~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SPORTSTICKER 1993 BASEBALL PREVIEW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NATIONAL LEAGUE CAPSULES BY DOUG MITTLER SENIOR EDITOR EASTERN DIVISION ================ PITTSBURGH PIRATES -- Manager: Jim Leyland (593-541), entering eighth season with the Pirates. 1992 Finish: 96-66 (1st). STRENGTHS -- The best manager in baseball in Leyland, who seeks a fourth straight N.L. East title; shortstop Jay Bell and center fielder Andy Van Slyke are the only stars left on the roster; Number three starter Randy Tomlin won 14 games last season. WEAKNESSES -- The starting pitching is hurting with the loss of Doug Drabek. The projected ace of the staff, Zane Smith, still has elbow trouble; loss of Jose Lind at second base and Barry Bonds in the outfield leaves the team inexperienced at many positions. NEW FACES -- Signed pitcher John Candelaria (Los Angeles), and outfielder Lonnie Smith (Atlanta). ------ MONTREAL EXPOS -- Manager: Felipe Alou (70-55), entering first full season with the Expos. 1992 Finish: 87-75 (2nd). STRENGTHS -- One of best young outfields in the major leagues in Moises Alou, center fielder Marquis Grissom and emerging superstar Larry Walker; Alou is popular with his young team; second baseman DeLino Deshields hit .292. WEAKNESSES -- Inexperience in the infield where Sean Berry and Frank Bolick try to replace Tim Wallach at third and Wil Cordero takes over for Spike Owen at shortstop; Lee Stevens, Archi Cionfrocco and Greg Colbrunn are competing at first base; Closer John Wetteland begins the season with a broken bone in his foot. NEW FACES -- Acquired Bolick (Seattle), pitcher Mike Gardiner (Boston) and catcher Tim Spehr (Kansas City). ------ ST. LOUIS CARDINALS -- Manager: Joe Torre (734-830), entering fourth season with the Cardinals. 1992 Finish: 83-79 (3rd). STRENGTHS -- The team is strong defensively up the middle with Tom Pagnozzi at catcher, Ozzie Smith at shortstop and Ray Lankford in center field; pitchers Rheal Cormier and Donovan Osborne have potential and Lee Smith had 43 saves last season; Bob Tewksbury overachieved with a 16-5 record and a 2.16 earned run average. WEAKNESSES -- The Cards were last in the league in homers last season and sent power-hitting outfielder Felix Jose to Kansas City for Gregg Jefferies. Lankford hit .293 but he and his teammates must cut down on strikeouts. NEW FACES -- Signed catcher Hector Villanueva (St. Louis), pitcher Rob Murphy (Houston) and acquired Jefferies (Kansas City). ------ CHICAGO CUBS -- Manager: Jim Lefebvre (311-337), entering second season with the Cubs. 1992 Finish: 78-84 (4th). STRENGTHS -- The infield of Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, Shawon Dunston and Steve Buechele. The acquisition of pitcher Jose Guzman and the emergence of Mike Morgan, a 16-game winner in 1992, will soften the blow from the loss of Cy Young winner Greg Maddux. WEAKNESSES -- The infield is no longer imposing if Sandberg (broken hand) and Dunston (back) are not healthy. Both begin the season the disabled list; despite playing in cozy Wrigley Field, the Cubs lack power; no front-line center fielder. NEW FACES -- Acquired pitcher Greg Hibbard (Florida), signed Jose Guzman (Texas), catcher Steve Lake (Philadelphia), pitcher Dan Plesac (Milwaukee), reliever Randy Myers (San Diego), outfielders Candy Maldonado (Toronto) and Willie Wilson (Oakland). ------ NEW YORK METS -- Manager: Jeff Torborg (479-526), entering second season with the Mets. 1992 Finish: 72-90 (5th). STRENGTHS -- The pitching staff is not as strong as in the mid 1980s, but other teams would not mind having Bret Saberhagen, Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez as their first three starters; Newly acquired shortstop Tony Fernandez is among the best; Outfielder Bobby Bonilla is a better player than he showed in 1992. WEAKNESSES -- The Mets are thin at middle relief; closer John Franco is coming off elbow surgery; While Fernandez solves one defensive problem, Howard Johnson is back at third base and unproven Jeff Kent is at second. NEW FACES -- Acquired Tony Fernandez (San Diego) and relief pitcher Mike Maddux (San Diego); signed pitcher Frank Tanana (Detroit) and outfielder Joe Orsulak (Baltimore). ------ PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES -- Manager: Jim Fregosi (574-642), entering second full season with the Phillies. 1992 Finish: 70-92 (6th). STRENGTHS -- The Phillies have no trouble scoring runs with Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk and Darren Daulton in the lineup. Kruk hit .323 last season and Daulton drove in 109 runs; Third baseman Dave Hollins drove in 93 runs in his first full season. WEAKNESSES -- Dykstra's potential for injury; the pitching staff, keyed by Terry Mulholland, is respectable but injury prone and the bullpen is mediocre; Wes Chamblerlain was inconsistent at best in right field last season. NEW FACES -- Acquired pitchers Danny Jackson (Philadelphia) and David West (Minnesota); signed outfielder Pete Incaviglia (Houston), outfielder Milt Thompson (Houston), pitcher Larry Andersen (San Diego) and outfielder Jim Eisenreich (Kansas City). ------ FLORIDA MARLINS -- Manager: Rene Lachemann (207-274), entering first season with the expansion Marlins. STRENGTHS -- The Marlins will have a four-time All-Star catcher in Benito Santiago; shortstop Walt Weiss is used to playing on winning teams after his years in Oakland; Orestes Destrade led the Japanese Pacific League in homers each of the last three seasons. WEAKNESSES -- The ace of the pitching staff is Charlie Hough, whose record is 10 games below .500 the last five seasons; Club went for younger players in the expansion draft and they will take their lumps in 1993. NEW FACES -- Everyone. WESTERN DIVISION ================ ATLANTA BRAVES -- Manager: Bobby Cox (853-804), entering eighth season with the Braves. 1992 Finish: 98-64 (1st). STRENGTHS -- The addition of Greg Maddux gives the Braves a starting rotation that could be among the best in major league history. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery are the others; The outfield has four quality players -- Deion Sanders, Otis Nixon, Ron Gant and David Justice -- to fit into three positions. WEAKNESSES -- Team chemistry could be more of a problem. Outfielder David Justice reportedly is not a favorite of his teammates. Those problems, however, tend to hit the surface only when a team is losing; the club could be suspect defensively at catcher if Greg Olson does not recover fully from a broken ankle. NEW FACES -- Signed Maddux (Cubs), infielder Bill Pecota (Mets), pitcher Jay Howell (Dodgers), infielder Wally Backman (Phillies) and pitcher Steve Bedrosian. ------ CINCINNATI REDS -- Manager: Tony Perez, entering first season with the Reds. 1992 Finish: 90-72 (2nd). STRENGTHS -- While not as good as Atlanta, the Reds boast three quality starters in Jose Rijo, Tim Belcher and newly acquired John Smiley; Barry Larkin is a premier shortstop and the Reds addressed their shortage of power by acquiring Kevin Mitchell from Seattle; The Reds have impressive overall speed with Larkin, Roberto Kelly, Bip Roberts and Reggie Sanders. WEAKNESSES -- Defense could be a problem in the outfield with Mitchell in left and Sanders in right. With Norm Charlton gone, the bullpen is average when you get past Rob Dibble. NEW FACES -- acquired outfielder Roberto Kelly and pitcher Greg Cadaret (New York Yankees) and outfielder Kevin Mitchell (Seattle), signed outfielders Cecil Espy and Gary Varsho (Pittsburgh), Smiley (Minnesota) and relievers Bill Landrum (Montreal) and Jeff Reardon (Atlanta). ------ SAN DIEGO PADRES -- Manager: Jim Riggleman (4-8), entering first full season with the Padres. 1992 Finish: 82-80 (3rd). STRENGTHS -- Third baseman Gary Sheffield is one of baseball's brightest stars after competing for the triple crown last season; First baseman Fred McGriff hit 35 homers and drove in 104 runs; Tony Gwynn, now batting leadoff, will again be among the league's leading hitters. WEAKNESSES -- The economic recession. Padres owner Tom Werner no longer has money to spare and has instituted an austerity program that would make Ebenezer Scrooge proud. As a result, morale is at an all-time low and most players want out of town. NEW FACES -- Acquired pitcher Wally Whitehurst (New York Mets), outfielder Phil Plantier (Boston); signed pitcher Scotreg Swindell and holdover Pete Harnisch; The Astros have emerging stars in Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Steve Finley and each has significant big league experience thanks to the youth program instituted a few years ago; new management willing to spend money. WEAKNESSES -- Andujar Cedeno hit just .173 as the starting shortstop last season; Eddie Taubensee (.222) did not prove he is the answer at catcher. NEW FACES -- signed Drabek (Pittsburgh) and Swindell (Cincinnati), outfielder Kevin Bass (New York Mets), shortstop Jose Uribe (San Francisco), outfielder Chris James (San Francisco); Acquired pitcher Tom Edens (Florida). ------ SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS -- Manager: Dusty Baker, entering first season with the Giants. 1992 Finish: 72-90 (5th). STRENGTHS -- An explosive middle of the lineup with Barry Bonds, Will Clark and Matt Williams (if he can bounce back from a poor 1992); the distraction of a possible franchise move is over, at least for the time being. WEAKNESSES -- The Giants used 16 different starting pitchers in 1992 and none has emerged as an ace for this season. The Giants ranked ninth in league earned run average last season and allowed a league high 128 homers; The bench is weak. NEW FACES -- Signed Bonds (Pittsburgh), outfielder Dave Martinez (Cincinnati), first baseman Todd Benzinger (Kansas City), catcher Andy Allanson (Cleveland) and outfielder Mark Carreon (Detroit). ------ LOS ANGELES DODGERS -- Manager: Tommy Lasorda (1,339-1,199), entering 18th season with the Dodgers. 1992 Finish: 63-99 (6th). STRENGTHS -- Rookie of the Year first baseman Eric Karros was the team's most consistent performer last season; Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis begin the season without any major ailments and will join Brett Butler in the outfield. WEAKNESSES -- The Dodgers committed a major-league high 174 errors, 20 more than the next-worst club. The worst offender, Jose Offerman, is back for another season at shortstop; The pitching staff begins the year with several question marks. Orel Hershiser must prove he is healthy and Ramon Martinez has saw his win total decline from 20 in 1992 to eight last season; The new third baseman, Tim Wallach, had career lows in homers (9), R-B-I (59) and batting average (.223) last season. NEW FACES -- Acquired second baseman Jody Reed (Colorado); signed outfielder Cory Snyder (San Francisco), pitcher Todd Worrell (St. Louis), third basman Wallach (Montreal), catcher Lance Parrish (Seattle), pitchers Wally Ritchran players. Andres Galarraga is the first baseman and Charlie Hayes will be at third; David Nied is a quality pitching prospect who the Atlanra Braves were forced to leave unprotected; Steve Reed set a minor league record with 43 saves. WEAKNESSES -- The pitching staff after Nied includes a host of journeymen such as Bryn Smith and Bruce Ruffin; second baseman Eric Young is one of several Rockies that are suspect defensively; outfielder Alex Cole is with his fifth organization in four years. NEW FACES -- Everyone.