I didn't make many predictions before the season; the only official ones I made were the Yankees and Cardinals in the World Series, Alex Rodriguez and Chipper Jones as MVPs and Mike Mussina and Greg Maddux as Cy Young winners. Not bad picks, not great.

I also made some preseason comments about each team, and will now revisit them.

New York Yankees

It's been a simple task the past few seasons, pencilling in the order of finish in the AL East. Yankees on top, followed by Boston; Toronto third, either a little above or below .500, followed by a gradually declining Baltimore team. And then Tampa Bay, bringing up the rear.

And so it goes for one more year. I was not very bold before the season, picking the Yankees to go to the World Series, but I could not think of an alternative. But they are no sure thing in the playoffs; this is the most unbalanced Yankee team we've seen under Joe Torre (lots of power and runs, but wobbly pitching, suspect defence, an ailing closer).

Mike Mussina was my preseason pick to win the Cy Young, but that didn't work out. Mussina had a good start, was mercilessly pounded during the summer, then finished strong (though against awful teams). Mariano Rivera's health is still a question mark; it will be interesting to see if their pitching can rise to the occasion — again — in the playoffs.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox, for all their talent, still have the stench of last season's horrible finish hanging over them. Beyond Pedro, their rotation isn't all that strong (John Burkett? Frank Castillo?). There's also no guarantee that Pedro and Nomar will be able to stay healthy all year.

Of course, I forgot that Derek Lowe is a fantastic pitcher, and just needed a fresh start to make a big comeback. And Pedro and Nomar were both healthy and spectacular. But the Red Sox still came up short, and I'm afraid that the back end of the rotation (Burkett, Castillo, Hermanson) was a prime reason why.

No, that's not an adequate explanation. The Sox were second in the league in runs scored and third in team ERA. They should have been in a dogfight with the Yankees right until the very end, but instead underachieved, again. I don't know what it is going to take for this team to win; I mean, if you can't win with either Roger Clemens or Pedro Martinez, then how....?

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays may be young and inexperienced, but the Orioles and Devil Rays should be much worse. Even the Red Sox, who have killed the Blue Jays the past few years, likely won't be so tough. So I'm predicting a .500 season, and perhaps a chance at second place if the Red Sox implode.

The Jays had a horrendous start to the season, fired their manager and ended up using a team-record 14 rookies this season. Despite all that, they still managed to end up just a few games short of the .500 mark. I live in Toronto, but I don't know where Carlos Delgado or Jose Cruz or Shannon Stewart or Kelvim Escobar are going to end up next year, or what the Jays are going to do about their growing list of injured pitchers.

What I do know is that Josh Phelps is going to be some kind of hitter, and Eric Hinske and Orlando Hudson can play, too. They have more good young players than they have had in a long time.

Baltimore Orioles

Here's a question: what could prevent the Orioles from losing 100 games?

The Orioles were making me look silly in midsummer. I had them pegged as the worst team in the league, yet after 126 games they were playing .500 ball!

Of course, they were horrible the rest of the season, and finished up with 95 losses. Even still, this team was at least a little better than I expected, thanks in large part to a pair of fantastic rookies, Rodrigo Lopez and Jorge Julio. Both appear to be the real deal.

Unfortunately, the Orioles still haven't made much progress in developing good young players. This is still a team woefully short on talent, and I can't see them as a contender in 2003.

And by the way, I think Mike Hargrove should keep his job. Yeah, they had a disappointing finish to the season, but the truth is that this team should never have been near the .500 mark in the first place.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The Devil Rays will be a little better than they have been in past years. Not a lot, but a little.

Nope. The Rays sucked huge, again. And there is every indication that they will again be awful in 2003. The only good thing you can say about their season is that Aubrey Huff played extraordinarily well after his recall from the minors; perhaps the Rays will learn that it is hard to win when your best player is playing at Durham.

I think the fans and media in every city have lamented, and poked fun at, the sad state of the Devil Rays. That is true here in Toronto as well. How short our memories are! The truth is, the Blue Jays were an even worse expansion team than the Rays:

Devil Rays first five years: 318-490 (.394 winning pct.)

Blue Jays first five years: 270-482 (.359 winning pct.)

Devil Rays in Year Five: 55-106 (.342 winning pct.)

Blue Jays in Year Five: 37-69 (.349 winning pct.)

The strike in 1981 spared the Jays another 100-loss season. So yes, the Devil Rays are bad, real bad, but not the All-Time Worst; the good news is that the Jays, despite their horrible start, have a couple of World Championships.

Chicago White Sox

I think that the White Sox are in much better shape this spring than either the Indians or Twins, and I expect that they will win their division.

That didn't work out, either, as the Sox were never in the race with the Twins. The offence did its job; even with a struggling Frank Thomas, the Sox still scored more runs than anyone except the Yankees and Boston. But they also probably could have scored more runs had they had Joe Crede in the lineup all season.

What really killed them was the pitching staff. Buehrle did his job, but none of the other young pitchers had a good year. And the trade that sent Kip Wells AND Josh Fogg AND Sean Lowe to Pittsburgh for Todd Ritchie proved to be a nigthmarish disaster, the kind of deal that can haunt a team for years.

The Sox will probably be competitive again in 2003, but it remains to be seen if the current management team will survive.

Cleveland Indians

Apart from acquiring some mediocre prospects like Milton Bradley and Alex Escobar, there doesn't seem to be much rebuilding going on. Vizquel, Fryman and Burks are getting old fast. The pitching staff has some solid citizens, but also some major holes; it's hard to imagine that this team could compete with Chicago in 2002.

They won their first 11 games, then were pretty awful the rest of the season, especially after dealing Bartolo Colon. And I don't think the rebuilding job is going to pay any dividends in 2003; this team is still strikingly short on talent. The outfield trio of Lee Stevens, Karim Garcia and Coco Crisp will surely have to be replaced, but by whom? Who will replace Travis Fryman after he retires? What if Jim Thome leaves as a free agent?

I think that the earliest that this team can contend is 2004 — though to be honest, I'm doubtful that they are even pointed in the right direction.

Minnesota Twins

It's tough to have confidence in a team when the owner tries to destroy it during the winter. And I'm sure that Tom Kelly got the message loud and clear before he left. The Twins have some of the elements of a good team, but they need some help, and they're likely not going to get it.

The Twins had a truly bizarre season, but also an incredibly successful one. Entering the season, I thought that their starting rotation was terrific, but that the lineup lacked power and the bullpen was weak.

I wasn't too far off about the lineup. The Twins hit a few more homers than expected, but were still only ninth in the league in runs scored. And their top three starters — Eric Milton, Joe Mays, Brad Radke — all struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness.

And yet, they still won. The bullpen, as bad as it was in 2001, was just sensational, led by the now-legendary Everyday Eddie Guardado. And the rotation was saved by youngsters Kyle Lohse, Johan Santana and Tony Fiore. It also helped that they were playing in the worst division in baseball.

I think the Twins overachieved this year, but it will be fun to watch them in the playoffs; they are still a fantastic team in the Metrodome. As for 2003, well, I like their young pitchers, and I don't like the other teams in the division, so they should be in the hunt for a return to the playoffs.

They also have the three Mike's, Cuddyer, Restovich and Ryan, a trio of young home run hitters who could give this team more power in the lineup than it has had in years.

Detroit Tigers

Their lineup is a bland mixture of fading veterans and castoffs from other teams. Their pitching staff has a couple of kids who can fire the ball, and a couple of veterans who might be able to help out. They may not be as bad as Tampa Bay, but they are more depressing.

The Tigers couldn't score runs all year; they didn't have a single quality bat in the lineup. The pitching staff was also pretty awful, especially after they dealt Jeff Weaver. They did manage to get a good young slugger in Carlos Pena, at the expense of their best pitcher. I like Pena, and Mark Redman pitched well, and Robert Fick had an interesting year... but for the most part this team needs a complete roster overhaul.

Kansas City Royals

Management has no hope of winning, otherwise they would have fired Tony Muser. Instead, Terrible Tony will again be at the helm of a ship that has already sunk.

Muser was fired at the end of April. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the Royals would start the season with Muser, then fire him after one month. I mean, everybody wanted him to be fired before the season; instead, they waited a month. I don't get it.

The Royals have more good players than any other bad team in the league, if that makes any sense. Mike Sweeney and Carlos Beltran are terrific, Raul Ibanez had a fine year, Paul Byrd had a terrific year in the starting rotation. The rest of the team stinks huge, and it's not in any position to get better.

How about a campaign to get Ewing Kaufman into the Hall Of Fame? How many owners have had as positive an influence on the game as Kaufman had?

I still think this is a good idea.

Seattle Mariners

But they were good and they got real lucky and everything clicked until that final, fateful series. They will decline in 2002; the question is, by how much?

A lot, apparently.

I still think they will win the divison.

The Mariners were doing just fine until August, when they suddenly stopped winning, and were left far behind by both the Angels and Athletics. And you know, I'm not even sure why this happened. Everybody kinda slumped at the same time (even Ichiro), and before you knew it they were out of the race.

The Mariners should remain competitive, but is it time to fire Lou Pinella? I think Lou is a fine manager, but jeez, he has failed to win with some awfully good players in Seattle the past few years. And when the team just folds up like it did this year, for no obvious reason... that's not a good sign. It may be time for change, just for the sake of change.

But I don't want Lou to be unemployed. God knows, there are some other teams that could use him. Who was the last good manager that the Cubs hired? Leo Durocher?

Oakland Athletics

Ultimately, look for either Eric Chavez or Jermaine Dye or both to step up and become leaders of this club; if those guys produce, then this team should at least take the wild card.

Umm, or maybe Miguel Tejada as well. It is hard to believe that the Athletics were just spinning their wheels the first half of the season, suffering from Giambi withdrawal and inconsistent pitching. At the All-Star break, they didn't appear to have any chance of catching Seattle.

But of course they had a 20-game win streak, after the pitching staff almost completely stopped giving up runs. The offence improved, and scored as many runs as it needed to. And don't forget my favourite closer, Billy Koch, who has sort of emerged as the new Mitch Williams.

I am writing this just before the playoffs, and I will say for the record that I hope this team wins the pennant. I mean, I like the Angels and the Twins, and even the Yankees are hard to dislike, but this Oakland team deserves to win, and it's been heartbreaking to watch them choke in the playoffs two years in a row. Good luck in October.

Anaheim Angels

They have a lot of good players, including two (Glaus and Erstad) who are bound to have much better seasons, and some very good pitchers; if they can keep Percival and Salmon healthy and find someone to play first base, then they could challange for the wild card.

Strangely enough, neither Erstad nor Glaus really played any better than they did last year. The season started ominously, with a 6-14 record... but Salmon, after a slow start, found his groove, and everything else quickly fell into place. They were healthy, they were good, and they were fun to watch. And by the time you read this, they may be in the World Series.

2003 will be a problem. The Angels took a gigantic step forward this season, and it will be tough to avoid falling back next year. They need to squeeze one more good season out of Appier and Percival, and they really (and I mean it this time), really need both Glaus and Erstad to get their act together. For Glaus, that means 40 homers; for Erstad, that means a .320 average and some doubles.

Texas Rangers

So, who's the most dysfunctional team in the West? Would that be Anaheim or Texas?

That would be Texas.

The Rangers, as you know, have added such colourful/disgraceful personalities as Carl Everett and John Rocker to their roster.

Not the best moves John Hart has ever made.

On the other hand, John Hart has to be given credit for rebuilding a miserable pitching staff into something that should be at least a little better in 2002.

Yeah, they were like 5% better.

If this team can hold together, they could cause some problems this season... but I still expect them to finish last in the West.

And so they did.

Actually, I'm being a little unkind to Texas. They finished 10th out of 14 teams, and had to play in the toughest division in baseball; they were probably better than Cleveland and Toronto. They had the best player in the American League, they had more amazing performances from Rafael Palmeiro and Pudge. They had a plague of injuries (Gonzalez, Park, Zimmerman, Catalanotto). All things considered, it was not a terrible season.

The Rangers have some interesting choices to make next year. The pressure is on to win now, but they also have some impressive young players. They have a kid, Hank Blalock, who didn't work out so well this year but is still going to become a terrific hitter. Jason Hart might be ready to step in and provide some power. And Trent Hafner had the most eye-popping numbers of any player at Triple-A.

But they need some pitching. I mean, it doesn't even have to be good pitching for them to contend; mediocre would be fine. But it can't be atrociously awful.

Atlanta Braves

I like Bobby Cox and Maddux and Glavine and Chipper Jones, and I would not at all be upset if they were to win another championship. As long as they don't embarrass themselves again, because I'm tired of watching them do that.

They Braves led the league in wins, again, though it helped, of course, that the East Division was as non-competitive as expected. Their pitching was spectacular. Glavine and Maddux were spectacular. Smoltz and the rest of the bullpen (Chris Hammond??) were spectacular. Kevin Millwood was spectacular, and that may be the best individual story of the year. The kids were great.

I'm still worried about them in the playoffs. They can't score runs. Yes, I know that pitching and defence win championships, but the Braves have those things in spades and they still can't win. Every year, they can't score enough when it matters. John Schuerholz paid a heavy price to get Gary Sheffield; we'll see if the gamble was worth it.

New York Mets

The Mets had a hyperactive off-season, turning over half their roster after a disappointing season in 2001. The good news is that they stole Roberto Alomar from Cleveland; Robbie is still one of the elite players in the game, and that deal alone could propel the Mets into the playoffs if Piazza stays true to form and Alfonzo rebounds. But the other moves... there doesn't seem to be much of a method behind the madness.

The Mets made all those moves during the winter, and as it turned out, none of them worked. Mo Vaughn struggled, which I think was predictable. Roger Cedeno and Jeromy Burnitz struggled, which was disappointing but not unexpected. Roberto Alomar struggled, which was a major surprise. All of the new additions struggled. The only solid performers they had were the guys who have been there all along, Alfonzo and Piazza.

I hate to say this, because I don't trust GM Steve Phillips, but I think the Mets have to shake things up again. Piazza has to move to first base; he can't catch anymore and it's wearing him down, and Vaughn is cooked. They have to dump Ordonez and get a shortstop who can hit a little. They can probably invest another season in Cedeno but otherwise they need two more outfielders.

I don't know if they can do all this, but I can't see improvement coming from within. It also might help to hire a manager who is somewhat less... weird... than Bobby Valantine. I kind of like Valentine, but I don't think he was meant to stay in one place for too long.

Philadelphia Phillies

They have lots of good young players on their roster who are still improving; they will be getting Mike Lieberthal back from injury; and they're not in a very tough division.

All three of these things came true. The division was weak; Lieberthal came back and played very well; two of their best young players, Burrell and Wolf, had exceptional seasons. But they still had a losing record.

They couldn't replace Doug Glanville; Jimmy Rollins had a good start (and started the All Star Game!) but mostly struggled. Wolf and Padilla were great but the other starters were poor. Jose Mesa was good but the rest of the bullpen was not.

They couldn't replace Travis Lee... oh wait, they could replace Travis Lee, but just chose not to. I don't know what the deal is with Jeremy Giambi; the Athletics traded him, and immediately started winning all of their games. He goes to Philadelphia, is a 1000% improvement over stinky Travis Lee... so Larry Bowa benches Giambi and sticks with Lee. Is the younger Giambi some kind of walking tumour? Or is he just a victim of remarkable bad luck?

In any case, the Phillies still need to replace Travis Lee, whether they do it with Giambi or not.

Florida Marlins

As for the product on the field, the Marlins are all potential but so far little payoff. They are famous for their marvelous young pitchers, and if the kids work out then this team could compete in what is not an inspiring division.

All things being equal, it could have been much worse. The Marlins had bad pitching and bad hitting but in the end didn't have that bad a season. AJ Burnett and Josh Beckett both firmly established themselves as outstanding young pitchers; both spent time on the disabled list, but their injuries were not, at first glance, career-threatening.

On the other hand, they traded both Ryan Dempster and Cliff Floyd, and didn't get a great deal in return. Their roster is not inspiring, and their "potential" seems to be much less than what it was a year ago. Apart from Beckett and Burnett, there's not much to get excited about.

And who are we kidding, anyways? This team is owned by Jeffrey Loria, to date the worst owner baseball has had since, um, I don't know, Andrew Freedman or somebody. They're not going to the playoffs.

Montreal Expos

The Expos have no fans, or stadium. Now, The Word is that they will be moved to Washington after the season.

They still don't have any fans or a stadium, but it also appears that they will be back in Montreal for one more season. Hooray!

So, what's left? Well, they still have my favourite player, Vlad Guerrero. They have a fine second baseman in Vidro. Javier Vazquez may have been the league's best pitcher in the second half of the season.

Vladdy was terrific this season. Lots of players had good years. Heck, this team won 83 games! How amazing is that? Frank Robinson said before the season that the team would be good, and gosh-darn-it, he was right! For Robinson, you can add one more success to a career that, both on and off the field, has been pretty amazing.

Of course, they had to mortgage part of their future to get Bartolo Colon, but... what the hell. I visited Montreal this year and saw some games; they were fun to watch. Let some other city worry about the future.

St. Louis Cardinals

They are still the most balanced team in the league, combining youth and experience, offence and defence, starting pitching and relief.

Has any team faced more adversity the past few seasons than the Cardinals? The number of bad things that have happened to the Cardinals' best pitchers the past few years, from Matt Morris' two surgeries to Rick Ankiel's control problems, and then of course, Darryl Kile's sudden passing away, is astonishing.

But the rotation held together, and they won their division quite handily, thanks to valuable contributions from veterans Woody Williams, Andy Benes and Chuck Finley. The Cardinals' season was endangered by a nasty seven-game losing streak in August, but they turned it around quickly and had a six-game winning streak.

Albert Pujols proved again that he is an extraordinary young player, and Jim Edmonds had a wonderful season. The lineup was good, the pitching was good, the bullpen was terrific. The Cardinals were my preseason pick to go to the World Series, so I am glad to see them in the playoffs... though to be honest, I'm not sure they can go very far. I like Woody Williams, but he's not a good #2 starter in the postseason.

Houston Astros

The pitching staff is a little young, but I'd rather be young and good than old and depressing.

Two of the young pitchers, Oswalt and Miller, were extraordinary. The rest of the starting rotation wasn't so good. The Astros fiddled and burned the first half of the season, then couldn't make up for lost time at the end.

Biggio and Bagwell were great last year - and neither was healthy. If both are in primo shape, then they and the third Killer B - Lance Berkman - should form the league's most formidable trio of hitters.

Bagwell and Berkman were both outstanding; if nobody had heard of Lance Berkman before this season, I reckon they have now. Biggio was inconsistent; he was still a solid player but is probably finished as a star. But the rest of the lineup was toothless; Richard Hidalgo was a major disappointment.

By the way, trading Mike Hampton for Octavio Dotel now seems like an awfully good idea, doesn't it?

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs took a big leap forward in 2001, but they'll need a major dose of luck to avoid slipping back in 2002.

The Cubs won their last World Series in 1908; it is hard to believe, but the 100th anniversary of their last championship is only six years away. And there is no evidence that they are going to win anytime soon.

Next season could be crucial for Cubs. They won't win, but they might have the foundations of an outstanding pitching staff. Kerry Wood completed his second consecutive full season in the rotation, and was solid. Matt Clement, who has a very live arm, found his control and was outstanding for most of the season. And Mark Prior is as good a young pitcher as there is in baseball.

If these three guys stay healthy, this team can win. If Prior blows his elbow out in June, then that's another story. The Cubs also have Sammy Sosa, of course, and some good young players like Bobby Hill and Hee Seop Choi. In the meantime, the Cubs have to rid themselves of all of their extra baggage (Todd Hundley, Jason Bere, Antonio Alfonseca, etc) and concentrate on putting a real ballclub together.

Six years, guys; the clock is ticking.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds will be closer to respectability in 2002.

They finished a little under .500.

The bullpen is much better than it is given credit for. The starting pitching is horrible... but who knows, someone might surprise, and the team could have a decent season.

The starting rotation got good years from Elmer Dessens and Jimmy Haynes. They also picked up Ryan Dempster in midseason, who was actually kind of awful but is young and is a better option for the future than Joey Hamilton. They also picked up Brian Moehler and Shawn Estes, and are experimenting with Danny Graves as a starter. Their starting rotation appears to be in much better shape than it was at this time last year.

At least expectations aren't too high. I haven't heard anyone predict 100 home runs for Dunn and Griffey, though the number is probably within their reach.

Actually, they combined for 34 homers, but never mind that; this is still some kind of outfield that the Reds have. Dunn ruined his season with a horrendous slump in August, but was still awfully good, and at age 23 I don't think there is much doubt that this guy is going to be a fantastic player for many years. And Austin Kearns, also age 23, played even better, and for my money was Rookie Of The Year.

Those two guys should be the cornerstones of a great outfield. And then, in centre field, if they could ever get that Griffey guy back in action...

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have no chance of making the playoffs, and that's fine by me. It's nothing personal against the city of Milwaukee; in fact, I'll say that the good folks of Wisconsin deserve something much better.

The Brewers spent most of the season battling the Devil Rays for the worst record in baseball. They were bad all over. The fans, for their efforts, were treated to six months of bad baseball and a tie in the All-Star game. And their best player sat out the final week to avoid setting the strikeout record.

The bad:

• both their pitchers and their hitters were the worst in the league
• they are still associated with Bud Selig
• they still play in Miller Park
• Jerry Royster is still the manager

The good:

• the Brew Crew actually had five pretty good relievers, evidence that a good bullpen can't save a team that is weak everywhere else
• Richie Sexson had a solid season, and Jose Hernandez, despite the strikeouts, was probably the best shortstop in the National League
• Ben Sheets and Glendon Rusch, though disappointing, are not the worst pitchers to build a staff around
• they have a new GM who might know what he is doing. Doug Melvin has his work cut out for him.

Pittsburgh Pirates

They will spend the next couple of years recovering from the Cam Bonifay Experience, and once they have paid their debts to Kevin Young, Pat Meares and Derek Bell they can get on with life.

The pitching in Pittsburgh wasn't too bad this season. They had a real good bullpen, plus GM Dave Littlefield was able to transform Todd Ritchie into Josh Fogg and Kip Wells. Kris Benson made a promising comeback.

Still, they lost a whole bunch of games, thanks mostly to an offence that finished last in the league in scoring runs. This, despite another remarkable season from Brian Giles. But Aramis Ramirez was a terrible disappointment, and Jason Kendall is nowhere near the player he was a couple of years ago.

And Kevin Young is complaining that he won't be able to wear his baggy pants anymore.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Man are they old. They will be OK as long as Johnson and Shilling are in top form, and the addition of Helling will help stabilize the rotation. But Johnson is 38 and Schilling is 35, and if anything happens to either one of those guys, this team is finished.

Things were going just fine for the Arizonas after 5 1/2 months of ball. They had the best two pitchers in the league, they were scoring the most runs, they were leading the league in wins, they had a healthy lead in their division... life was good.

First, they lost Brian Anderson; tough break, but he was not essential to their success. Then, they lost Luis Gonzalez to injury, and he's gone for the playoffs. They have also lost their sparkplug at the top of the lineup, Craig Counsell. They had a nasty losing streak in the final week and barely won the division.

The defending champs are bruised, but still have to be considered the favourites to win the pennant. They still have Johnson and Schilling, and in a short series those two are deadly. They will miss Gonzalez, but they have such a deep bench that they can withstand almost any injury.

San Francisco Giants

Runs won't be as plentiful if Barry Bonds doesn't repeat his gargantuan performance from 2001, but this team has a good mix of players, and I think they will win the division.

They almost won the division. Barry Bonds followed up his epic season with one that, in some ways, was even more impressive. Jeff Kent had another stunning year, the equal of his 2000 MVP season. The rest of the lineup... well, it wasn't so hot; they had no leadoff man and Benito Santiago was the #5 hitter.

Bonds will return again to the playoffs. If there is one blemish on his career, it is his poor performances in the playoffs. However, the 21st century Bonds is older and apparently immune to pressure. He also might draw a walk in every at bat.

The Giants have erratic pitchers, but any one of them is capable of having a big game at any time. I hope this team does well; Bonds and Kent are fun to watch, and the Giants, once one of baseball's greatest franchises, haven't won a championship since 1954.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are in some kind of mess. The starting pitching is battered and bruised, and they are counting heavily on a hurler (Ishii) who, as impressive as his credentials might be, has never thrown a pitch in the major leagues. They don't have a closer. They traded their best hitter, Sheffield.

As it turned out, they did have a closer, the best in the league. And the Dodgers had a solid season, just coming up short of the playoffs in the final week of the season.

If they can get good years out of Brown and Ishii and decent support from the others... well, it's not like the Diamondbacks are going to win every year.

As it turned out, they hardly got anything out of Brown. Ishii was terrific for two months, then stopped throwing strikes, and had his season prematurely ended by injury. That said, their pitching was still solid; they just couldn't score enough runs. Shawn Green had the only potent bat in the lineup, but it wasn't enough.

They need to revamp their infield. Karros is done, Grudzielanek should be replaced. I believe in Adrian Beltre, but I'm not so sure about Izturis. I think they have a better chance of improving in 2003 than either Arizona or the Giants.

San Diego Padres

The Padres may be a team to watch in 2003; they have some dynamite young players, including Sean Burroughs, who opens the season in the lineup.

The Padres had a terrible season, and were one of the worst teams in the National League. All those terrific young players... I can't even remember who they were. Burroughs struggled badly, as did Wiki Gonzalez. Ramon Vazquez was OK but not exciting. They don't appear to have a lineup that can do much next damage next year.

To be fair, the Padres do have some terrific young pitchers. Brian Lawrence, Jake Peavy and Oliver Perez were all very impressive. Adam Eaton returned from injury rehab. The Padres used about 100 pitchers during the season; some of them should be able to stick in the majors and be real good. Padres fans might have to be patient for another year before a solid pitching staff emerges, however.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies spent a boatload of money on pitching before last season, and ended up losing 89 games. So, what do we try now? Oddly, the Rockies have stubbornly avoided doing the one thing that they really need do to: get more hitters!

The Rockies finished fourth in the National League in runs scored. That's unbelievable; that was probably the most extraordinary accomplishment of any team in baseball all season. I don't think you can overstate how godawful the collection of players that the Rockies put on the field was this year. I mean, Walker and Helton were solid, but the rest of the lineup was a disaster zone.

In the "glory" years, analysts used to poke fun at the Bichette-Castilla-Galarraga gang; yes, those guys were overrated, but the current lineup makes them look like Murderers' Row. What more can you say about this team? The Rockies signed Larry Walker in 1995, and in the seven years since then they have not added a single quality hitter to their lineup, via trade or free agency.

How is that possible? I have heard and read, repeatedly, about how much of a challenge it is to win in Colorado. Yes, and it is especially a challenge when in seven years, the best players you acquire are Todd Walker and Jeff Cirillo.

It may be difficult to build a team that can win at Coors Field, but it's not impossible; Rockies management has to understand that they can't win unless they score a lot of runs, and they can't score a lot of runs with Juan Pierre in the lineup.