You have to get in to the playoffs, but you don't have to be close to the best regular season team. And if our pitching remains as strong as it has been, we have a good chance.

I don't know if this team will be as good as the 2010 version was at the end of the season, but it sure as hell is better than the team that started out that season and it's a lot better than last year's team as well. Better depth, better speed, better defense, better hitting. Or at least that's my prediction. I think Posey will hit and I think Sandoval might just surprise everyone from the right side now that his vision is fixed.

We'll see how they all blend. That's a huge component of why they won in 2010 and why, I think, they fell apart after the Beltran trade. Huff and Burrell weren't able to do the veteran thing and the "every day a different hero" attitude seemed to disappear as guys lost PT and there was a "star" in the lineup. And of course a slow old guy of some sort at shortstop.

I'm fairly optimistic we can win the division despite Arizona.