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Well, I recieved my copy of the new issue of Baseball Digest today. It turns out this was the "2006 Season Preview" issue. I turned to the National League preview, which was written by Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He has apparently covered the Pirates for 13 years.
And I believe that he knows nothing about west coast baseball.
Naturally, I wanted to see where he saw the Giants stacking up in the West. So I turned to beginning of the NL West preview and saw something that hasn't been said too much in season predictions this year: Arizona Diamondbacks, number 1. I thought, "Ok, that might be a respectable pick. I don't quite agree with it, but he's got to have the Giants #2 or 3, right?
2. San Diego Padres. "Ok, well they won it last year, why not put them high," I thought.
And then #3: The Hated Dodgers. At this point, I'm beginning to think that he hasn't quite kept up with all that has happened during the offseason. And I think, "So he puts the Giants at number 4. Ah, well, at least he's not dumb enough to say they are the worst in the West."
Wrong. He predicted that the mighty Colorado Rockies would finish in fourth in the division, therefore relegating the Giants to fifth. When I read that, I was absolutely stunned. I literally sat with my face frozen in astonishment for about a minute. I don't think there is any way at all that you can justify making the picks like that, other than if he was just trying to be "different."
Rutter's closing comment about the "NL West #5" San Francisco Giants is under the headline Keys to Success:
"Having Bonds healthy for a full season should go a long way toward helping the Giants return to respectability."
THAT IS ABSURD! If he somehow lost all of his respect for the Giants when they had a mediocre year while the best player in the history of baseball was out with an injury, I don't believe he should be writing about baseball and making predictions.
And I believe that he knows nothing about west coast baseball.
Naturally, I wanted to see where he saw the Giants stacking up in the West. So I turned to beginning of the NL West preview and saw something that hasn't been said too much in season predictions this year: Arizona Diamondbacks, number 1. I thought, "Ok, that might be a respectable pick. I don't quite agree with it, but he's got to have the Giants #2 or 3, right?
2. San Diego Padres. "Ok, well they won it last year, why not put them high," I thought.
And then #3: The Hated Dodgers. At this point, I'm beginning to think that he hasn't quite kept up with all that has happened during the offseason. And I think, "So he puts the Giants at number 4. Ah, well, at least he's not dumb enough to say they are the worst in the West."
Wrong. He predicted that the mighty Colorado Rockies would finish in fourth in the division, therefore relegating the Giants to fifth. When I read that, I was absolutely stunned. I literally sat with my face frozen in astonishment for about a minute. I don't think there is any way at all that you can justify making the picks like that, other than if he was just trying to be "different."
Rutter's closing comment about the "NL West #5" San Francisco Giants is under the headline Keys to Success:
"Having Bonds healthy for a full season should go a long way toward helping the Giants return to respectability."
THAT IS ABSURD! If he somehow lost all of his respect for the Giants when they had a mediocre year while the best player in the history of baseball was out with an injury, I don't believe he should be writing about baseball and making predictions.
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