How the NL West Was Won: Comparing San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks

It's the most wonderful time of the year with baseball pennant chases beginning to heat up. Unfortunately this season there is a severe lack of races with the only real ones found in the NL West and AL East.

Because end of the season media will be dominated by Red Sox and Yankee talk, I have chosen to focus on the fight between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants.

Even though the Giants won the division and the World Series last year, they now find themselves two games behind the  D'Backs for the lead in the West.

Let's take an in-depth look at both teams and compare so that we can make the best decision as to who will represent the division in this year's playoffs.  

Offense

Neither of these offenses have been positive throughout the last month of the season.

The Giants look to have made one of the worst moves of the trade deadline when they added Carlos Beltran, who lead the team to a losing record while on the field, batting .244 before his trip to the disabled list.

With the loss of Buster Posey and the inconsistency of Brandon Belt, San Fran has a big whole left in the middle of their lineup that Beltran is yet to fill. The offense has struggled and hopefully getting their big bat back will help them in the stretch run.

The Diamondbacks have also struggled during the last week. They have gotten little production out of their former second baseman Kelly Johnson, but I think Aaron Hill will have more success in Arizona after this trade.

The loss of Steven Drew was also a big blow to the offense and his middle of the order bat has surely been missed. Arizona now must rely a lot more on their younger bats in players like Ryan Roberts and Paul Goldschmidt.

If the Diamondbacks get production from Justin Upton and Chris Young, I see them having the upper hand over the Giants due to their speed and power threats.

Offense Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks

Defense

Both teams are pretty sound defensively, but I would give the upper hand to Arizona for outfield defense.

They have a lot of speed with Chris Young and Justin Upton, who do not let many balls drop. The Giants have Brandon Belt (a converted first baseman), Cody Ross (a natural corner outfield) and Carlos Beltran, who has clearly lost a few steps.

In the infield, I think San Francisco has the edge, especially with Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff at the corner positions. Although they are not speedy, they have quickness and are solid veteran players. Up the middle they have more veteran leadership in Orlando Cabrera and Jeff Keppinger.

The D'Backs have a youthful infield and pales where they had to plug holes with backups. Roberts and Goldschmidt man the corners, but both are inexperienced. John McDonald is past his prime and Aaron Hill has always been known for his stick more than his defense up the middle.

Behind the dish Arizona has the clear edge. Miguel Montero is one of the elite all around catchers in the league, while San Fran is forced to pick and choose with the loss of Buster Posey.

Even though the Diamondbacks win in the outfield and behind the plate, I think that the clear superiority of the Giants  infield defense gives them the edge.

Defensive Winner: San Francisco Giants 

Starting Pitching

This is one of the most even comparisons between the two teams.

The Giants lead with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Even though Lincecum does not have his normal win total this season, he still has the potential to go out and pitch eight innings while only giving up two hits and striking out 10 batters.  

Arizona counters with Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson. They are both quietly having great seasons and I would have no problem putting them up against Lincecum or Cain and expecting the Diamondbacks to come out on top.

When you look to the end of the rotation, the Diamondbacks have a young starter in Josh Collmenter and a past his prime Joe Saunders. They go up against the not as good as last year duo, Madison Bumgarner and rookie stud Ryan Vogelsong.

When you look at the rotations as a whole, the Giants have a very slight edge.

Starting Pitching Winner: San Francisco Giants

Relief Pitching

The potential for San Francisco's waiver claim of the Giants Heath Bell would allow them to have a strangle hold on this category.

With that said, the Giants still have a lot of question marks at the end of the game. Brian Wilson is on the DL and has looked shaky at a few points during the season. If he is not 100 percent and the Giants cannot come to an agreement with Bell, their bullpen will be in turmoil.

The Diamondbacks bullpen is one of the surprise high points of the team. Even though J.J. Putz has not had the greatest career, he has been rock solid for the D'Backs and will continue to close out close games. Brad Ziegler is a nice option out of the pen and it allows them to shorten the game and be extremely consistent when it comes down to the end of games.

At this point, the Giants have a lot of potential to have a great bullpen, but I have to give the edge to the more consistent and healthier Diamondbacks

Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks 

Intangibles

The Giants have more experience that the Diamondbacks. They went through the pennant race last year, and have a lot of returning players that can help with a run this year. Their trip through the playoffs and into the World Series also gave them experience they can use to overtake Arizona.

Although the Diamondbacks have limited experience, they have more hunger. Arizona has not sniffed the playoffs since 2007 and they appear committed to make sure this season is different.

The way I see it, the Giants may have more experience, but I think that Arizona's drive and hunger will overshadow San Francisco.

Intangibles Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks

And the Winner Is...

When all is said and done, I think the Diamondbacks will hold on to win the NL West crown.  

Their starting pitching can match up well with San Francisco and if they are able to keep games close, there is potential to win the game in the late innings off of the injury ridden bullpen.

They have a much stronger offense from top to bottom and fewer question marks that need to be answered. If the teams continue to play as they have been, the division will come down to the wire and the Diamondbacks' heart and desire will win out in the end.  

See you in October Arizona.