The 2011 All-Division Team, Part 6: NL West

A year after Andre Ethier stole the
spotlight in LA, Matt
Kempis back on top.

Part 6 of 6: National League West


It's finally here!  The finale of the best around baseball in 2011.  The Diamondbacks came out of virtually nowhere to take the division away from the Giants this past season, but did they have the individual star power to make a major impact on the All-Division Team?  Let's find out!


C Miguel Montero, ARI
Well, the D-Backs have at least one on the board.  This 27-year-old breakout catcher put together all his skills in 2011 to earn MVP votes and his first All-Star selection.  Montero is now one of the game's best offensive catchers.  Plus, he's really fun to play with in MLB: The Show (an added bonus in my book).  He was not really a notably good defensive catcher early in his career but has improved there as well.  86 RBIs and a .282 average from behind the plate made him a reliable part of the offense down in the desert.
Competition: Eli Whiteside (SF), Nick Hundley (SD), Chris Iannetta (COL), and Rod Barajas (LAD).


1B Todd Helton, COL
A team leader who hit for a high batting average and a ridiculously high OBP.  Do I sound like a broken record?  I should.  Helton played 124 games this season.  His .385 OBP this season was the lowest of any season in which he played 124 or more games excluding his rookie season of 1998.  This player is undoubtedly the best in franchise history and a first ballot Hall of Famer.  Still, however, his role on this team is apparent.  He may not have much flash or power at age 37 anymore, but his defense is still a plus as it always has been.  Helton provides the Rockies with stability the franchise had never had before the Tulowitzki era.  Helton's job is his as long as he wants it and if the Rockies are smart, they'll do everything they can to keep him in black and purple for at least two or three more years.
Competition: James Loney (LAD), Aubrey Huff (SF), Jesus Guzman (SD), and Juan Miranda (ARI).


2B Jamey Carroll, LAD
How many 37-year-olds in the Majors steal 10 bases?  If you say Ichiro or Rickey Henderson, that's cheating.  However, neither Suzuki nor Henderson accomplished that feat without getting caught.  In a random statistical anomaly from the 2011 season, the veteran Carroll went 10-for-10 in steals, nearing his career high.  Perhaps a late bloomer, he has now stolen more bases in the last two years than any other two-year stretch in his career.  In 2011 overall though, Carroll was very durable for the Dodgers, playing in 146 games at second base and shortstop and batting .290.  That's really all manager Don Mattingly could ask for.
Competition: Orlando Hudson (SD), Mark Ellis (COL), Kelly Johnson (ARI), and Freddy Sanchez (SF).

Pablo Sandoval

3B Pablo Sandoval, SF
While Ryan Roberts was the greatest surprise from the division and the best utility man in baseball in my opinion, Sandoval's resurgence kept the Giants out of offensive limbo.  Let's face it; GM Brian Sabean has not done a good job of building an offense for a team that should be a deep postseason contender every year.  If there's one thing he has done right on offense, though, it was keeping Sandoval when he was a highly-touted prospect and attractive to other teams.  Despite the pressure of being the only 'big' bat, Sandoval batted .315 and was the only Giant to hit over 15 home runs and 60 RBIs.  The only one.  Perhaps it's fitting that the Kung Fu Panda has to run the show solo.
Competition: Ryan Roberts (ARI), Ty Wigginton (COL), Juan Uribe (LAD), and Chase Headley (SD).

SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL
A wild Tulo appears!  Still only 26, Tulowitzki is purely one of the best players in the game.  Naming him to the All-Division Team was a no-brainer.  Even though the Rockies are the most successful expansion franchise of the past two decades in terms of fan support, Tulowitzki gives the Rockies a brand and identity. He arrived right when Helton's star power began to fade, and Rockies fans now have another prime superstar to hail to.  Tulo is a true team player who contributes on offense, defense and special teams with impressive power and a great arm.  It actually looks like he prefers making off-balance throws but they're accurate.
Competition: Dee Gordon (LAD), Brandon Crawford (SF), Stephen Drew (ARI), and Jason Bartlett (SD).

LF Carlos Gonzalez, COL (2nd)
Gonzalez's season was much lower profile than his Triple Crown chase of 2010.  Still, though, there's nothing wrong with a solid 26-20 season in less than a full season.  Apparently he has also taken after his Colorado teammates in Helton and Tulowitzki with his .363 OBP.  Gonzalez will be 26 next season so the Rockies have many years left of CarGo after he earned his big extension last winter.  I don't think they're regretting the Matt Holliday trade much anymore.  The only concern I have is that his full force nature could result in more injury.  Best of luck to this star.  
Competition: Tony Gwynn, Jr. (LAD), Gerardo Parra (ARI), Cody Ross (SF), and Ryan Ludwick (SD).

CF Matt Kemp, LAD
After Kemp really struggled with his hitting coach and manager in 2010, questions arose about his motivation and morale.  Could this be another headcase who would never live up to his full potential?  Kemp replied no with an MVP excellent season that fell just short of 40-40 levels.  The dude is real dynamite.  Even with all the drama surrounding the Dodgers and their ownership situation, Kemp was the most valuable player in the MLB and should have won MVP.  Actually, he's the MVP of PED-free players (yeah, I went there Ryan Braun).  Although winning a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and getting an All-Star selection in the same season is rare, a career high walk total and OBP help forecast how Kemp will continue his success.  The hardest thing for pitchers to deal with when facing a power hitter is if the hitter forces them to throw a strike to get them out.  Kemp did it in 2011 and should win more his first MVP soon.
Competition: Dexter Fowler (COL), Chris Young (ARI), Andres Torres (SF), and Cameron Maybin (SD).

Justin Upton

RF Justin Upton, ARI
Want to know a main reason Arizona won the West?  In case you couldn't tell, Upton helped a bit.  Besides having his own bleacher section in right field at Chase Field, appropriately tabbed 'Uptown', he finished 4th in MVP voting because of his monster 30-20 season.  Apparently he also got under the skin of opposing pitchers, as he was plunked 15 times more than he ever had been before.  His bat speed ranks among the best in the majors with that old-school two-handed power swing of his.  It's fun to watch as the younger Upton bro has risen above his elder.  For a young franchise like Arizona, a cornerstone player like this is just what they need to keep the fans coming.
Competition: Seth Smith (COL), Andre Ethier (LAD), Wil Venable (SD), and Nate Schierholtz (SF).

SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD
I have held back on the Kershaw show in recent years, but I think he's finally earned it.  At 21 years old and in his first full season in the big leagues, Kershaw was the best starting pitcher on the 95-win Dodger team of 2009.  That speaks to Chad Billingsley's inconsistency more than it does Kershaw's talent, especially considering that Kershaw was raw and hardly a polished product like he is today.  Awarding him with the National League Cy Young, though, was the right choice as his 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts mean he has arrived for good.  The Sandy Koufax comparisons just keep rolling in.
Competition: Jhoulys Chacin (COL), Ian Kennedy (ARI), Tim Lincecum (SF), and Mat Latos (SD).

CP J.J. Putz, ARI
The late-blooming Putz rose to becoming the game's best closer in 2007 with Seattle, but just two years later he found himself with a new team thousands of miles away and without the closer's job.  That team was the New York Mets, from which he went to the White Sox, also in a setup role.  The Diamondbacks finally put Putz back in his rightful place in the 9th inning and it paid off as Putz recorded 45 saves, a 2.17 ERA, over 9 K/9 innings and under 2 BB/9 innings.  His .914 WHIP was also among the best in the league.
Competition: Brian Wilson (SF), Javy Guerra (LAD), Huston Street (COL), and Heath Bell (SD).

Treading Water

After the first two and a half weeks of baseball, the Cubs seem to be putting forth about the amount of success as last year's group.  With today's loss to the Rockies, the Cubs fall back under .500 again to 7-8, but now return home for a nice nine-game homestand.  Pitching has not been a great strength of the Cubs, and the rotation especially has underperformed quite a bit.  Carlos Zambrano, Matt Garza, and Ryan Dempster have all not pitched well really at all this season.  The injuries to Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner have hurt as well as James Russell was slammed his first start and Casey Coleman has had mixed results.

The bullpen, not including today's performance by Marcos Mateo, has been very good in general.  Carlos Marmol thankfully hasn't thrown out his shoulder yet (knock on wood), which is a concern I have for him just about every time he throws the baseball.  But the rotation has the Cubs playing more high-scoring games than usual.  The Cubs offense has scored 4.5 runs per game this season, and that should be enough to win with the rotation we have.  But Dempster, Zambrano, and Garza have ERAs of 6.30, 6.11, and 6.27, respectively.  Come on now guys, that's no way to run a railroad.

But the offense cannot go unnoticed.  Although they are averaging 4.5 runs a game which is near league average and only a bit above the 4.2 from last year, the Cubs are fourth in MLB in batting average, and fifth in hits.  We can owe plenty of those hits to a certain Starlin Castro, who as of Sunday night led baseball in hits with 28.  In my wanna-be highly-educated fan opinion, Castro is unbelievable.  Watching him out there is like watching a 12-year-old in park district game.  He just comes to play the game and nothing else, just trying to have fun.  It almost seems like he doesn't even feel the pressures and expectations of playing in the bigs, not to mention with all of the hype around him and the Cubs as a franchise and Chicago as a city.  Today watching the Cubs-Rockies game, I watched him bend over the plate to go get a ball well off the plate and ground it to Todd Helton at first base.  Len Kasper picked up on his anger with himself over becoming overanxious on the broadcast.  And after the inning ended and the camera was on him right before commercial, he swung up his helmet as if he was about to slam it in frustration.  This from a guy with a .418 batting average, four hits just the night before, and Chicago status as a fan favorite.

Although fielding has been an issue with this team so far as well, there's been an improvement over last year's performance and Castro has gotten much better so far, making better plays quicker despite two errors.  Basically, this team is waiting on the starting pitching.  It's not time to sound the alarm on the Garza trade yet, but he should know that that is exactly what will happen unless he starts putting up numbers and soon.  The poor performances from Zambrano and Dempster are surprising, to be honest, despite all the Zambrano haters who may have correctly pegged his successful comeback last season as a fluke.  Dempster's success seemed too easy last season, and it's finally catching up to him.  So far I've seen a whole bunch of - to use a Bob Brenly term here meaning a slider that spins but doesn't move hardly at all - cement mixers in the low 80s left high in the zone, right where hitters can get at them.  Hopefully he'll improve, because we need it.

NOTE: There's been some confusion on the results of the quiz giveaway from a few weeks ago.  I apologize for not making this clearer, but if you did win the free app then they would have replied in an email with the code to get the app free.  If you did not get this email, unfortunately you didn't win.  Thanks to all participants, I have deemed this partnership a success.  There may be future similar opportunities, so stay tuned.

Hot Stove Buzz #4

First, I hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful holiday season.  Second, I apologize for the recent lack of posts and I can guarantee that more are coming- and soon.  The news feed from baseball's offseason has slowed considerably, which has been a factor in the recent lack of posts.  However, big news out of Baltimore, for Cubs fans at least, in the Orioles' signing of first baseman Derrek Lee.  With newly-acquired power-hitting third baseman Mark Reynolds on the other side of the infield, the Orioles now, believe it or not, look like a team that will make a bang on offense.  Lee, of course, spent seven seasons with the Cubs before being traded to the Braves in 2010 and becoming a free agent.

-The Angels may have just looked at strike three.  Rumors had the Rangers, not their division rival Angels, getting third baseman Adrian Beltre in a big multiyear deal.  According to the same rumors, however, Monday and Sunday were two very different days in these negotiations.  Now they appear to be much farther away from a deal than was originally thought.  Folks, this one could take a while.

-The Rangers signed Brandon Webb, meaning the Cubs didn't.  However, the search for veteran middle-of-the-rotation starters continues for the Cubbies, as this is possibly our biggest need remaining.

-The Pirates signed Garrett Atkins.  Now I know I trashed Pittsburgh's signing of Lyle Overbay a couple weeks ago, but this makes things interesting.  If they could get a sample of the production Atkins used to come up for Colorado, Atkins and Overbay could be an effective combo.  It's a shame to see two formerly great veterans struggle to fall out of relevance like they have, but that's baseball and they should be glad to have a new opportunity in the Steel City.

-In today's biggest news, the Rockies gave Carlos Gonzalez a big extension for 7 years and $80 million.  The first thing that came to my mind was, wow, smart move by the Rockies.  Then I wondered, wait, now they've signed two (Troy Tulowitzki) franchise players to huge extensions?  That's nearly unheard of especially for a team like the Rockies who have signed big contracts (Todd Helton, Mike Hampton), but haven't done two in the same offseason.  Also, I'm pretty sure the Rockies wanted this extension done right now before he has another elite season because his stock will raise and he would probably demand more by then.  As far as contract extensions go, the Rockies successfully pulled off a nice little, but huge, budget shopping deal.

-The Padres signed Brad Hawpe.  This may be surprising based on his high strikeout totals and somewhat funky batting stance and swing, but Hawpe, until 2010, has been a great average hitter his whole career.  Also, excluding 2010 again, he has been very consistent in the power numbers.  Somewhere in the mid-20s in his homer range and mid-80s in his runs batted in range.

-The Blue Jays signed Chad Cordero, a name you may have forgotten.  Cordero was an elite reliever from 2004-2007 closing games from 2005 onward and could arguably be called the best player during the Nationals' three-year stay at RFK Stadium.  When the Nats moved to Nationals Park in 2008, he sort of was left behind.  A surgery and recovery complications limited him since and he has not been good at all in the very limited time he has pitched in the last three years.  The Blue Jays, watching their division improve around them, need to stack up as many moves as they can to keep up.  This is a good piece to the puzzle.

-The Jays didn't stop there, getting the veteran reliever Octavio Dotel in a free agent signing as well.  Besides being one of the most overrated players on the video game series MLB: The Show, Dotel is 36 and didn't have a great 2010 between three teams.  Interestingly though, Dotel still has the strikeout stuff that made his career owning a career 10.9 K/9 ratio.  In 2010, that ratio was 10.5 K/9, just a tick below.  Remember the Jays lost elite setup man Scott Downs in free agency, but could have a short term replacement right here.

-The Reds signed a trainwreck of an outfielder who will never live up to his potential Jeremy Hermida to a minor league deal, suggesting he will just be a backup plan on the 2011 Reds.  Hermida had high expectations coming up with the Marlins about four years ago, but has never really taken the next step.  He is stuck at Tyler Colvin stat levels, but with more strikeouts and without the rookie benefit-of-the-doubt factor.