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The Los Angeles Dodgers were the clear favourites to retain their NL West crown and they duly lived up to those expectations; however, the division was far from being uneventful.\u00c2\u00a0 The drama surrounding the Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 march to the postseason was enhanced by the performance-enhancing suspension of their star slugger, while the Rockies staged a remarkable turnaround to win the Wild Card.<\/p>\n
Joe: Dodgers (Wild Card: Giants), Mark: Dodgers, Matt: Dodgers, Russ: D-Backs (WC: Giants)<\/p>\n
Three of us correctly predicted the Dodgers would come out on top, but Russ must have jinxed the D-Backs.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, Russ had predicted a D-Backs-Indians World Series, so I think we can say his jinxing powers are lethally strong.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
It was d\u00c3\u00a9j\u00c3\u00a0 vu all over again for the Dodgers.\u00c2\u00a0 As they had done in 2008, they won the West, swept their way through the Division Series past the NL Central winners (last time it was the Cubs, this time it was the Cardinals), but then lost 4-1 to the Phillies in the Championship Series.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Dodgers got off to a hot start, going 35-17 through April and May, and consistency the rest of the way was enough to keep the pack behind them.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, the Dodgers never fell from the top spot after tying the Padres for the division lead on 15 April.\u00c2\u00a0 The Rockies created a few nerves as September rolled around, but the Dodgers ended up winning the division by three games and their 14-4 record against Colorado certainly helped.<\/p>\n
Manny Ramirez was the big story in Los Angeles in 2009, just as he was in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 The Dodgers really couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have let him slip from their grasp after his astonishing second-half performance last year and he re-signed with the club on a 2 year\/$45m deal. Unfortunately Mannywood turned sour when he failed a drug test and was suspended for 50 games, seeing him miss virtually all of May and June.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite a few typical Manny moments when he returned, not least his pinch-hit grand slam on \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcManny bobblehead day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on 22 July, his overall 2009 contribution didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite hit his previous heights and his previous designation as a future Hall-of-Famer is now in doubt.<\/p>\n
The one positive from Manny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s situation (well, apart from the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpositive\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 drug test) was that Matt Kemp stepped up in the star slugger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absence and had a tremendous season.\u00c2\u00a0 Andre Ethier was close behind him and both Casey Blake and Orlando Hudson had good years, although the latter was mysteriously benched for Ronnie Belliard down the stretch.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 offense was good, but it was their ability to stop the opposition from scoring that was the key to their success.\u00c2\u00a0 They had arguably the best defense in the Majors and tied the Giants for conceding the least runs per game in the Majors (3.77). Clayton Kershaw was exceptional in his first full Major League season (8-8, 2.79 ERA), Randy Wolf proved to be a brilliant one-year free agent acquisition and Chad Billingsley had a good season overall, even if his downturn in the second half (3-7, 5.20 ERA compared to 9-4, 3.38 prior to the All-Star break) was a source of some concern.\u00c2\u00a0 Jonathan Broxton continued to strikeout batters at an incredible rate (13.5 K\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s per 9 innings) and he combined with Ramon Troncoso, Ronald Belisario and George Sherrill (acquired from the Orioles at the end of July) to make for a top bullpen.<\/p>\n
All that hard work to finish the season with the best record in the National League ended with the Dodgers seemingly no further forward than they had been twelve months before due to that 4-1 loss to the Phillies. However, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t judge a team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s season solely on one series.\u00c2\u00a0 The Dodgers were arguably the best team in the Senior Circuit in 2009 and they won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be far away in 2010 either.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Wednesday 27 May, the Rockies have just been swept in a three-game series by the division-leading Dodgers to leave them dead last in the West with an 18-28 record, 14 games behind L.A.\u00c2\u00a0 Even the most optimistic Colorado fan would have struggled to seriously believe their team would make the playoffs from there.<\/p>\n
But they did.\u00c2\u00a0 Manager Clint Hurdle was sacked and Jim Tracy sparked an incredible transformation.\u00c2\u00a0 A 21-7 June cut the deficit to 7.5 games and a 74-42 record overall under Tracy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stewardship won them the Wild Card by 4 games over the Giants.\u00c2\u00a0 Their fairytale was ended by the Phillies in the first round of the postseason, but the Rockies came out of the year deserving an enormous amount of credit for the way they had battled back from such a poor start.<\/p>\n
The Rockies were able to rely on a stable starting rotation.\u00c2\u00a0 Aaron Cook, Jorge De La Rosa, Jason Hammel, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Marquis together started all but 7 of the Rockies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 162 regular season games: an impressive feat particularly as Jeff Francis, who would have been a key part of the rotation, missed the entire year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimenez was the pick of the bunch and is ready to become a genuine ace, if he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there already, while Marquis was a very useful offseason pick-up from the Cubs.\u00c2\u00a0 Houston Street was another newcomer to the Rockies in 2009 and the former Oakland A blossomed in the closer rule he had lost at his former team, picking up 35 saves.<\/p>\n
Street was acquired in the trade that saw Matt Holliday depart from Denver.\u00c2\u00a0 Although the Rockies didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t (and couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t) replace his bat directly, they still put together a very good offense.\u00c2\u00a0 Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton both rebounded from frustrating 2008 seasons.\u00c2\u00a0 Tulo had an excellent 2009 that saw him placed fifth in the NL MVP voting and while Helton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inflated salary of $16.6m did make the cost of his contribution relatively high, it was an important contribution nonetheless.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Ian Stewart (25 home runs) and Clint Barmes (23) provided some pop from the infield, outfielders Brad Hawpe and Seth Smith chipped in with useful years and Carlos Gonzalez (another part of the Holliday trade) got his chance in June and took full advantage.\u00c2\u00a0 The only real let down was Garrett Atkins, whose performances have gone steadily downhill since his 2006 season resulting in him being non-tendered on Friday.<\/p>\n
If they can get their 2010 season going at the beginning of April rather than giving teams a headstart, the Rockies could go one better in the NL West next year.<\/p>\n
The Giants finished with a 72-90 record in 2008 and a sixteen-win swing in 2009 was obviously a major improvement; however MLB is an unforgiving environment and for all of the good things that happened in San Francisco this year, you have to conclude that they should have done better than they did.<\/p>\n