NL WEST

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Look to Young to log some serious miles on the base paths.

1. ARIZONA DIAMOND BACKS

JUST THE FACTS

• Brandon Lyon is not José Valverde. Lyon, who has 25 career saves, was chosen to close over Tony Peña because Peña can get flustered. The D-backs led baseball in one-run wins in '07, so the pressure is on Lyon.
• Randy Johnson won't go away.To keep Johnson's back healthy, the D-backs wouldn't let the 44-year-old lefty do fielding drills or take BP this spring. He needs 16 wins for 300, and that will drive him to stay in shape.
• The kids are alright. Chris Young, Stephen Drew and Justin Upton are well short of their offensive potential. That's scary for opponents.
• Last year was a fluke. Arizona was 18 games over .500 despite being outscored by 20 runs. That's scary too.

HEARSAY
"I don't know how they won last year," says an NL scout. "They brought up young guys and threw them right into the pennant race, which I thought was a mistake. But it worked. And now those young guys have been through the fire. Plus, their top two pitchers might be the best duo in the league."

HOUSE CALL
"They were miraculous last year. They did things no one thought they should have. The young players like Drew and Mark Reynolds add a lot of excitement and hustle to the game."
—Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.)

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Tulowitzski gives a full nine every time.

2. COLORADO ROCKIES

JUST THE FACTS

• Troy Tulowitzki hates to lose. He was livid this month when the Rockies dropped two exhibition games in a row. A teammate said, "It's only spring training." Tulo's response: "Then why are we playing nine innings?"
• They'll struggle to replace Kaz Matsui at second. The Rockies are considering Clint Barmes, Jeff Baker, Marcus Giles and rookie Jayson Nix, who's a whiz with the leather but a major question mark at the plate.
• Todd Helton will score a ton of runs. He led the NL in OBP (.434), and now he's hitting in front of Matt Holliday.
• You can pitch at altitude. The 2007 staff proved it with a franchise-record 4.32 ERA. To repeat the feat and win another pennant, young arms Ubaldo Jiménez and Franklin Morales need to sustain their success over a full year.

HEARSAY
"They're legit," says one scout. "They're an up-and-coming team, and they play that way. They're having fun."

HOUSE CALL
"Baseball used to be an afterthought behind the Broncos and Avalanche. Now the Rockies are up there, and that's good, because we're all in a funk about the Broncos."
—Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.)

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The Dodgers are bringing in the calvary.

3. LOS ANGELES DODGERS

JUST THE FACTS:

• They're jonesing for power. The only NL team with fewer home runs than the Dodgers last year was the Nats. Free agent pickup Andruw Jones hit 26 for the Braves, which would've led LA.
• Matt Kemp should sweat the details. This spring, he ran head down from first to third on a single, and after sliding in headfirst, he looked up and saw James Loney standing on the bag. "How old are you, son?" Joe Torre asked Kemp afterward. When Kemp said 23, Torre responded, "Good, there will be plenty of time to fix that."
• Third base is a problem. Nomar Garciaparra is injury-prone, and his power (7 HRs in '07) is fading. Andy LaRoche (thumb) is out until May and has yet to impress in the majors.

HEARSAY
"They should trade Kemp while they can get a lot for him," says a former Dodger. "He's a great athlete, but he's a basketball player trying to play baseball." (Kemp was an AAU mate of the Hawks' Shelden Williams.)

HOUSE CALL
"I think Southern California will have some good baseball to watch in both leagues. But the Los Angeles team will do better. The day that Anaheim pays LA city taxes, I'll consider them LA as well."
—Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)

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Papa Edmonds is trying to stay healthy this season.

4. SAN DIEGO PADRES

JUST THE FACTS:

• Jim Edmonds is fading. At 37, he limped through the spring on a strained right calf. And check out his slugging percentages for the past four seasons: .643, .533, .471, .403.
• Trevor Hoffman is so over it. Those two blown saves at the end of last season are in his rearview mirror. He's so relaxed, he volunteered to make the spring training trip to China. "I wanted to see the Great Wall," he says.
• Chase Headley could make the jump from Double-A. The 23-year-old 3B/OF has enough power to crack a weak lineup.
• Mark Prior will pitch for his hometown team. No, seriously. Maybe in June.

HEARSAY
"The Cardinals wouldn't have let Edmonds go if he could have helped them," says an opposing scout. "The Padres can pitch with anyone, but I wonder if they'll score enough."

HOUSE CALL
"We've never had a real power hitter. They brought in that rightfielder from Pittsburgh, what's his name [um, Brian Giles]. The park isn't easy to hit home runs in, but other teams hit them, so what does that tell you?"
—Bob Filner, (D-Calif.)

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Zito's got six more well-paid years.

5. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

JUST THE FACTS:

• Only six years left on the deal. Of the first 72 hitters Barry Zito faced this spring, he struck out none. "He's not in the high 80s; he's in the low 80s," says one scout. "And his curveball doesn't have the bite it used to have."
• The lineup is barren. The only guys with a chance to hit 20 homers are Bengie Molina and newcomer Aaron Rowand. And wait until Rowand sees how much harder it is to hit it out of AT&T Park than Citizens Bank.
• Third base is a black hole. Rich Aurilia is manning the hot corner, which might have been a good idea in 2001.
• Unfortunately, you have to stay until the end. Brian Wilson proved last year that he has the moxie to close. Too bad he won't have many leads to protect.

HEARSAY
"The Giants aren't as bad as you've heard," an opposing scout says. "They're worse. They don't have a plan, and management hasn't given GM Brian Sabean the money he needs to keep the farm system going."

HOUSE CALL
"We're all so grateful for the contributions Barry Bonds made to the San Francisco community. I'll always remember him embracing Willie Mays after his 756th home run. I'm especially glad it happened on Italian Night."
—Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

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