contract extension at his affordable 11.2 million dollar rate.

I would welcome a move only if the Angels can package Santana and either Maicer Izturis or Alberto Callaspo alongside Bourjos in exchange for Hamels. But all the Hamels talk has been speculation without word from the Halos camp regarding Bourjos’ future in Anaheim.

At the moment, according to this article by Ken Rosenthal, the Angels are unwilling to part with Bourjos because of his future as a major team building block and Garret Richards, who is a solid low-cost option at the bottom of the rotation. Angels’ General Manager Jerry DiPoto is thinking not only about the team now but the team in the near future when big names like Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells and perhaps Santana, come off the books.  Shoring up their long-term ability to retain Trout and Trumbo alongside future hall-of-famer Pujols and a top-five rotation would seem to be the primary goal at this point.

Considering their 37-19 record over their past 56 games, sitting solid in a wild card slot, and scoring more runs than anybody in baseball right now there really isn’t the need there to make a major move. Hamels would make more sense in a Dodger uniform behind the formidable Clayton Kershaw, to help relieve tension in what is becoming a disturbingly odd season of highs and lows for manager Don Mattingly’s team.

The Dodgers before injuries to Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Dee Gordon and Mark Ellis, held the best record in baseball through mid-June. Since then, they have slid into turmoil, slugged by inefficiency at the plate and a rotation plagued by Chad Billingsly’s erratic performances. Currently 1 1/2 games ahead of the surging San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers have a hard road ahead of them if they hope to get themselves into the postseason.

After a deal for first-baseman Carlos Lee fell through early this week, Matt Kemp according to this article remains hopeful. “It’s always good to get people to make your team better,” Kemp said. “I don’t know exactly what people think we need. We did a great job with what we have here. If we get somebody, that’s good. But if we don’t, it keeps going on and we have to keep playing the way we have in the first half.”

But I wonder how Dodger fans must feel. How long will the team sit around and wait for a potato sack at first like James Loney to make a difference? According to Mike Potriello of mikescosciastragicillness.com, fans might be willing to listen to offers for a prospect like right hander Zach Lee, in exchange for a bat like the above average Chase Headley at third.  Which proves just how desperate the Dodger fan base is to get into the postseason now rather than tomorrow.

Both teams have had moody beginnings to the 2012 season, but one is surging and the other is desperately limping just to remain relevent. The Angels are looking for that 4th starter to shore up a small blight while the Dodgers seek a plethora of parts just to keep the engine running. It’s all a matter of how far DiPoto’s team can fly but a desperate matter of how long Colleti’s bunch can keep their heads above water.  And that all goes without saying whether or not Tim Lincecum decides to become Tim Lincecum again.

The Yankees are standing pat on what they currently have, as there hasn’t been a deadline in recent memory where baseball’s top spending franchise has failed to bolster themselves in even the slightest amount.  They were in the Hiroka Kuroda sweepstakes along with the Chicago White Sox, but Kuroda ultimately held the trump card in the form of the no-trade clause built into his contract.

The biggest splash of the deadline had to be the San Francisco Giants acquiring Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets in exchange for the top pitching prospect in their minor league system, Zach Wheeler.  General Manager Brian Sabean was quoted as saying that the team owed the move to their fans, noting that the the Major League Baseball championship-winning window is a small one.

Almost a decade ago, Beltran was traded at the deadline to the Houston Astros from the Kansas City Royals and proceeded to put up the best August and September by a deadline acquisition in recent memory, only rivaled by Manny Ramirez’s late-season clip when he was traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers a few years ago.  While Beltran isn’t that same player he was even five years ago, he does have the offensive ability to help the anemic Giants offense significantly.

The Atlanta Braves are contenders in the NL East as well as front-runners in the wild card standings.  The addition of Michael Bourn will bring much needed outfield speed at the top of the lineup, something Atlanta has severely lacked in recent years due to the ineffectiveness of Nate McLouth and the trading away of Melky Cabrera.

Ubaldo Jimenez will strengthen the Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff, as they actually have a realistic shot at the playoffs.  You would expect nothing less with a move like this from a team that is having a dream season after more than a decade of futility.  Jimenez hasn’t had his usual dominating season thus far, but his veteran presence and Cy Young-potential talent will bring some much needed stability and leadership to a young clubhouse.

The reigning Senior Circuit champions, the Philadelphia Philles, did not sit on their full house – they decided to try and draw to a straight flush.  The addition of Hunter Pence will help balance an attack that is left-handed heavy, and will only improve an already elite offense.  Getting closer Ryan Madson healthy will be the key to the Phillies running away with the East again, as having a stable finisher is something that is key for a team like Philadelphia, who depends on winning a lot of close, low to middle-scoring, station-to-station, National League-style games.

The Milwaukee Brewers bolstered their bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez, a great backup plan if their young closer, John Axford, happens to falter down the stretch. This move is by far better than anything the St. Louis Cardinals ended up doing at the deadline, and with the Brew Crew already holding a 3.5 game lead over the Cards, they have to be the distinct favorite in the Central as the finish line approaches.

The Pittsburgh Pirates added first baseman Derek Lee in an attempt to inject some run-production with runners in scoring position.  You have to admire the Pirates for being proactive, but their brutal schedule down the stretch coupled with their inexperience makes a playoff berth in the tightly-contested National League Central a prospect that looks to be futile at best.

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded away arguably their top outfield prospect in Trayvon Robinson, who has seen limited action at the major league level while bombing 26 home runs thus far this season in Triple-A.  As a Dodgerfan, this move baffles me, due to the fact that they only received two average minor-league arms and a minor league catcher who has only hit 7 homeruns so far this season in return.

The Dodgers franchise is not only selling out its fans, but now they are starting to even sell out their best players.  The sad fact that one of the greatest and most storied franchises in sports continues to get dragged deeper and deeper through the mud and filth is as disgusting as “owner” Frank McCourt’s existence as a region-wide punchline.  Dodgerfans seem to be almost numb to the debacle as it gets worse and worse.  This is a true testament to how low the franchise has sunk.  But, a brighter day is hopefully around the corner.  What brighter day?  The day that the inevitable happens – McCourt buys a one-way ticket on a flying sourdough bowl of chowder and flys his ass back to New England for good.

Having said that, one should digress this time of year no matter how bad your favorite team happens to be navigating the treacherous waters of the vast sea that is the baseball season. Regardless of the gravity of the moves that are made every trade deadline, the underlying fact always remains – some moves end up resulting in pennants and some moves blow up in a general manager’s face.

Who will end up wearing  the egg and who will end up wearing the ring?  Its about to unfold.