The National League West has been one of the most tightly contested divisions among the top 2 teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, for much of the year. The standings currently reflect both the Dodgers and Giants being tied with record of 64-53 with Diamondbacks in third at 58-58. The San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies round up the bottom of the division with records of 52-66 & 43-71. The Dodgers had been in control of the division for much of the 2012 season however for the better part of the last month San Francisco was leading the division due to their dominant pitching rotation, although with the breaking news today this could all change rapidly. The Giants best and most consistent hitter this season was with no doubt Melky Cabrera who had thus far posted 11 home runs with 60 RBI’s and a .346 batting average in his first season with San Francisco. However, Cabrera has no been suspended 50 games for violating the leagues substance abuse policy.
This is highly disappointing in a sport that has been ripe
with controversies very similar to this for the past decade. What is even more disheartening is the fact
that it is usually the best players who get caught using performance enhancing
drugs, like last years NL MVP Award winner Ryan Braun. Cabrera will miss the last 45 games of the
season and will serve the next 5 either at the beginning of next season or
during the Giants potential post-season run.
Taking a bat like that out of the Giants order will most likely be
incredibly detrimental to the Giants success and hopes of winning the NL crown
as the Dodgers now have the far better offensive team. Though the Giants have relied on their
pitching for much of the season they will have to place an even greater
emphasis on those 5 players even more now as their run production will surely
decrease.
The Colorado Rockies have been a team in search of their
identity, which without their two best players, has been difficult to say the
least. Both Troy Tulowitzki and Todd
Helton have suffered serious injuries this year, which has put almost the
entire offenses weight on the shoulder of outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez has had a great season, but one man
cannot carry a baseball team and with the high volume of runs being allowed by
the Colorado pitching staff they may already be planning for the 2013 MLB
season and draft.
Ultimately, with this devastating news to the city by the
bay do not be surprised to see Arizona make a run at the top spot in the NL
West, while the LA Dodgers appear to be the clear favorites at this point.
For more information, updates and fantastic deals on Rockies tickets, follow this link!
No comments:
Post a Comment