Insider | Short Hops | Love Letters
While the NL East threatens to become the first division in which every team finishes .500 or better since the AL West in 1991, it's beginning to look like the NL West can be won with a .500 record.
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San Diego, 12-21 since June 1, continues to plod along in first in the NL Worst. The Padres, 45-40 through midweek, were the only team in the entire division better than .500.
Arizona (41-45) and Los Angeles (40-44) were doggedly tussling for second despite being sub-.500, and many contenders are beginning to give up on the idea that woeful San Francisco might trade ace Jason Schmidt because, even though the Giants were 35-48 at midweek, they were only nine games behind.
Part of the problem is that injuries have wracked the division. San Diego has been playing without All-Star second baseman Mark Loretta for weeks, and catcher Ramon Hernandez -- who had been having an All-Star-worthy season -- has been out since mid-June. First baseman Phil Nevin and leadoff man Dave Roberts also have been banged up.
Los Angeles lost Jeff Kent to a hamstring injury this week and placed shortstop Cesar Izturis and outfielder J.D. Drew on the DL alongside closer Eric Gagne and slugger Milton Bradley.
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| Felipe Alou hopes the Giants hold on until Barry Bonds and Armando Benitez return. (Getty Images) |
The Giants were clocked by Oakland two weekends ago, including that 16-0 pasting in which the A's outhit the Giants 24-1. When they responded by sweeping Arizona, some folks began believing the Giants might be in full recovery mode.
Ever the realist, manager Felipe Alou wasn't impressed by his own club's sweep.
"They've got some guys hurt, and (Luis) Gonzalez just came back (from the bereavement list while he was attending a funeral) and he was all tired and jet-lagged," Alou said.
Sure enough, mere days later, the Giants fell into a four-game losing streak until finally beating Cincinnati on Wednesday night.
Believe it or not, Colorado is tied for the best record in the division from June 1 through midweek. The numbers:
- Colorado 14-19
- Los Angeles 14-19
- San Diego 12-21
- San Francisco 12-21
- Arizona 11-23
It's ugly out there.
What needs to change in the second half for San Francisco?
"I'd like to get Barry Bonds back, and I'd like to get Armando Benitez back," Alou said.
Right now, that's what the NL West is reduced to -- wishful thinking.
- Fourth of July hangover: Los Angeles second baseman Jeff Kent was sidelined with a strained hamstring in Colorado this week, then immediately blamed the Dodgers for scheduling a 7:10 p.m. game at home on Sunday so they could have a postgame fireworks show. Consequently, the Dodgers didn't arrive at their Colorado hotel until around 5 a.m. Monday. "I think all that fatigued me enough to do a little bit of damage," Kent said. Wonder what Uncle Sam thinks of that.
- So outfielder Moises Alou will join his father (Felipe Alou will be a coach for the NL team) at the All-Star Game in Detroit next week. Why is Moises still such a force at 39? "It's in the family -- good fish soup," Felipe said. "Mo is a specimen of a man."
- Yes, that's 10 rookies -- and counting -- now on Atlanta's 25-man roster. Outfielder Jeff Francoeur actually had been invited to participate in Sunday's Futures Game (the All-Star rookie show) at Detroit's Comerica Park before the Braves dipped down to scoop him out of Double-A Mississippi when Brian Jordan landed on the DL with a bad knee. Francoeur, who excused himself from the Futures Game, is the eighth Brave to make his major-league debut this season.
- Angels skipper Mike Scioscia on David Eckstein, his former player who now is a first-time All-Star for St. Louis: "Eck got some (All-Star) consideration here in the last couple of years, but it was tough with so many shortstops in our league having great years. Not that it's diminished because he changed leagues -- it's a terrific honor, and he's certainly having an All Star-caliber year and it's great to see him recognized. The beauty of Eck is he performs the same way if he's playing in a sandlot with some friends and nobody watching, or if he's playing in the seventh game of the World Series."
- Slumpin' Sammy: Baltimore's Sammy Sosa finally snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an infield hit on Tuesday, but still fresh in everybody's mind is his recent 1-for-34 stretch that resulted in his benching for two days. Believe it or not, when Sosa lofted a fly ball to left in the fifth inning of Monday's game, it was the first time in -- count 'em -- 15 plate appearances that the Sammy Formerly Known as Slammin' actually pushed a ball out of the infield.
- Road warrior: St. Louis' Chris Carpenter is 7-0 with a 1.69 ERA away from Busch Stadium, and he has become only the third Cardinals pitcher -- following Joaquin Andujar and Kent Bottenfield -- to reach the All-Star break with at least 13 victories.
- Yes, that was old friend David Cone visiting Shea Stadium the other day for the first time since he retired in 2003, and happily, he dropped some hints that he'd be willing to join the Mets as a broadcaster or even as a member of manager Willie Randolph's coaching staff. Someone with the class, smarts and personality of Cone should stay involved in the game.
- With second baseman Brian Roberts and shortstop Miguel Tejada as the middle infield of the starting AL All-Star team, it marks the first time since Cal Ripken and Mike Bordick played in 2000 that the Orioles are sending more than one representative.
- The Yankees already shipped Paul Quantrill to San Diego. Now they have until Sunday to make a similar move for reliever Mike Stanton or else they must release him. Stanton has a no-trade clause, which makes a deal problematical -- as does that little old matter of the 7.07 ERA. Stanton, a Houston native, is believed to prefer a deal to the Astros, Atlanta, Washington or Florida if there's one to be made.
- Oakland's Nick Swisher, on being a target for boo-birds, following his home run Tuesday night: "They pay their money, they can say whatever they want, I guess. Every other minute, they said, 'Swish, you suck.' I was like, 'OK, we've established that.'"
- The message delivered to Mike Sweeney by Kansas City traveling secretary Jeff Davenport notifying Sweeney he had been selected to the All-Star team: "George Brett." Translation: Brett wore No. 5, and Sweeney now has been named to five All-Star teams.
