ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Montreal Expos preview


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Thursday, April 5
Montreal Expos preview

ESPN.com

POWER RANKINGS


	Simply put, Vladimir Guerrero may be the best right fielder in all of baseball.

Strength of schedule
.506, 4th in NL
Lineup ranking
12th in NL
Pitching ranking
11th in NL
Prediction
5th in NL East

The lowdown
2000 record: 67-95 (4th in NL East)
Runs scored: 738, 14th in NL
Runs allowed: 902, 14th in NL

Three key issues for 2001
1. Vidro, Guerrero and Tatis look lethal in the 3-4-5 spots. But will the rest of the lineup do anything to help out?

2. Carl Pavano is already sidelined for a month with a sore elbow. Can Tony Armas Jr. avoid the same fate?

3. Will closer Ugueth Urbina be traded?

Three key facts
1. With a .345 average, 44 homers and 123 RBI, Vladimir Guerrero joined Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams as the only players in history to hit .300 with 35 homers and 100 RBI for three straight seasons before turning 25.

2. Steve Kline's 83 appearances tied for the major-league lead among pitchers.

3. Expos starters led the majors with 72 losses, and only two teams gave up more runs than the 902 surrendered by Montreal.

RETURNING 2000 STATISTICAL LEADERS

AVG	V. Guerrero	.345
HR	V. Guerrero	44
RBI	V. Guerrero	123
RUN	V. Guerrero J. Vidro	101
SB	P. Bergeron	11
WIN	J. Vazquez	11
SV	S. Strickland	9
ERA	J. Vazquez	4.05
Complete 2000 Statistics: Batting \| Pitching

Dave Campbell's scenarios
Best case: "Alou"etta.
World-class manager Felipe Alou will have his club striving to make 2001 as good as the first half of 2000.

Worst case: Affreux!
If the Expos have eight pitchers on the DL again, they'll be in deep trouble.

ESPN.com's lineup analysis
Player	Comment	Pos. rank*
P. Bergeron, CF	Looked overmatched, but did play better second half	13
M. Bradley, LF	Played CF in minors, hit .304 at Triple-A	16
J. Vidro, 2B	That .330 was no fluke; he can do it again	4
V. Guerrero, RF	44 HRs; .664 slugging; and he just turned 25	1
F. Tatis, 3B	Getting Tatis for Steve Kline was steal of offseason	4
L. Stevens, 1B	Doesn't need to be platooned; hit .281 vs. lefties	12
M. Barrett, C	Hit .293 as rookie, but fell to .214; should recover	13
O. Cabrera, SS	On the bright side, fanned just 28 times in 422 ABs	13
ESPN.com's pitching staff analysis
J. Vazquez, RHP	Was fifth in NL in quality starts	18
C. Pavano, RHP	May not return until May; if healthy, he's very good	43
T. Armas, RHP	Enormous potential, but must stay healthy	38
B. Reames, RHP	Excelled in late-season promotion to St. Louis	51
Middle relief	Have had good pens before, but this one looks thin	13
Ugueth Urbina, CL	Throwing well this spring; if traded, Strickland is closer	8

	Position average (NL rank):	9.38 (12th)
	Pitching index (NL rank):	10.50 (11th)

* Position rank, compiled by ESPN.com's baseball staff, compares each NL team's strength at that position, including platoons, based on players' total projected value (offense, defense, durability) for the 2001 season.

NL position players and bullpens ranked on a 1-16 basis, with 1 being best.
NL starting pitchers ranked on 1-64 basis, with 1 being best. Cumulative rankings of starting pitchers are combined with bullpen and closer for overall pitching index, with more weight given to starters.
In both rankings, 1.00 is the best possible score, 16.00 the worst.

Click here for position-by-position NL rankings.

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