Feb 24, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) on third during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

1^st Place: Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles (93-69)

The Dodgers spent a lot of money.  I know, spending money on huge contracts doesn’t guarantee World Series wins; otherwise the Yankees would have a lot more than their paltry 27.  But, I expect Adrian Gonzalez to have very good year and I think people have written off Carl Crawford way to early.  Their starting staff has the potential to be great.  Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are about as good of a 1-2 as you will find.  If Chad Billingsley can repeat last year, Josh Beckett finds a bump from moving to a pitcher’s park, and Hyun-Jin Ryu is as good as they think, they’re going to win a lot of games.  The Dodgers also have the very capable Chris Capuano should he need to fill in.  Their bullpen was 4^th in ERA in the NL last year and they look decent again, although, through injuries or ineffectiveness, Brandon League will not be their closer all season.

The negatives: Despite all the big name/ big contract players on the Dodgers, here are a few of their projected starters: 2B Mark Ellis, 3B Luis Cruz, LF Jerry Hairston, Jr., C AJ Ellis.  Also, Hanley Ramirez is not good. Not. Good. They’ll call up Dee Gordon at some point, probably sooner rather than later.

2^nd Place: San Francisco Giants (90-62)

I think the Giants won the World Series last season.  I can’t be sure.  There’s no way to prove it.  Who really cares?  If they did win the World Series, they basically return the same team this season (where is Aubrey Huff?).  Buster Posey is spectacular at the most critical position on the field.  And while the Giants are good in all areas, they are great in none.  Offensively, middle-of-the-pack.  Pitching, upper third in the NL but not the top few.  Defensively, average.  Other than Buster Posey, and maybe Matt Cain, there is no one on this team, pitcher or hitter, who really stands out.  Giants Fan will tell you that their starting pitching is great, but really they aren’t.  Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner are good, and I would certainly make either of them the #1 starter on the Padres (but that’s not saying much). Tim Lincecum was a total mess last year and Barry Zito will be 35 this season.  When hot, Pablo Sandoval can be dangerous, although his 2012 season was a major drop off from 2011. This team is probably good enough for wild card contention, but as far as being the NL West favorites, I just don’t see it.  Yes, Giants Fan, You overachieved in 2012.

3^rd Place: Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77)

Predicting this team is a total crap-shoot.  I could see the Diamondbacks winning 90 games and I could see them winning 75. The variability lies in their offensive lineup.  Guys like Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero, Martin Prado, and Cody Ross are all nice players, when they’re playing nice.  If all of these guys reproduce their 2012 numbers, watch out.  If they delve deeper into their past performances, they are potential disappointments. Jason Kubel is a terrific, underrated hitter and Paul Goldschmidt will hit a ton of doubles and homers.  A good year from their rookie center fielder, Adam Eaton (who used to be a starting pitcher for the Padres), could push them over the top.  The strength of this team lies in their starting pitching, and maybe I’m just saying that because of Ian Kennedy and his propensity for shutting down the Padres.  The bullpen is solid, but J.J Putz is one year younger than me.  That’s one year younger than old.  I won’t be surprised wherever the Diamondbacks finish, 1^st through 5^th.

4^th Place: San Diego Padres (78-84)

The margin of error for the Padres is razor thin.  Offensively, things have to go right.  Chase Headley is awesome, but won’t reproduce his 2012 numbers.  Carlos Quentin has to stay healthy. Yonder Alonso will improve and Jedd Gyorko will be in the ROY discussion. However, guys like Cameron Maybin, Everth Cabrera, Chris Denorfia, and Will Venable, not only have to stay healthy, but also have to produce the best seasons of their careers.  That’s a lot to ask. Should any of the Padres position players get hurt for an extended period, there isn’t much available in the way of replacements.   And by the way, the hitting is the strength of this team.  Unless prospects like Casey Kelly, Robbie Erlin, and Donn Roach get and take advantage of opportunities, the starting rotation is going to be a disaster.  Jason Marquis.  Eric Stults. Clayton Richard. Freddy Garcia. Tim Stauffer. Tyson Ross. Anthony Bass.  Way to go Josh Byrnes, that’s a list of names. I actually feel that my 4^th place prediction is a product of my fandom.  They could very easily finish last.  Sorry folks.

5^th Place: Colorado Rockies. (69-93)

Ok, never mind about the Padres finishing last.  I am looking at the Rockies’ projected depth chart.  Wow, they’re bad (Rockies bloggers are saying the same thing about the Padres), and that’s a weird thing to say about a team that has Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.  The starting pitching rotation is so bad that they have Jorge De La Rosa listed as their #1.  De La Rosa pitched 10 innings last year, 59 innings the year before that, and a whopping 121 innings in 2010.  I remember him in 2010.  He was okay.  But this is a guy that has been injured for two years now and is supposed to be their #1 guy?  Good luck with that. Along those lines, lets hope the Padres catch Jeff Francis during every series, because he’s still pitching.  Offensively, outside of the two stars I’ve named, this team is worse than the Padres.  Dexter Fowler (2.9 WAR) and Tyler Colvin (2.7 WAR) were good last year, although I predict lesser contributions this year. The rest of the team, including Todd Helton, is below average.   What they need to do is trade an outfielder to create room for Eric Young, but hey, that’s not my job.

There you have it folks, my predictions for the NL West.  Let me know why you think I’m wrong.

Aug 6, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Huston Street (16) wets his fingers during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Situation: Last year’s bullpen wasn’t as solid as it had been in years past, but it was good enough to have the ninth best bullpen ERA in the Major Leagues.

The bullpen was a work in progress, as top relief prospects Nick Vincent, Tommy Layne, Brad Boxberger and Miles Mikolas made their Big League debuts.

Joe Thatcher, Luke Gregerson and Huston Street added much needed veteran experience for the younger guys. With a year of experience under their belt, I expect the bullpen to be a much better group this year.

New Additions: Fautino De Los Santos is the newest addition to the relief squad. The Padres plucked the Dominican right-hander off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers to add depth at the position.

Tyson Ross is more of a starter than a reliever, but if he does not make the starting rotation, he could find his way into the bullpen.

Jason Ray, Daniel Stange and Jerry Sullivan all signed Minor League contracts

Re-signed: The Padres avoided arbitration with setup man Luke Gregerson by signing him to a one-year, $3.2 million contract for the 2013 season.

Positional Outlook: As it stands right now, Huston Street is the club’s closer, with Gregerson and Dale Thayer serving as setup men.

The left-handed specialists are Thatcher and Layne. Brad Brach could serve in a dual role as a long reliever and a setup man. I believe there is room for one more in the bullpen, and that spot is up for grabs.

The four leading candidates for that final bullpen slot are Mikolas, Ross, Anthony Bass and Andrew Cashner.

I would like to see Mikolas or Bass get the last spot with Ross or Cashner slotted in the rotation.

This is the last of the Spring Training Position Battles. Hope you enjoyed the series. Let us know in the comment box below who you would like to see win the final spot in the bullpen.

After a 7-17 month of April in 2012, “meaningful” games soon ended in May.  Yes its true, the Padres played much better in the second half of 2012, going 46-34 in the months of July, August, and September.  And while it was moderately interesting to watch them play better, these games were never meaningful as far as the division or wildcard standings.  As fans, we were left with the all-to-familiar “Just wait till next year”.

Here we are.  Next year.  I’m going to lay out my blueprint for meaningful games in July, our version of success.  I guess I should define what I believe to be meaningful.  Meaningful is within shouting distance of either the division or the wildcard.  Usually this means hovering around .500.  When Buddy Black woke up on July 1^st last season, his Padres were 21 games under .500.  That’s not hovering.  That’s the opposite of hovering.

Here is what has to go right in 2013:

1. Survive the first month.  Ok, I cheated; this is actually like 13 things.  Why the first month?  As detailed above, the Padres 7-17 April record completely destroyed their 2012 season.  Yasmani Grandal’s suspension will be half over and I assume Andrew Cashner will be back by the end of the first month.  Surviving the first month means Carlos Quentin staying healthy.  It means Cameron Maybin not swinging at every slider out of the zone.  It means Everth Cabrera getting on base and playing league-average defense at short.  It means the stable of #5 starting pitchers overachieves until they can be replaced. It means Edinson Volquez recognizing his impending free agency.  And, perhaps most importantly, it means Nick Hundley having his memory of 2012 completely erased.  None of these factors are unrealistic on their own, but getting all or a majority of them to happen is the challenge.

2. A breakthrough season from a rookie pitcher.  By ‘breakthrough’ I do not mean Cy Young caliber.  I mean league-average, #3 starter caliber.  As Padres fans, our expectations can only go so high.  Casey Kelly. Robbie Erlin. Tyson Ross. Maybe even Donn Roach.  One of these guys needs to break through and prove he belongs in the big leagues.

3. The obvious one: Health.  I was going to detail all of the injuries from last season.  You would stop reading.  But, last year was an outlier, right?  Right? Needless to say, there will be injuries in 2013.  I know Carlos Quentin and Huston Street will be on the DL at some point. The Padres need to avoid the quantity of significant injuries that they sustained last year.  Unfortunately, they already have several to deal with.  Cory Luebke won’t return from Tommy John surgery until the second half.  Cashner is a cutter.  Grandal broke his brain.  Let’s hope for a relatively injury-free rest of the season.

4. Cashner.  If the Padres are going to play meaningful games in July and perhaps beyond, they need Andrew Cashner to harness his abilities.  The ceiling? A #1 starter.  The problem? His hunting injury is going to severely limit his chances of hitting that ceiling this year.  I can’t imagine coming back from a severed tendon in your pitching thumb will improve your control.  And obviously this injury is prohibiting him from throwing.  It’s going to take him a while to build up his arm strength.  Thankfully, the Padres have committed to him as a starter, rather than a 60-inning reliever.

The Padres have little hope for true success in 2013, but if we alter our expectations, just maybe they can be the World Champions of meaningful games.  Go Padres.