NL West

Led by manager Bruce Bochy, the Giants will enter the 2011 season as the defending World Series champions for the first time since their days in New York, and they hope to find a way to repeat.

With an exception of the acquisition of shortstop Miguel Tejada and the departures of shortstop Edgar Renteria and second baseman Juan Uribe, the 2011 Giants will have a very similar feel to the squad that won it all in 2010.

When thinking of pitching rotations with a lot of depth, the Phillies, Red Sox and Giants are—rightfully so—the first teams to come to mind. However, one could argue that the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation is underrated and belongs in that discussion.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jhoulys Chacin, but judging by his 241st-ranked ADP in drafts this week on Mock Draft Central, I’m guessing you probably haven’t.

Chacin, Colorado’s young stud in the making, is only getting drafted in 48 percent of early mock drafts, quite possibly making him the deepest sleeper Baseball Professor has named yet.

Rafael Furcal opened the 2010 season on fire, hitting .333 with 51 R in 243 AB prior to the All-Star Break. 

Of course, as a consistent theme over the past few years, Furcal was limited to just 26 AB in May. Matters got even worse after the break, with just 140 AB including only seven in August. 

Injuries to his lower back and hamstring were the issues in 2010 and, considering his speed is one of his biggest assets, you have to be concerned.

Of all the positions in baseball, the pitcher can be most closely compared to being on the front lines of battle. The mentality a pitcher must possess is one of great confidence and composure. To be a closer, you have to have all that and then some; after all, you inherit the situation be it good, bad or ugly.

Tim Lincecum dazzled us with his meteoric rise to super stardom. The 5’10”, 170 pound kid from Bellevue, Washington proved to the Giants and the rest of the world that not only was he ready to play in the bigs but that he was ready to dominate.

With every passing day that the St. Louis Cardinals and their star slugger remain far apart in contract extension talks, speculation grows as to where the future Hall of Famer will take his talents next season.

With spring training around the corner, coupled with being snowed in here in Little Rock, Arkansas, I thought it’d be a perfect time for my take on the Padres in 2011.

The 2011 opening day lineup will most likely look similar to this:

1.     Jason Bartlett – SS

2.     Orlando Hudson – 2B

Dear Giants Fans,

Congratulations, the Giants won the 2010 World Series. They narrowly edged out the Padres in the final series of the season and rode the momentum to a World Series Championship. Nobody can deny the Giants were the best baseball team during the 2010 postseason. They have the hardware to prove it. Now let’s come back to reality and understand why the Giants are not favorites to repeat in 2011.

Madison Bumgarner or Jonathan Sanchez?

Thankfully for the San Francisco Giants, the tough choice between the two does not have to be made, for now. However, the day may soon come in which a trade comes along that cannot be turned down and the Giants will need to make a decision; hopefully the core rotation will stay intact (cheers for Brian Sabean), but that day may be sooner than you'd think.