Black Plague hits NL West, best players forced to flee

I mean, that's really the only explanation. Peavy is going to be traded soon, Garrett Atkins will be gone before long, the Diamondbacks are willingly allowing two of their four best hitters as well as their #3 starter to depart without really any replacement plans, and now Matt Holliday has apparently been traded:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/11/10/heyman.holliday/index.html

I hope you can honestly come up with a better explanation than me for why every NL West team decided to become terrible at the same time. The Padres have no offense and will now have no pitching (always a good formula for success in baseball), the Rockies already had no pitching and will now have no hitting (that's two 100-loss teams), the Diamondbacks don't really stand out offensively or defensively and haven't been linked to any big stars in trade/FA rumors, and the Giants, although their pitching is excellent, hit worse than most Little League teams. If the Dodgers sign Manny and like a B+ starting pitcher, they could win 150 games.

Of course, they won't sign Manny...there's the Black NL West Plague to consider. I forgot. Get ready to see Raul Ibanez taking leaks during pitching changes and high-fiving fans while making running catches on the warning track, LA fans. Also get ready for him to make like $18 million and bat .270/.330/.440 in 2009. Can't wait for that.