Grass doesn't grow under Reggie Sanders' feet these days. He's become an expert not just at packing but also at picking.
A year ago, Sanders turned down an almost identical offer from San Francisco to sign with Arizona. This time around he's headed further west, leaving the World Series champion Diamondbacks to sign a one-year deal with the Giants.
"I thought the Diamondbacks had a better chance of going to the World Series," Sanders said. "My gut came out right. I had other opportunities this year, but something in my heart tells me the Giants are the best fit and have the best chance to win a world championship. Hopefully my gut will come out right this time."
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Talent drain
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The NL West teams have added few major upgrades this offseason:
Leaving the division
Terry Adams (Dodgers)
James Baldwin (Dodgers)*
Brian Bohanan (Rockies)
Jeff Cirillo (Rockies)
Ben Davis (Rockies)
Shawn Estes (Giants)
Andres Galarraga (Giants)*
Mark Gardner (Giants)*
Tony Gwynn (Padres)
Rickey Henderson (Padres)*
Albie Lopez (D-Backs)
Chan Ho Park (Dodgers)
Luke Prokopec (Dodgers)
Jay Powell (Rockies)
Jeff Shaw (Dodgers)*
Gary Sheffield (Dodgers)
John Vander Wal (Giants)
Gabe White (Rockies)
* free agent who hasn't signed yet
Joining the division
Omar Daal (Dodgers)
Jose Guillen (D-Backs)
Cesar Izturis (Dodgers)
Brian Jordan (Dodgers)
Todd Jones (Rockies)
Tom Lampkin (Padres)
Hideo Nomo (Dodgers)
Paul Quantrill (Dodgers)
Jose Paniagua (Rockies)
Odalis Perez (Dodgers)
Desi Relaford (Giants)
Dennys Reyes (Rockies)
Tsuyoshi Shinjo (Giants)
Denny Stark (Rockies)
Brett Tomko (Padres)
Ramon Vazquez (Padres)
Rick White (Rockies)
Jay Witasick (Giants)
Same division, new team
Jack Cust (D-Backs to Rockies)
Mike Myers (Rockies to D-Backs)
Reggie Sanders (D-Backs to Giants)
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Dusty Baker hopes so, too. "Reggie, I'm pulling for your gut, too," the San Francisco manager told his new right fielder.
There's no other division in the major leagues where the addition of an itinerant like Sanders would be major news. But given the offseason talent drain in the National League West, something as seemingly inconsequential as Sanders' move could shift the balance of power.
No NL division has had more top-to-bottom success than the West the last two seasons. Its five teams combined to go 42 games over .500 in 2000 and 30 games over .500 in 2001. But because of aging and the teams' over-leveraged financial pictures, every team in the West will walk a fine line in 2002.
Barring a repeat of the magical season that the Diamondbacks got from both Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson or the best-at-their-position support that the Giants received from Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia, it's easy to imagine a repeat of the '97 West race. That year 90 wins were enough to get San Francisco into the playoffs.
Since the end of last season, the West has lost Tony Gwynn, Gary Sheffield, Rickey Henderson, Eric Davis, Chan Ho Park, Jeff Shaw, Andres Galarraga, John Vander Wal, Jeff Cirillo and Shawn Estes to retirement, free agency or trades forced either by finances or funks.
On the other side of the equation, the closest thing to a proven impact player it has added is either Hideo Nomo, whose return to Los Angeles will be his fifth move since the middle of the '98 season, or Brian Jordan, who along with Odalis Perez was the best the Dodgers could get for Sheffield.
While Texas has spent $107.5 million on new faces, NL West teams have had their hands full just trying to keep as many of their own free agents as possible. The five teams in the division have combined to spend only $30.3 million to add free agents. That figure didn't move over $20 million until the Dodgers sent $11.5 million to the Yakult Swallows for the rights to pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii.
What gives? Colorado CEO Jerry McMorris offers the best explanation for the division's shrinking talent level. "The economic realities of our game are all part of what we have to deal with," McMorris said.
Borrowing a page from the Wayne Huizenga playbook, Arizona won a World Series with deficit spending. Colorado over committed in signing pitchers Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle to deals worth $176 million before last season. San Francisco must deal with the high price of hanging on to Bonds as well as large annual commitments to pay for Pac Bell Park, which Peter Magowan largely financed.
San Diego is stuck running on a financial treadmill while its new stadium is delayed. The only team in the NL West that should have flexibility to spend money is the Dodgers, and new general manager Dan Evans has been preoccupied cleaning up former GM Kevin Malone's mess.
Given the limitations each club faces, the Giants' Brian Sabean gets the highest marks for his offseason dealings. He went 2-for-2 at retaining front-line free agents in Bonds and right-hander Jason Schmidt, who signed for $31 million over four years.
Bonds, who found that no team felt his 73-homer season was worth $100 million, will almost certainly finish his career in San Francisco. The Giants not only got him to agree to salary arbitration but then struck a reasonable deal, getting him signed to a contract that mirrors the four-year, $72-million contract extension the Cubs gave Sammy Sosa last spring. If a fifth-year vesting option kicks in, the total value goes to $90 million. That will be fine with Magowan because it means that he'll either have broken Hank Aaron's homer record or be about to run it down.
Along with middle-infield mashers Kent and Aurilia, Bonds produced so much offense last season that the Giants were able to win 90 games (only two less than Arizona) despite below-average production at every other position.
Sanders, who resurrected his career with 33 homers and 90 RBI for Arizona last year, should give Baker one more reliable run-producer. He solidifies a position split between Armando Rios, Shawn Dunston, Vander Wal and Davis last year. Sabean also upgraded in center field, getting Tsuyoshi Shinjo from the Mets for Estes.
"If Reggie's healthy, Reggie is definitely going to do some damage and put some numbers up there," said Baker, who is expected to be ready to go in spring training after surgery for prostate cancer. "As for Shinjo, Marvin (Benard) and Calvin (Murray), we'll just have to wait until spring training to see how everything shakes out. This gives me a lot of options. It gives us a very strong outfield and a very strong bench at the same time."
Arizona's most aggressive move this winter ended in exasperation when David Wells reneged on a handshake deal with Jerry Colangelo to sign with the Yankees. But given the combustible nature of any dealing with Wells, this may turn into a blessing in disguise. The rebound factor has sent GM Joe Garagiola Jr. toward Texas castoff Rick Helling, who has worked at least 215 innings for four straight seasons.
Pitching behind Johnson, Schilling and the underrated Miguel Batista, Helling could be good for 15 wins. That's his average over the last four years, which matches Wells' average.
Manager Bob Brenly worked wonders filling in the cracks of a top-heavy pitching staff a year ago. Garagiola believes he'll have an easier time with a bullpen that will include sidearming lefty Mike Myers, who was acquired from Colorado in a deal that cost Arizona outfielder Jack Cust, who is one of the best hitting prospects in the minors.
Myers has worked 70-plus games in each of the last six seasons -- an unprecedented feat. Garagiola was impressed with Myers not allowing a run in nine appearances against Bonds' Giants.
"This might be the best guy in the business," Garagiola said. "Everybody has (a left-handed hitter) who is going to be up there in the eighth inning with the game on the line. We feel very good about Mike Myers coming into those situations. His durability and consistency year in and year out make him really valuable."
With Sanders gone -- and taking a few shots at Brenly on his way out the door -- the Diamondbacks will turn right field over to postseason surprise Danny Bautista, who signed a three-year, $9-million contract to stay in Arizona. He's a nine-year veteran who has teased teams with his potential but has never driven in more than 59 runs in a season. A .706 career OPS explains why he's never gotten more than 351 at-bats in a season.
The Sanders-to-Baustista transition looks like a negative for a team that is mediocre to average at short, second, third, center and catcher. And how long can Brenly keep Erubiel Durazo (career OPS: .906) satisfied behind Mark Grace, who has an OPS higher than .900 only once in 14 seasons? It seems down is the only way for the 37-year-old Grace to go after his leadoff single against Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning of Game 7.
Given a 2001 pitching meltdown that forced rookie manager Jim Tracy to use 12 different starters, the Dodgers don't have the luxury of fine-tuning. Even if they did, Evans would be badly hamstrung by the contracts he is stuck with on Darren Dreifort ($44 million, four years), Andy Ashby ($15.5, two years), Eric Karros ($15.5, two years and an option), Marquis Grissom ($5 million, one year) and Tom Goodwin ($3.75 million, one year and an option).
Rather than addressing the need to overhaul one of baseball's least productive infields, Evans has spent the winter either casting about for pitching or dealing with Sheffield's annual trade request. In Park, Terry Adams, Luke Prokopec, James Baldwin and Shaw, the Dodgers are missing pitchers who made 91 starts and earned 43 of the team's 46 saves last season. The addition of Omar Daal, Paul Quantrill and Nomo doesn't exactly offset that loss.
But as badly as Los Angeles needs a healthy Kevin Brown, it also needs Ishii to emerge as a pitching version of Ichiro Suzuki. The Dodgers first must sign the Japanese lefty but there's little doubt they will. It's been made clear that he'll go right into the rotation, hopefully bringing a winning touch across the Pacific. Yakult won five Japanese championships in Ishii's 10 seasons.
"He's a scaled-down version of Randy Johnson," said Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colburn, formerly Seattle's Pacific Rim scout. "He's not a touchy-feely pitcher like Tom Glavine. He goes after the hitters. He's a polished pitcher. He's no rookie. He knows what big-game pitching is all about."
Colorado is on the downward side of its binge-and-purge cycle. GM Dan O'Dowd has spent the winter rebuilding the bullpen -- newcomers Jose Paniagua, Dennys Reyes, Todd Jones and Rick White join holdovers Jose Jimenez and Justin Speier -- but hasn't had the resources to fill voids in left field and at third base. With the Rockies' payroll expected to drop from $71 million to less than $55 million, Buddy Bell is going to have to get the most from kids like Juan Pierre, Juan Uribe, Jose Ortiz and Ben Petrick.
San Diego's got more than a few intriguing kids, including Rookie of the Year candidate Sean Burroughs. With the pure-hitting Burroughs ready to take over at third, the Padres are expected to shift Phil Nevin to first base and Ryan Klesko to an outfield corner. The middle infield, a primary reason for San Diego's three consecutive losing seasons after an appearance in the 1998 World Series, will have a new look with Ramon Vazquez, a .300 hitter in Triple-A, at shortstop and D'Angelo Jimenez moving to second.
Many believe San Diego is a team on the rise. They're in the right division to be this year's Minnesota Twins.
Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.
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