Weigh-in: diamond visions

Sporting News, The, Feb 11, 2002

Provided baseball manages to put aside internal differences, some interesting divisional races should develop in light of off-season moves.

The Yankees appear to have a firm hold on the A.L. East, but the defending champion Diamondbacks will have some competition.

"The N.L. West will be the most exciting race," writes Paul Taunton of New York. "The Diamondbacks might be too old to repeat but also are too experienced to go away. The Giants get on hot streaks. The Dodgers wake up once in a while to remind you that they can be worth the money. The Padres are on the upswing. Even the Rockies are one of the most valuable franchises."

Matt Freeman of Atlanta expects a fierce battle in the N.L. East. "The Braves added Gary Sheffield and Vinny Castilla to a team with some of the majors' best pitching," Freeman writes. "The Mets added big-time firepower in Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno and Jeromy Burnitz. Add in the Phillies, who have most of last year's team back, and this will be one heck of a race."

Angels fan Samuel Kim of Los Angeles thinks the A.L. West will have the top race. "All four teams in A.L. West can compete for the playoffs," Kim writes. "I'm sure it will be the best race in baseball because it is so hard to choose who will win the division."