The Wild-Wild NL West

Back in the spring we made some fairly bold predictions about where these teams were going to finish and why. A lot has changed since then and our predictions have not been quite accurate - here’s why and what we might expect the rest of the way through.

What we predicted:

1) Diamondbacks - provided Johnson and/or Schilling’s arm did not fall off
2) Dodgers - 7 healthy starters and some good looking young bats
3) Giants - losing Russ Ortiz and having no protection for Bonds
4) Rockies - Better offense + less finesse pitching = a better season
5) Padres - would have been a pick for 4th but without Nevin and Hoffman even .500, which was obtainable, became a stretch.

Where they are:

1) Giants
2) Diamondbacks
3) Dodgers
4) Rockies
5) Padres

San Francisco Giants: They are once again looking pretty solid and seem to have already locked up the NL West. They turned around and managed to find enough protection for Barry Bonds to keep his offensive production up between Jose Cruz Jr, Benito Santiago, Rich Aurilia and Marquis Grissom. However the big surprise has been the pitching which has not taken a huge step down after the loss of Russ Ortiz. It’s probably due to the fact that NL West pitching has all been under whelming, but the Giants have already solidified themselves for the playoffs with the addition of Sidney Ponson.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Well it happened - both Johnson and Schilling had their arms fall off. Not literally of course, but both have missed significant time this season with injuries which neither seem completely recovered from as their recent pitching has been inconsistent and less than dazzling. Without those two big guns the Diamondback irregulars, consisting mostly of lesser known players, rookies and prospects have kept them in the Wild Card hunt. If Schilling and Johnson continue to recover and get better as they go, everyone else in the NL better root for the Phillies to get red hot and win the Wild Card.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers have fallen on some hard times with their fragile pitching staff having to carry the burden of the team. Barely above .500 currently, there is no question that with a less anemic offense the Dodgers would be in second, but the pitching staff has been all that has kept them going. The loss of Darren Dreifort, a number of minor injuries, and the less than spectacular performance of some players that the Dodgers counted on has been their undoing so far. They are not out of the Wild Card hunt, but it is time for their offense to chip in if they are going to do anything more than run in place.

Colorado Rockies: Though their record is really just a flirtation with .500, it’s not that bad when you consider they are not really out of the playoff hunt yet. It’s not a realistic expectation, but the Rockies have had a good season and have built something that they can continue to improve on for the future. All they need to do is stay away from the control pitchers.

San Diego Padres: It has been a disappointing season to be a Padres fan - but the fans of the Padres team are used to that. The loss of both Nevin and Hoffman provided twin blows which probably cost this team at least 10-12 wins and their shot at .500. All in all they have shown improvement in a lot of ways though their young pitchers have not shown the growth that the Padres had hoped for. Well, better luck next year.

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