Winning the West

Nice recap by Tracy Ringolsby on how the NL West rosters have changed (or not changed with re-signings) as a result of the activity during or before the Winter Meetings. Clearly, the Dodgers are in the driver's seat at this point with the addition of two starting pitchers and re-signing Takashi Saito. Of course, they'll have to contend with lots of outs in the first inning (Grady Little said on MLB.com that Pierre would hit in the first inning batting either first or second) with the addition of Juan Pierre. Nomar Garciapara will continue to be an injury risk as well. The loss of Jason Schmidt and Moises Alou loom large in San Francisco but the addition of Greg Maddux should be an excellent one for the Padres.