There’s an old saying in baseball.  The road to October goes through New York.  That might still be true this year (the Yankees still have time to pull it off), but in the NL West it appears the road to October will have to go through Phoenix first.  The Arizona Diamondbacks, as predicted, have been a dominant force in the NL West and an overall threat to National League hopefuls out of the West.  Some might point the finger solely at the D-Backs’ amazing pitching staff, but Arizona’s hitters can’t be denied.  Let’s see what’s really putting Arizona on the map this year.

If you look at league leaders for hitting this season, you would have to get to ninth place before you came up against an Arizona batter.  However, you would also find that tenth place also has an Arizona batter.  First baseman Conor Jackson and right fielder Justin Upton are the two heaviest hitters Arizona has this year.  Jackson has racked up 36 hits with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs and 25 runs.  Upton is also having a very good season with 38 hits, 16 RBIs, 19 runs and 5 more home runs.  If you have to pick position players who are carrying the team, these two guys are your best bets.  However, there is more to the baseball team than a few players.

Although Upton and Jackson are the only two D-Backs in the top 40 hitters this season, they are only responsible for roughly 85 runs this year.  While this is impressive, Arizona is second only to Chicago in team hitting.  They are also way ahead of the other first place teams concerning hitting.  Arizona has amassed 179 hits this year, and thus far show no signs of slowing down.

However, the Diamondbacks have more than one ace up their sleeve.  The Diamondbacks' pitching has been on fire this year.  One can’t mention Arizona pitching without discussing Brandon Webb.  Webb is currently undefeated with 7 wins under his belt.  Webb was also recently named National League Pitcher of the Month for April.  It’s no Cy Young, but it’s good to have some recognition.  Next is Danny Haren.  Haren, recently acquired from the Oakland A’s, has been doing very well for the D-Backs.  His 4-1 record is consistent with some of the best pitchers in the country right now, as well as a 3.12 ERA.  Any time you have two pitchers that can cast a shadow over Randy Johnson (whether or not he’s getting old, he’s still a pitching star) you have a lot to be happy with.

Yes, it seems that Arizona is pushing very hard out of the gate to do good things for the people of their city and state.  But what does this mean for the long run?  Many long-time players and managers will tell you that the race for the pennant is not a sprint, but a marathon.  Technically, the boys of summer haven’t even gotten into summer yet.  There are potential injuries, blowouts, and surprises from out of nowhere.  If any team has strong memories of the surprise Rockies of 2007, it’s the Diamondbacks.  It could be that the Diamondbacks are giving themselves a little breathing room in case the roof caves in on them.  However, even the biggest of cushions can’t carry them on if someone is on the 15 day DL.  Let’s hope that the D-Backs have more to their plan than winning a bunch of games before the Spring is gone.

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