Examiner.com

Will Brandon Webb start the season on the DL? (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

The Rockies are looking good so far in spring training. In the past two games both Ubaldo Jimenez and Jeff Francis threw three scoreless innings. Add on the impressive performance by Tim Redding and Greg Smith and four potential Colorado Rockies starters threw 12 scoreless innings the past two days.

What about the Rockies main competition: the National League West? How are the rest of the teams doing so far? What sort of news is interesting from those camps? Let’s take a look.

San Francisco Giants

• Pablo Sandoval hitting and fielding: One of my favorite players in baseball is having a heck of a spring so far. The kid is always having fun, always wearing a smile and watching a big guy with a nickname like Kung-Fu Panda play so well and hustle so much is a joy to watch. Along with the flashy plays he is making at third base he also has a grand salami this spring against Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs. The guy can rake and now his glove is catching up to the level of his bat.
• Muhammad Ali in the locker room: Ali visited the Giants facility in AZ this past week and fellow Examiner Theo Fightmaster did a great job surmising the outing.
• I won’t mention the fantastic arms for the Giants, but I do like their young hitting catcher Buster Posey who hit his first home run of the spring: We all know about the guys on the mound for the Giants, but the most interesting part of the Giants battery is the guy who probably will start the year in AAA.

Los Angeles Dodgers

• The Dodgers are on their way to Taiwan for a series against a Chinese Professional League All-Star team: Even Manny is making the trip, or so it sounds. Who knows with Manny and until I hear about him taking cuts in Taiwan I will reserve the right to be suspicious.
• The McCourt divorce is taking a lot of headlines in Dodgertown this spring: $1 million per month! I am in the wrong profession!  The owners of the Dodgers started their split last season and it is making plenty of headlines this season.

San Diego Padres

• Kyle Blanks is one of the few bright spots in San Diego’s camp: Blanks exploded on the scene last year with 10 home runs in 148 at-bats (would be about 35 in a full season). He is batting .455 this spring and even had a triple in the Padres game against the Anaheim Angels on the ninth.
• Friend Yorvit Torrealba still worries about the safety of his family in Venezuela: The scary story from last season where his son was kidnapped continues to haunt Yorvit and the sad story continues. We can only wish him and his family a safe life and no more drama.

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Justin Upton signs a long term deal: Six years and $51.25 million. This is how the NL West rolls. The NL West continues to rely on drafting talented young players and then signing them for relatively cheap money before they hit their free agency years. The Rockies did the same with Troy Tulowitzki, and although Tulo’s contract was not near $50 million, the plan is the same.
• Conflicting reports on Brandon Webb: There were reports that Webb will start the season on the DL and then there are reports of him playing catch and feeling OK. Which will it be? We will all know soon enough and Diamondbacks fans are waiting with bated breath. While the Dbacks do have a front of the rotation starter in Dan Haren a healthy Webb makes them a division contender.

From fun (Sandoval and Ali) to money (Upton and the McCourts) to sadness (Torrealba) to health (Webb) the NL West has it all.
 

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