Happening somewhere in Fantasyland: Brian Sabean scratching his head and saying to himself, "Wo, the Rox & D'backs have been pretty successful this season. Gee, maybe this speed & defense thing is misguided. Perhaps it has more to do with developing young talent on a consistent basis."

Then again, it's more likely that not that he is working on Feliz's multi-year contract signing.

My vote is for D-Backs, ridiculous Spinal Tap-ish logos and all, although I imagine both the Rox, Padres and Dodgers will all stay competitive for the near future. My only source of optimism is the hope that Ned Coletti will continue to gut the Dodgers' talented young rosters in favor of veteran savvy. That team would have been a division-winning juggernaut for years. Now, thanks to Ned, they'll merely be better than us.

Hey, I'll take 'em where I can get 'em.

As far as the rest of the playoffs, I've decided I'm for Cleveland, despite their blatantly racist mascot. Did anybody else see that guy with the "not in my teepee" sign on TV last night? I don't consider myself overly PC on this stuff...but I mean, like, damn, you know?

It's actually San Diego.

What is San Diego?

Rooting for the Indians and Rockies.

TBS's coverage has been a mixed bag, some of the broadcasts I like (Steve Stone, Ted Robinson) but some I really don't like (Joe Simpson is terrible).

I can't get TBS in HD which is a bummer, too. Baseball just looks so great in HD. Even Giants baseball!

"Which N.L. West team has the best chance to dominate the division for the next five years?"

"It's actually San Diego."

BigO:

Why do you say San Diego?

They have big holes in the line up to fill. 2B, LF, CF, and maybe even RF if Brian Giles doesn't recover from his micro surgary (a real risk). Maddux and Hoffman are not going to be around for another 5 years and are only going to continue to lose more of their luster as long as they do hang around. It is an open question mark as to weither Young will ever be healthy for a full year so all they can really count on in the rotation is Peavy.

Just how does this add up to dominating the NL West for the next 5 years?

giantsrainman. I agree they have huge holes and voids but who doesn't in the west??

They have the best pitcher in baseball in Jake Peavy. When they eventually lose Maddux and Hoffman they'll have another $17 mil a year to spend too.

I guess I assume Young will put in a full (and fantastic) year or two in the future.

Also A. Gonzalez is a stud 1B. 30hrs/100rbis for $625K?? WOW.

I also like K. Greene. He's very solid on D and always seems to get the clutch hit.

and if he gets healthy and stays on the team, I think Milton Bradley is a huge addition. This guy can hit.

FWIW, Khalil Greene is kind of their version of Pedro Feliz.

I agree with Rainman on this one. SD has Peavy and Gonzalez and a GM who always puts together a great bullpen, but I think AZ, Colorado and even LA will be consistently better than SD in the next few years. I don't think they'll get much help from the minors --I can't get to BA's organizational rankings, but I remember the Pads being quite low. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, I don't recall SD having a good farm system, thought Matt Antonelli had a breakout type of year, if I recall right. But if Giants fans are complaining about our farm system, at least our's, I believe, is better than SD's.

OGC,

At the beginning of the year, Baseball American ranked the Giants #20 and the Padres #29, one away from the worst system in baseball, the Nationals.

Now that a full season has been played, the rankings have most likely changed a good deal. I'll be interested to see where the Giants go, up or down, in their next evaluation.

Forgot to add this.

On the note of guys in the Padres system, I've been a big fan of Chase Headley, he also had a very nice breakout-type year and I think he's probably their #1 prospect right now. He did quite well in AA, hitting (.330/.437/.580) with 20 HRs and 38 2Bs.

I would think the Rockies have the best 5-year future in the NL West. The D'backs' young hitters aren't all turning out so well, but the Rockies' hitters have been terrific. And now that the humidor is working in Denver, I'd think pitching would be the next thing they address. Perhaps now some FA pitchers would consider Colorado, as well.

There's no doubt Peavy and Young are studs. But I don't like SD's hitting lineup all that much, and I don't think they have much coming up besides Antonelli.

The Dodgers have been mishandled into mediocrity (band name alert!), so who knows about their future?