Arizona Diamonbacks Season Preview
Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were good enough to carry their team to another
division title in 2002, and may be strong enough to get a wild card berth in
2003. But after those two guys, that's it. Their offense is unimpressive. Steve
Finley, Matt Williams, and Tony Womack just can't seem to put together
back-to-back solid seasons. The rest of the bunch is largely unproven, although
Junior Spivey looks like he has a reel future as a potential All-Star. They do
still have Luis Gonzalez, but the rest of the hitter will have to produce for
him to be as effective as possible. He should manage 35 to 40 homers and 110+
RBI all by himself, but if Finley and company can come back, Gonzalez could have
another 2001-like season and be back in the MVP running. I just don't think that
a full return for the whole offense is likely. There has been talk of moving
closer Byung-Hyun Kim into the starting rotation, but I'm not convinced that
will happen or that it's a good idea. The Diamondbacks are a .500 ball club with
two phenomenal pitchers who are good enough to make them contenders. They should
vie for the wild card, but a lack of depth will keep them from winning the
division for a third year in a row.