NL West Update On the Division So Far

To no one's surprise, the Los Angeles Dodgers (13-5) are atop the NL West.  Their offense and pitching have done what everyone expected it would and beyond. To go along with outstanding pitching, the Dodgers seem to have the most potent offense in the NL West and it could be a close second to only the Chicago Cubs in the NL.

But look just below the Dodgers and there sit the San Diego Padres (10-7) just two and a half games back of the front running Dodgers.  Surprised?  I think a lot of people would say, "absolutely."

The Padres are getting good pitching out of their bullpen from names that are, for the most part, unknown names around baseball.  Guys like Edwin Moreno, Edward Mujica and Luke Gregerson are among the three getting a lot of work for San Diego on the mound.

Then you have the National League's leading closer Heath Bell—a guy the Mets traded to San Diego a few years ago because they didn't believe he'd ever be a major league closer.  Now he has seven saves in seven chances and there's no sign of him slowing down.

The San Francisco Giants (8-8) are sitting back in the third place, but you can argue that the Giants are playing perhaps the best baseball in the division right now.  They're riding a five game win streak and have won six of their last seven games after losing seven of their first nine games to open the season.

Their pitching struggled to start the season and it looked like the Giants would be left to rot in the cellar of the National League West. 

Since then, Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito have both fixed whatever problems they had and have had absolutely dominant outings in their last couple of starts.  The Giants are absolutely back in the race and they will certainly have a say in this division before it's all said and done.

My surprise in the NL West so far has to be the Arizona Diamondbacks (6-11).  They're loaded with young talent and with an ace like Brandon Webb, so you have to be a good team right?

Well, it seems nothing has gone right for the young Arizona team since their opening 9-8 win over Colorado to start the season.  I did think it was strange that Webb only went four innings and gave up six runs on six hits, since that is not his normal self. 

My inkling proved correct as subsequently Webb hasn't pitched since the DBacks season opening game, being shut down twice due to tightness in his pitching shoulder, a pain that hasn't subsided and may even need surgery.

Whether or not Arizona can climb out of the hole they're in will depend on the shoulder of their ace.  If he's lost for the season, expect Arizona's season to be lost as well.

Sitting in the cellar of the NL West are the Colorado Rockies (5-11).  It seems ever since the Rockies traded Matt Holliday, a guy who was so important to the teams' success; the Rockies just haven't been the same.  To go along with this, another one of their leaders, Todd Helton, is having a very un-Helton like start to the season.

The veteran first baseman is hitting just .255 in the first fifteen games of the season.  While Helton isn't the same guy since his heyday for the Rockies, he is still very much the leader of this ball club and the Rockies can only hope he turns it around.

The biggest problem for Colorado has been their pitching, or should I say the lack thereof.

Aaron Cook walked six batters in the Rockies' 6-5 loss to the Dodgers, their second straight one run loss to LA.  Not only that, but Cook has allowed five home runs in just 12 1/3 innings pitched—a number that is staggering because he allowed just thirteen long balls in 211 1/3 innings in 2008.  If he can't fix this problem and the Rockies rotation doesn't get any better, this could be a very long season for them at Coors Field.

While there's not much surprise that the Dodgers are playing as well as they are, the season is still only a few weeks old.  There is so much that could happen between now and September.

Injuries play such a big role in this game and it only takes one or two big injuries to important players to bring your season to a grinding halt.  Ask the Padres in 2008 how much injuries to Jake Peavy and Chris Young affected them last season.  They were never able to recover and ended up loosing 91 games.

If the Dodgers continue to pitch like they have and continue to get the offense they've been getting, they're going to be a hard team to stop.  But I think the Padres and Giants will hang around just long enough to make an important trade at the deadline to keep them in the race and keep those Dodgers looking over their shoulder all year long.