NL West: Third in a series of 6 divisional previews.

1. San Francisco. The Giants aren’t a spectacular team – their pitching is solid but not too notable – but there aren’t any serious holes, and that may be good enough. Jeff Kent’s injury may mean a slow start, but enough offensive production should come from Rich Aurilia, J.T. Snow, and that guy who hit 73 home runs last year. 73? My spellchecker flagged that one. But, yes, as long as Barry Bonds is in the lineup and Dusty Baker is running the show, you can count on the Giants being involved in the playoff hunt.

2. Arizona (wild card). Two big reasons the D-Backs won’t be complacent after winning it all: Randy and Curt. When Pedro Martinez is healthy, Arizona still has two of the three best pitchers in baseball, and I’m not stupid enough to publicly proclaim who actually fits in which position. Everyone’s concerned about the Snakes’ age. But youngsters Junior Spivey, Danny Bautista, and David Dellucci will join a still-formidable core in the lineup. The question marks are the psychological health of closer Byung-Hyun Kim and the ability of either Brian Anderson or newcomer Rick Helling to establish himself as the clear #3 starter.

3. Los Angeles.The health of the starting rotation holds all the keys to this team. If Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, and new/old Dodger Hideo Nomo stay healthy, they’ll be in for the long haul. If they struggle with injuries, L.A. will quickly turn to football. Except they don’t have a team. Oh well. The offense will miss Gary Sheffield, says the Department of the Obvious. It’s hard to see Brian Jordan replacing Sheffield’s numbers, so the pressure rests on Shawn Green and the remains of Eric Karros. It all adds up to another fall with baseball played far away from Chavez Ravine.

4. Colorado. A lot of interesting stats and stories came out of the 2001 season, but here’s one you may have missed. Did you know the Colorado Rockies played 162 games last year? It’s hard to believe; I never saw them. Did anyone out there actually witness a Rockies game (or part of one) last year? Larry Walker, Todd Helton, and some outfielder named Juan Pierre put up good numbers last year, but I assumed they were from an APBA game and not produced on the field. Their top two pitchers are Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton, according to a few websites. If you’re interested in learning more about Rockies baseball, they’re allegedly playing in Saint Louis and Los Angeles the first week of the season.

5. San Diego. Their starting pitching includes names like Brian Lawrence, Kevin Jarvis, and Brian Tollberg. Their projected lineup includes future Hall-of-Fame visitors Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko, and Mark Kotsay, who are now too old to be officially considered prospects. They do have a legit prospect in 3B Sean Burroughs, but the 1998 NL Pennant seems like a looong time ago, doesn’t it?

Next: The AL West.