The Cincinnati Reds might want to ask for a fourth player in the trade. The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired an impact bat and a psychic.
Adam Dunn, in his first series with Arizona, predicted Chris Burke would hit a home run Thursday against the Rockies. This is notable in that Dunn had been with the team for 48 whole hours and that Burke had gone deep exactly zero times this season. So how in the heck would Dunn know Burke would create a souvenir?
“I see dead people,” said Dunn.
It was unclear if Dunn was quoting from the “The Sixth Sense” or referring to the Rockies’ dugout. Colorado is done as a contender, but if perception is reality, no one in the National League West should bother RSVPing come playoff time. The division has become the brunt of jokes, referred to as the NL Worst or the mild, mild West.
With six weeks remaining in the season, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers sit atop the standings, just barely peeking their heads above .500. So I asked Arizona manager Bob Melvin if there would be shame in mediocrity.
“I would rather win it at 82-80 than lose it and stay at home at 92-70,” Melvin said. “I don’t think .500 will get in. That would surprise me.”
The NL West wasn’t supposed to be like this. With even the worst team loaded with pitching — the San Francisco Giants — it figured to be a cage match. I picked the Diamondbacks to win the division with the Rockies earning a wild-card berth with 85 wins. Not so much.
Arizona raced out to a 20-8 start in April and has spent the past four months kicking itself in the shins. The reality is that the Diamondbacks didn’t handle success well, not unlike the Rockies, who didn’t manage expectations. The Snakes thought a month meant something. Complacency set in, leaving urgency necessary now.
There’s too much talent for this division to be this bad. Part of the issue lies in the breadth of young players in Los Angeles and Arizona. Their inconsistencies are maddening. But assuming the NL West champ will be a pincushion come playoff time is a bit premature.
Let’s just say for argument’s sake that the Diamondbacks advance to face the Cubs. They could roll out Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson. For the love of Bartman, that’s a scary proposition.
“Ask (Cardinals manager) Tony La Russa if he thinks there’s such a thing as a bad record for a division winner,” Rockies boss Clint Hurdle said.
In 2006, St. Louis spent the second half coughing up phlegm, finishing with 83 wins. The Cardinals won the World Series, proving that once you get under the velvet rope there’s no telling how the party will play out.
Penny for your thoughts.
While all the talk in Los Angeles is about Manny being Manny, the Dodgers need Penny to be Penny if they are to win the division. Brad Penny landed on the disabled list again last week, clouding his future with the club. Penny is 6-9 with a 6.05 ERA. There’s growing speculation the Dodgers won’t pick up his option next season. Penny’s injury would be easy to overcome if not for the disastrous signing of Jason Schmidt, who might not throw another pitch for the Dodgers.
Footnotes.
A National League talent evaluator told me a few days ago that there was no way a team such as the Cardinals would win a claim if and when Brian Fuentes is put on waivers this month. There are too many contending teams with worse records in contention who would block the move. . . . Dirty little secret in Chicago: Kosuke Fukudome has been a ghost in a uniform since July 1, hitting .214 with 10 RBIs. It has gone virtually unnoticed because of the production of the two-headed center-field monster of Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds. Johnson is a high-energy, on-base machine and Edmonds rediscovered his power after widening his stance. . . . Didn’t the Rays get in the baseball gods’ good graces by dropping Devil from their name? Apparently not. Last week in the span of four days, they lost Carl Crawford, likely for the season, Evan Longoria and closer Troy Percival to the disabled list. . . . Marlon Byrd stopped biting his tongue for the Rangers, calling out the pitching staff during the odoriferous series against the Red Sox. Don’t be surprised if the Rangers package young position players such as Elvis Andrus and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for a big arm. . . . The Angels’ Garret Anderson is repeating last season’s second-half surge, entering the weekend hitting .386 since the all-star break. The team is 18-6 during that span. . . . The Dodgers are selling Manny Ramirez wigs in stadium stores.
