Vero Beach, Fla. – Piercing through the light breeze and wafting scent of boiled peanuts and cotton candy, an enthusiastic fan screamed insults at Dodgertown.
“Hey, Nomar, you stink!” the man yelled, then continued to shatter the Norman Rockwell scene with expletives for six innings. After the game, the same fan wandered toward the first-base line and, with a straight face, asked for Garciaparra’s autograph.
“Man, your life must really stink if you want my autograph,” Garciaparra said.
Welcome to the National League West, where respect is optional and optimism is required.
A year after the San Diego Padres avoided the indignity of winning a title with a losing record, the division is considered equal parts free-for-all and free-fall.
“It should actually be pretty interesting this season,” Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes said. “All five teams have reason to believe they are capable of winning records. It should be congested if nothing else.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers, without much conviction, are considered the favorite. After months of turmoil under current owner Frank McCourt, the Dodgers remade their team, if not their image, this winter.
They hired general manager Ned Colletti, late of the Giants, named Grady Little manager and surrounded the new boss with Garciaparra at first base, Rafael Furcal leading off and a bullpen featuring Danys Baez and Eric Gagne.
“We have a good mix, some young guys, some veterans, a lot of talent,” Garciaparra said. “Guys just act professional, go about their business. It’s exciting to think about what we could do.”
Ask the Giants and they wonder what all the fuss is about in Vero. Outfielder Moises Alou considers San Francisco the division pace car, going as far as to guarantee a title if embattled slugger Barry Bonds plays 100 games.
Like every team in the division, the Giants are flawed, but their starting pitching – Matt Morris joins a staff that includes Jason Schmidt and rookie phenom Matt Cain – could allow them to make out quite nicely, even in Bonds’ absence.
“I wouldn’t have signed here if I didn’t think we could win,” said Morris, who comes over from St. Louis.
Bonds’ shadow hangs over the division. He has been the most dominant player in the Cactus League but his knee could give out at any time and he faces a possible suspension pending results of baseball’s investigation regarding alleged steroid use.
“The amount of runs they score in innings he hits is ridiculous,” said Dodger starter Brett Tomko, who spent the past two years with the Giants. “But to say they are going to win the division if he’s healthy – I wouldn’t bank on it.”
Unhappy with last year’s 82-80 record from a team the city never embraced, the Padres invested in experience and star power. They traded for center fielder Mike Cameron and third baseman Vinny Castilla and signed catcher Mike Piazza, adding talent and more wrinkles than a Shar-pei. Their projected opening-day lineup features six starters at least 33 years old.
“We got better,” Padres utilityman Eric Young said. “We have guys who have won before.”
The Diamondbacks can trot out a decent lineup built around Shawn Green and Luis Gonzalez, but their rotation is razor-thin behind Brandon Webb.
Ask around spring camps and Colorado is a consensus last- place pick because of its youth. Yet the Rockies aren’t viewed as hopeless, based on their revamped bullpen and sluggers Matt Holliday and Todd Helton.
And they do, after all, play in the National League West.
“I am not throwing stones at anybody in our division, but the fact is our division is looked at as a little weaker than others, and we’ll be playing those teams a lot,” said Rockies owner Charlie Monfort, who is on record predicting a division title. “So I’m very optimistic. If you can win your division, that’s all you have to do, because if you get into the playoffs anything can happen.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
