1992_04 The Daily Collegian April 1992

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Stuart A. Rosenberg
Guest columnist     ,,»
.   For the past five months we
baseball fans have had to amuse
ourselves by watching basketball,
golf and professional bowling. But
the times they area changin' (didn't
Michael Bolton write that?). Patiently
we've weathered the off-season and
spring training periods and, finally,
it's time to have fun again—Baseball
is back. And now, without further
ado, here are my 1992 National
League predictions.
N.LWest
1. Cincinnati Reds
In the West my heart is in the city
by the Bay, but my money is on the
Reds to win the division. There's not
a weakness to be found. Ex-Indian
Greg Swindell and ex-Dodger Tim
Belcher combine with Tom Browning
and Jose Rijo (15 wins in 1991) to
form one of baseball's best starting
rotations. The bullpen is thinner with
stopper Rob Dibble on the shelf for at
least a month with shoulder
problems, but hard-throwing lefty
Norm Chariton and newcomer Scott
Bankhead will be able to hold down
the fort until Dibble's return.
Offensively the Reds are stacked.
Fo rmer Padre B i p Roberts will bat
leadoff and play good defense
wherever Manager Lou Pinella sticks
him. The middle of the Red's batting
order (Larkin,Sabo and O'Neill) is
menacing. After a huge letdown in
1991, Gnrinnati has something to
prove.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
Offensively LA. is loaded with
Brett Butler (112 runs), Darryl
Strawberry (28 homers, 99 RBI's) and
Eric Davis in the outfield, Juan
Samuel at second, Kal Daniels at first
and gold glove catcher Mike Sdoscia
behind the plate. But theTeft side of
the infield (Jose Offerman at short
and a cast of thousands at third) will
lead to LA/s downfall. Pitching-
wise, Ramon Martinez (17 wins) is
awesome, Orel Hershiser is stronger
than ever, newcomer Tom Candiotti
will float his knuckleball around,
through, and past N.L. hitters and
Bob Ojeda is a proven winner. The
Dodger bullpen is old but not a
liability. Closer Jay Howell is 36, and
his days in L.A. are numbered. Roger
McDowell and Tim Crews are both
solid and should get plenty of save
opportunities. Lasorda's troops will
be in the race down to the wire.
3. Atlanta Braves
The Braves'1991 Western
Divison tide was no aberration—this
team's for real. Atlanta's outfield of
Dave Justice (21 homers, 87 RBI's in
136 games), Ron Cant (32 homers,
105 RBI's, 34 stolen bases) and Otis
Nixon (81 runs, 72 stolen bases in 115
games) is one of the best. Third
baseman Terry Pendleton (1991
MVP) is as good at the plate as he is
in the field. No pitching staff is as
deep as Atlanta's. Young lefties Tom
Gb vine (1991 Cy Young winner) and
Steve Avery are two of the N.L's
best and John Smoltz will contend for
the 1992 Cy Young Award. Juan
Berrenguer, Alejandro Pena, Mike
Stanton and Kent Mercker give
Atlanta the best bullpen in baseball.
Ifs tough to repeat.
4  San Francisco Giants
No team with Will Clark on it can
be counted out, but pitching
problems are already mounting with
Trevor Wilson and Bud Black on the
disabled list Billy Swift is S.F.'s
opening day starter; the weight of the
Bay Area is on his shoulders. The
lefty/righty closer combina tion of
Dave Righetti (24 saves) and Jeff
Brantley (15 saves) is great and setup
man Mike Jackson is death on
righthanded hitters. Clark (29
homers, 116 RBI's, 301 avg.) is a gold
glover at first as is Matt Williams (34
homers, 98 RBI's) at third. Rookie
Royce Clayton won the job at short
and Robby Thompson (19 homers) is
solid at second. In the outfield, Kevin
Bass is healthy and needs to produce,
Willie McGeewill produce, and
Darren Lewis must be given a chance
to play everyday. The Giants are
dangerous because nothing is
expected of mem.
5. San Diego Padres
An imposing pitching staff will
keep San Diego in contention Andy
Benes (15 wins) is my pick to win the
CyYoung Award in 1992, Bruce
Hurst is a lock to win 15 games, Greg
Harris has great 3tuff and Craig
Lefferts is making a successful
conversion from reliever to starter.
Ex-Red Randy Myers will be the
closer and setup men Larry
Anderson and Mike Maddux are
steady. San Diego, with defensive
wizard Tony Fernandez at short,
Fred McGriff (31 homers, 106 RBI's,
84 runs) at first Tony Gwynn (317
avg.) in right, and Benito Santiago
catching, has a strong defensive and
balanced attack. Don't count tne~ .-".
Padres out of anything.
6. Houston Astros
Houston has good young nucleus
of talent but doesn't have the
pitohing to contend. A starting
rotation of Mark Portugal, Pete
Harnisch, Ryan Bowen and Darryl
Kile has potential but for now scares
nobody. In the pen, Doug Jones,
Curt Schilling and Al Osuna will all
get save opportunities. Rookie of the
year Jeff Bagwell has to prove his 15
homers and 82 RBI's were no fluke in
1991, shortstop Andujar Cedeno has
a lot of pop in his bat but needs to
improve his defense, Luis Gonzalez
(13 homers, 69 RBI's) must continue
to improve in his second season and
Craig Biggio has to make the
successful conversion from catcher to
second baseman. It will be another
rebuilding year for Manager Art
Howe.
N.L. East
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
General Manager Ted Simmons
has raised the ire of Pirates fans with
his wheeling and dealing but there is
a method to his madness. Bobby
Bonilla's big bat (18 homers, 100
RBI's) is gone and will be missed,
John Smiley (20 wins, 3.08 ERA) was
dealt to Minnesota because the
Pirates couldn't afford to resign the
tree agent lefty and releasing BUI
Landrum saves the Bucs $ 2.5 million
and allows Manager Jim Leyiand to
use Stan Belinda (16 saves) as his
closer. Simmons' moves indicate one
of two things: that 1) by shipping
out high-rjriced talent he's more
concerned with reducing the Bu^s
payroll than with fielding a winning
team; or 2) serious attempts will be
made to resign staff ace Doug Drabek
and 1990 MVP Barry Bonds. Steve
Buechele (22 homers, 85 RBI's) is one
reason the Bucs could affor J to let
Bonilla go. The slick-finding third
baseman will put up Bonilla-like
numbers and make one-third of
Bobby "Bo's" salary. Andy Van Slyke
must stay healthy. Pittsburgh is still
the class of the N.L East.
ZNewYoricMets
Acquiring Bret Saberhagen from
the Royals and Edcbe Murray (19
action
homers, % RBI's) and Bonilla via free
agency translates into a lot of wins
for the Mets on paper—bu t the game
is played on the field. New York's
rotation of Saberhagen, DocGooden,
Sid Fernandez and David Cone (14
wins) is mtirnidating. But the Mets
don't know if Gooden has fully
recovered from off-season shoulder
surgery, if "El Sid" (who has
dropped about 35 lbs) has recovered
from knee surgery, or if Saberhagen
can put together a winning season in
an even numbered year (36-48
career record in even-numbered
years). The heart of the Mefs batting
order (Howard Johnson, Murray and
Boni 11a) is awesome. Rotisserie types
should covet Vince Coleman because
if he hits his weight he'll score 130
runs. The Mets will be tough.
3. Chicago Cubs
Could this be the year the Cubs
win* all? Maybe. Opening day
starter Greg Maddux (15 wins) is one
of the best, ex-Dodger Mike Morgan
(14 wins) will keep the Cubs in every
game ho pitches and a healthy Danny
Jackson could be a major force in
Chicago's rotation. But the Cubs
need youngsters like Lance Dickson
and Shawn Boskie to come of age in
1992. If closer Dave Smith can
bounce back, with Paul Assenmacher
setting him up, the bullpen will be
dependable. Offensively me Cubbies
are strong. Ryne Sandberg (26
homers, 100 RBI's, 104 runs) is truly
golden, Sammy Sosa is a star in the
making and Shawon Dunston was
wisely resigned. But Mark Grace
needs to increase his power numbers
and Andre Dawson's knees must
hold up another year if the Cubs are
going to contend in the N.L. East.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies could surprise a few
people. A rotation of Tommy Greene
(13 wins and a no-hitter in 1991),
ToTvMuiholland (16 wins), Jose
Dejesus (10 wins, 3.42 ERA) and Kyle
Abbott (stolen from the Angels in a
trade for Von Hayes) is young and
talented and the stopper, "Wild
Thing" Mitch Williams, is as capable
of throwing the ball over the screen
as he is throwing it over the plate.
Outfielder Wes Chamberlain will be
an all-star.. .soon, first baseman John
Kruk Is one of the best hitters in the
league, Lenny Dykstra is a bulldog in
center and rookie shortstop Kim
Batiste hone of the best young j
See ROSENBERG page 8
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