Los Angeles is going nowhere this year, but the team has several players that could help form the core of the next great Dodger team.
The Dodgers have a problem. Hello, understatement. This is a team that, at the All-Star break, finds itself in fourth place (was last place before a weekend sweep at home against the equally hapless Padres) in the NL West, 11 games out of first. The Dodgers own the seventh-worst record in baseball and are ill-poised to make a second-half run.
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Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers has a history of turning trash to treasure, even though all his shrewd moves don't always work out.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are enjoying an unexpected turnaround in 2011. The team widely picked to finish last in the NL West finds itself in the thick of a pennant race as the All-Star break approaches. The difference between this year and last through 85 games could hardly be more dramatic:
Playing at Coors usually gives the Rockies a major advantage, but that hasn't been the case this year.
The Colorado Rockies aren't winning at home this year, and that is a problem. One of the franchise's trademarks in recent years has been the ability to dominate opponents at Coors Field (all numbers are through games of Sunday, June 26):
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The Giants have a struggling offense, but is there any hope on the horizon?
The Giants dwell precariously atop (or near the top; they were in first when I started writing this piece but have fallen behind Arizona again as I file) of the NL West despite a negative run differential. The popular narrative will be that the defending world champions know how to win, although getting swept this past weekend by the punchless Oakland A's—who are battling the Twins for the title of worst-hitting team in baseball—pokes a hole in said narrative.
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Dodgertown may be glum, but there is one bright light in Hollywood. Meanwhile, a star is struggling in San Francisco while San Diego hopes it has promoted one.
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Kenley Jansen's run at history, the futility of the Padres, and whether the D'Backs are for real.
The more games they play, the more this year's Diamondbacks look like last year's Padres. The team that was almost universally picked to finish last in the NL West has taken over first place, moving a half game ahead of the World Champion Giants.
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Prospects not hitting, veterans not earning their pay, the end of a significant hit streak, and Andre Ethier's 30-20 hitting streak.
Andre Ethier saw his 30-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 performance against the Mets on May 7 at Citi Field. Ethier's streak gave fans something positive to focus on for a while, providing respite from the ongoing McCourt/Selig saga and the club's 16-19 record.
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The Dodgers get a new financial babysitter in MLB, the Giants' first baseman of the future is no longer their first baseman of the present, and the Padres just wish they had a first baseman to demote.
It's almost May
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Divide and Conquer, NL West: Is There a Draft in Here, or is that Just 2006?
Surprise Me!