NL West forecast

Dodgers
You think Juan Pierre's peak year is still ahead of him? I think so. If he hits, Furcal, Nomar and Kent behind him could be pretty good stuff. I think Schmidt was the best off-season pick up of the year, he'll anchor a good (but not great) pitching staff that should win the west easy enough. 94 wins.

D-backs
I like their pitching. Unit will relax and be better than average and while Livan Hernandez doesn't have a lot of wins left in his career, he can still eat innings like nobody's business, those two will serve them well. Webb is the real stud and they've got a slew of good young talent. Not this year though. 87 wins.

Padres
Petco Park is where home run hitters go to die and check out their outfield: Russell Branyan, Brian Giles, Termel Sledge, Jose Cruz Jr., Mike Cameron--what, no room for Rob Deer? That's the scariest collection of cast-offs since Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. 82 wins.

Giants
Hey fantasy-heads, keep an eye on Randy Winn. He's the one without a colostomy bag. Bonds breaks the record, Giants stink, local media calls Brain Sabean a genius anyway. 76 wins.

Rockies
It feels like they're moving in the right direction. Forget pitching, just try to out-slug people. Oh wait, they stopped playing that way years ago. 69 wins.