NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
ED: Ed Agner
BB: Bill Barnwell
PR: Phil Rippa  
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Record at the All-Star Break (48-38)

First-Half Review
ED: The Dodgers picked up Milton Bradley at the end of spring training to help shore up the offense. Initially, it looked like a really great move - the Dodgers came out of the gate dominating the West and actually looked like a force. And then came mid-May and the offense again performed like a Dodgers offense while the glued-together rotation became...well, unglued. While Adrian Beltre and Bradley have been steady (even if they sure do appear to be eternally doomed to being fragile and troubled, respectively) and the middle infield muppet monster of Alex Cora, Jose Hernandez and Cesar Izturis have surprised by resembling somewhat competent major league hitters, the rest of the offense...ehh, not so much. 

BB: Paul LoDuca has been decent too. 

ED: I have no idea why I always forget and/or get confused about LoDuca.  It's one of those things like how I always confuse Neifi Perez and Deivi Cruz.

PR: I have much enjoyed Bradley continuing to be a petulant brat. I am shocked he hasn't tried to pull a "Well, the fans are allowed to arrive late and leave early so should I" power play yet. And any infield can look competent when you limit the amount of Plate Appearances that Hernandez gets to under 100 (Jose, being the good whiff king that he is – still managed to strikeout approximately 20% of the time.)

BB: Well, at least lil' Giambi hasn't made an appearance yet. And Hernandez has managed to have a .404 OBP in those 100 PAs.

ED: Shawn Green has taken the brunt of the blame for the Dodgers' punchless ways but his OPS is better than Bradley's - for what that's worth considering that Green is a 1B and Bradley a CF, of course. Pointing fingers properly, one would better put blame on the general ineptitude of Paul LoDuca and Juan Encarnacion and the Dodgers putrid LF spot and bench, but none of those entities makes Green's salary, I know. 

PR: Well Green also bitched and moaned a whole heck of a lot about being moved all around the field as the Dodgers were trying to figure out who was going to play first. I mean, Green really needed to realize that a team with Robin Ventura as its starting first baseman is a team that he wouldn’t want to play on so he should have just shut up and put up numbers similar to all the other pasty white 1B in the National League.

BB: LoDuca's hitting .308/.346/.427 which isn't bad for a catcher in LA.

ED: OK.  Now I am just confusing LoDuca with Todd Hundley or something.  Neifi-Deivi, LoDuca-Hundley.  It's all the same, right?  I am an idiot.

BB: Jayson Werth is hitting .286/.371/.571 in limited time, but can't crack the lineup.

ED: Which is one of Tracy's big drawbacks - those 20-25 steals you get from Dave Roberts really doesn't mean that much when he doesn't really do anything else.

BB: Alex Cora apparently got yelled at by DePo and has hit pretty decently – certainly better than Izturis, who has gotten tons of pub for some reason. 

PR: Imagine if he played in Ohio. I can just envision all the “HAIL CEASER!” headlines.

ED: The comparisons to Omar Vizquel make me chuckle.  Oh yes they do.

PR: Ed, I am sure you remember all to well those moments when Encarnacion was the savior of the Reds OF. Instead, he is resembling someone like Jeffrey Hammonds. And he doesn't even have the common courtesy to come up with a decent home run trot to rival the one arm flop (or flap or whatever the hell it was. Y'all know what I am talking about.)

ED:  Like Jeffrey Hammonds wasn't supposed to be an OF savior for the Reds too.  Hammonds at least had the courtesy to be a cripple so you could get him out of the line-up easier.  Encarnacion will just tease you with a 3 homer game then go a month until he makes contact again.

BB: Encarnacion is really just Joe Carter for a new generation. His problem is that he's been in crappy ballparks and around crappy lineups. 

ED:  Hey!  Riverfront was a nice li'l park to hit in.  He just had a crappy line-up around him there.

ED: One really looking to pin the blame properly should skip over the expected struggles of an iffy offense and go right to the source of the problems for the Dodgers - an inconsistent starting staff. To begin with, the Dodgers are, for the most part, only essentially four deep in starters. But when short-staffed it would help that your starters are neither struggling with injuries (Odalis Perez, Hideo Nomo) nor just flat-out...well, flaky (Kaz Ishii, Jeff Weaver). But on the bright side, the pen has been dandy. 

BB: Hideo Nomo is flat out ugly and about to be forced into retirement; Perez has been fantastic when he's been healthy. Ishii and Weaver are somewhere inbetween.

PR: So far there has been a big batch of smoke and mirrors going on with the pitching staff. I mean, the Dodgers are getting decent contributions from Wilson Alvarez, Darren Dreifort and, of course, LIMA TIME~! I mean, I certainly wouldn't wanna rest my hopes of taking the NL West crown on those three holding up for the rest of the season. So yes, Mota and Gagne are about as good a one-two combination coming out to the bullpen in the majors but everything else… hmmm…

BB: At least they have Tom Martin locked up. Wouldn't want him getting out. No sir. 

Second-Half Outlook
ED: As the second-half schedule really doesn't really look to favor nor hinder the Dodgers any - ruling out any easy shot at an extended streak to get back in the race - I think it's safe to say that their first-half mediocrity is indicative of how this team really will finish - a .500ish club. I just can't see how it would be possible for the Dodgers to run with the Giants and Padres this year. And I get the feeling that the ideal situation for them would be to fade out of the race early. I know DePodesta would never say that publicly, but I can't imagine he'd feel differently.

PR: Well the notion that if even the bottom complete falls out, they can still be comforted by the fact that it is doubtful that they would freefall down to the level that the Rockies or Diamondbacks are playing. Plus, it’s not like anyone in the LA area is actually paying attention to the Dodgers. Stupid Lakers.

ED: The Dodgers really are a team closer to becoming awful than they are to becoming good. Being able to be dealers in July would help stock up a system pretty much bereft of top prospects (especially offensively) AND would give the Dodgers some room to move, salary-wise, for FA's this offseason. If the Dodgers can find suckers for LoDuca, Encarnacion, Nomo and maybe Shawn Green and get the expected prospects for them that you would think DePodesta could get, the Dodgers could rule the West come '06 or so - and personally, if the Dodgers go to fire sale mode, I think Wilson Alvarez and maybe Paul Shuey could be highly sought-after commodities among the contenders. Of course, I think the world of Jim Tracy as a manager, so I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up screwing over the Dodgers by keeping them competitive to the end. 

BB: Ed pretty much says it. 
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
ED: Bill's tips for minor leaguers for DePo to pick up sure did… well... Aww, poor Bill. He is too young to be as calloused as us. We did properly make fun of the Dodger's rotation and woeful offense. Our concerns about their pen were apparently misguided.

PR: We didn't nail the disaster that became Hideo Nomo. Only the supposed injury has saved him from apparently getting released. 

ED:  Hey, IIIIIIIII stated my concerns about the number of innings he gobbled the last two years.  I didn't think he's be THAT stinky though.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Record at the All-Star Break (49-40)

First-Half Review 
ED: After a slow start where many had the Giants dead and buried, on came a strong June and on came the Giants. While getting Jason Schmidt back mostly healthy and Edgardo Alfonzo and A.J. Pierhadfhgbifhgosdjigski swinging the bat well since the weather turned warm have been cited as root causes of the June surge, making hay against a weak spot in their schedule was the REAL reason the Giants came to life. But despite their first place position, the Giants have not exactly shown any signs that they can run away and hide from the Dodgers and Padres. Oh, sure Bonds is still Bonds but rest assured he'll continue walking more than an NBA point guard. Can Alfonzo and Piersdhfgpiuhski and the cast of less-than-spectacular supporting guys continue on with what they started in June? Can that iffy pen keep from imploding? Can Schmidt stay healthy? Can the rest of that starting staff not suck? Can Felipe Alou keep J.T. Snow off the field for the rest of the season? All good and important questions.

BB: Alfonzo's isolated power over his career: .104, .084, .118, .149, .197, .219, .160, .151, .132, .106. The combination of back pain and age has sapped Alfonzo's power, and while he'll still be a decent hitter for average, he's going to struggle to slug .430 for the rest of his career, making him an average third baseman. Neifi Perez is hitting a miraculously bad .224/.262/.289, making Lee Sinins giddy. 

PR: It's despite Alou's best efforts that Schmidt has stayed healthy. Poor little 145 pitch counts. But the reason he will get hurt in the second half is because he is going to pitch in the All-Star game… right….. Meanwhile, Pedro Feliz has 13 home runs which is the only reason he is holding onto his starting gig while Neifi Perez keeps his starting job because he has naked photos of Alou or something. Thankfully the Bonds hitting .400 jibber jabber has gone away.

BB: Deivi Cruz hitting .321/.360/.453 is kinda like going to a really expensive restaurant and noticing that the waitress didn't charge you for your drink. You say to yourself "That's kinda neat", but you still have this giant albatross staring you in the face. Deivi Cruz is still a giant albatross. 

ED:  Aww, he's a tiny li'l fella.

PR: Getting drunk for free is probably the only reason you would keep Cruz in the lineup.
Second-Half Outlook
ED: The Giants need a few things to go their way to capture the NL West lead - they need their aging stars to get/stay healthy, the starting rotation and bullpen to keep from falling apart and they need Brian Sabean to make some moves to shore up some of the question marks.

BB: This is all great but it's kind of like saying that Dick Gephardt needs a few things to go his way to win the Republican Nomination for President. 

ED:  Well, is wining the NL West THAT much more difficult than winning the Republican or Democtratic nod?  They're both Special Olympics events in the end.

PR: Of course the starting pitching stinks (excluding Schmidt). Somehow Brett Tomko is keeping his spot. I mean the only way they could be worse is if they had kept Sidney Ponson. Funny thing is that they wouldn't be much better off having Damien Moss or Kurt Ainsworth on the staff either. Help is needed and I would have to figure that Sabean is trying to figure out who he can trick the Pirates into taking for Kris Benson.

BB: Well you have to consider that Moss might've eaten Felix Rodriguez. Jerome Williams is basically the only guy from the waves of Giants pitching prospects who looks like he's going to turn into anything, which is kind of sad. If you think about it, the three deepest crops of talent at one position in organizations over the past few years have all turned out pretty much nothing. The Twins outfielders are still in limbo, I guess, but the White Sox pitchers never turned out to amount to anything, and unless Jesse Foppert returns from arm surgery with more command than he had before he left, the Giants basically got a #3 starter out of their system. 

ED: I would point out a need for OF help, but that can be solved easily enough by keeping Todd Linden up with the team and rotating Linden, Mohr, Grissom and Tucker in the CF/LF spot. The infield hasn't been the brightest spot for the Giants, but the re-emergence of Daman Minor out of nowhere, along with Pedro Feliz turning the corner has helped a lot. Keeping Alfonzo healthy and effective and getting Ray Durham to be likewise will make Sabian's job much easier. If that goes true to form, Sabean really will only need to address his pitchers - but, hey, who won't? 

PR: I really don't know where the effusive praise Ed is heaping on Feliz and Alfonzo on is coming from. I guess Edgardo hit two home runs against the Red Sox and Ed wanted to make Bill cry. Feliz can play a million positions so that helps but he is a perfect example of why OPS needs to be tweaked because while his .750 OPS is okay, his sub .300 OBP is HORRIFIC. Yeah, the home runs are pretty… compared to others at the hot corner but compare him to the other NL 1B and it isn't even in the Top 5. I better stop; the fantasy bitterness is creeping in.

BB: I'm not sure what Brian Sabean is paying Ed but I hope it's enough to keep him happy. There are guys with a .322, .287 and .262 OBP in the Giants lineup every day. Two of those guys are considered offensive cornerstones of the team. That is all you need to know.

ED:  A whore gets paid.  I am, therefore, Sabean's slut or something.  Feliz has value as long as he's not playing first.  But even then platooning him with Minor is makes the 1B slot more valuable than, say, playing J.T. Snow.  Alfonzo...well, that's my blind spot, I guess.  That one good week at the end of June fooled me.  Durham...yeah.  I hate myself.  And as far as Neifi goes... I like to look at giving playing time to Neifi much the same as I look at flying.  When preparing to fly, I always figure I'm going to crash.  I watch La Bamba, wear Buddy Holly glasses, listen to Skynyrd and pull out my Thurman Munson baseball cards.  I flip coins with men at the airport most closely resembling Waylon Jennings.  I am prepared.  Then, no matter how bad the flight is, as long as I'm not on fire at the end, it's a good flight.  You figure on the worst with Neifi and when the team isn't dead at the end of the game, it's gold.  Or something.  Maybe I've taken too many shots to the head.  Ehh, it's the NL West.  Having Bonds alone is as close to Murders Row as you need.

ED: Their post-AS game schedule features a ton of games on the road against mainly inter-division foes in July and a bunch of games against some punchless NL Central and NL East teams in August and September. If the Giants staff can survive July, the rest of the way should be clear sailing. But that's a big if. Sabean will address the starter (Hello, Kris Benson?) and relief (Hello, Jose Mesa?) needs by the deadline - all the while holding on hope that Jason Schmidt's arm doesn't fall off until the offseason. I picked the Giants at the outset - mainly because I'm afraid to pick against them - and I'll stick with them. I do expect a tight race to the end and I expect the Giants to remain on top - for the last time in a long time, probably.

BB: Jose Mesa?!!?

ED:  I didn't say it was a solution, but SOMEONE will try to use Mesa's PVC~! as an answer.  And you know it will be someone smart enough to know better.

PR: If the Giants acquire a PVC, I see if being Urbina because Lord knows we need him getting another ring this year so we can have another offseason of him demanding to be paid what he is worth. RINGS~! SAVES~!

BB: If Barry Bonds doesn't get hurt, or his head doesn't explode, the Giants have a shot at winning the division. The Giants are basically the pre-Manny Red Sox at this point – one astoundingly good player, another legitimate superstar (with the hitter/pitcher roles reversed), and twenty-three guys who only need to be a little bit better than average for them to win the division. I just can't see them doing even that much.

PR: Hey, look at that, we both have Benson in mind for the starting rotation (and don't ask my why the Yankees were not impressed with him. I really hate the scouting department.) Robb Nen ain't coming back and Matt Herges isn't the model PVC. So yeah, we are back to Mesa or Urbina or maybe they want to get really entertaining and grab Jose Jimenez – the Indians won’t be using him. If the Braves weren't in the bizarro NL East, they could have been plunked for something – either Russ Ortiz returning or grabbing Smoltz.

Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
ED: Well, we were rightly concerned over how much playing time the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - J.T. Snow, Neifi Perez, Marquis Grissom, Michael Tucker - would get. Same with the rest of the rotation behind Schmidt. Only I went out on a limb and took the Giants - though I sure sweated out that ugly start of the season.

PR: Ed questioned whether Neifi could pass .600 OPS. Yeah, I think he is staying behind that number the rest of the year. Yeesh.
SAN DIEGO PADRES
Record at the All-Star Break (47-41)

First-Half Review
ED: Well, it looked like a mixed bag going into the season and the Padres have been true to form. One day Kevin Towers will get over his cripple fetish, I hope, and when that day comes every ex-Met still playing will shed a tear. But, to be fair, the Padres fragile nature really hasn't been the root cause of their shakiness - a team that was built for any other stadium but the one the Padres just opened has been. Look, if you're building a brand-spankin'-new massive stadium that Bonds has trouble hitting balls out of, shouldn't you, as a GM, build an offense that isn't overly reliant on the long ball? I would think so. But I'm not especially bright. 

BB: It's all context, Ed. Sure, you're not that smart, but you live in the Midwest – so relative to the replacement Midwesterner, you are actually really intelligent. 

ED:  That's encouraging...AND depressing...all at once.

PR: Well, I would have actually had the company installing the donated bricks read the messages before they were chiseled and installed at the new digs. Hmmm.. stadium sponsored by a pet store. Animals. No, PETA won't be bitter for some nonsensical reason. No, we have nothing to worry about. Basically, a lot of logic was lost when this stadium was built. It was all about distracting the fan base with Tony Gwynn appearances.

BB: I'm still pissed at the stadium for inspiring that thread on Primer. 

ED: Considering the lack of production the Pads have gotten from their power positions - namely 1B Phil Nevin and LF Ryan Klesko - they really need to adjust their hitting mindset, following the leads of the more-successful hitters in their line-up - Brian Giles, Sean Burroughs and Mark Loretta, even rookie Khalil Green to an extent - and look to drive more balls in the gaps. With a really good gap-hitter as a hitting coach in Dave Magadan, you would think this would become their M.O.. But that's easier said than done, I guess. Of course, it hasn't all just been offensive problems. Oh. Right. It has. Yeah, those pitchers sure love that big ol' stadium. 

BB: I'm not exactly sure why everyone was so high on the Padres committing so much money to a "veteran center fielder" in Jay Payton – and him hitting .256/.321/.348 is vindicating me. Terrence Long is matching him by hitting .268/.316/.382 which is really just about exactly what you'd expect Terrence Long to hit. 

ED:  Hey!  Payton was the most talented guy at Georgia Tech!  Don't make me have to get Tim McCarver  to tell that story yet again!

PR: I think Bill still has some lingering resentment towards Payton from when he was still a Mets fan. Those were the days.

PR: It really is entertaining to see how Nevin and Klesko are incapable of being healthy at the same time. Klesko comes off the DL and – WHOOPS! – less than a week later Nevin is on.

ED:  Yeah, Klesko and Nevin time their injuries like women living in close confines coordinate their periods.  Maybe the Pads should have sought out Kotex or Midol to sponsor the stadium.

PR: Mark Loretta playing world's above his head is interesting. Did we miss a contract year when writing the preview? Ramon Hernandez was also having a productive season before tweaking his knee late in June. Yeah, that won't hamper a catcher for the remainder of the season.

BB: Loretta's OPS for the last three years has been .791, .813, and .844, so it's not like he's really that far above what he's been up to. That batting average will come down a bit, though. It's also kinda funny that Ed talked about Burroughs as one of the more successful hitters in the lineup when he's hitting .288/.340/.339. I know, I know, he's going to develop power…he just hasn't yet.

ED:  Well, Burroughs started off well enough but has tailed in the last month or so.  The power numbers are all funny because of that damned stadium so who can tell what Burroughs really can do?  They talked as if Petco was going to encourage more offense when summer came but I ain't seeing it yet. 

BB:   Khalil Greene is still white and I am still confused. Ramon Vazquez has the early line on worst performance of the year, hitting .106/.218/.149 in 47 ABs and getting outhit by three of the Padres pitchers. 

BB: I've liked the Padres pitching for a long time, and this year they're actually not making me regret it. Even though they traded Oliver Perez – the Pirates' future ace – for Giles, Jake Peavy, Brian Lawrence, and Adam Eaton is an excellent first three starters. Dennis Tankersley has shown signs of fulfilling his promise, which would be nice, and David Wells has been exactly what you'd hope for this year – an innings-eater who you can either use to help push the Padres towards a playoff spot or ship off for parts if you fall out of contention.

ED: David Wells eats MUCH-MUCH-MUCH-MUCH-MUCH more than innings.  The rest...well, as long as the glue stays stuck the Pads have a shot.

PR: We will not discuss Jay Witasick pitching well again. No we won’t. Grrr… Akinori Otsuka also came out of nowhere to help shore up the bullpen. Peavy being healthy for the stretch run will be a big plus.
Second-Half Outlook
ED: There's no real reason why the Padres can't or won't compete for the West. Oh sure, there's the injury problems - one of Kevin Towers' main weak spots as a GM - and the whole fear factor of playing in a monstrous stadium, but the talent is there - maybe not the RIGHT talent for that stadium, but talent all the same. The Pads really need to look over the make-up of the team offensively and address the weaknesses brought about by opening up Yellowstone in downtown San Diego - most obviously by looking to move Klesko or Nevin (or both) for line-drive/gap-type hitters who can take advantage of the less-than-cozy confines. Larry Walker would be somewhat ideal and he's had enough x-rays to make Towers drool. Luis Gonzalez and Carlos Delgado too, now that I think of it. Pitching-wise, the Pads are fine in the rotation and the pen with no real obvious red flags to make you think of impending doom - like what you see when looking at that offense. 

PR: It appears that Towers has given up on Xavier Nady and Sean Burroughs (the Burroughs bit is baffling but I think Towers might be getting antsy in not being able to force Bruce Bochy to play Jeff Cirillo everyday) and most likely one of them is going to Arizona to bring Steve Finley back. Though Walker makes too much sense.

BB: I can't really see Towers giving up on Burroughs, considering he's only 23. Bringing Steve Finley back is fine for nostalgia and all, but it's not something you actually want to give up a real hitter for.

PR: I only regurgitate when INSIDER~! tells me and its seems that Towers is growing wearing of waiting for Burroughs power to show up.
ED: Steve Finley trying to cover that CF may be worth me staying up late to catch a Pads game.  But hey, if Bernie Williams still...uh...stands there in CF in Yankee Stadium, why not?

BB: The denouement of Xavier Nady is sad and the entire position player side of the Padres system is an argument for drafting high school hitters. Now, that doesn't mean you should draft ones that take swings at bouncers, Mr. Towers. 

ED: A long home stand from the end-part of July through almost mid-August will be the real test for the Pads. If they can play over .500 there, they'll be on the Giants' backs to the wire. But I wouldn't count on the Pads staying healthy enough to compete to the end.

Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
ED: Bill shames us all with his love of that Padre offense. Our NEW STADIUM~! concerns were well-founded. Rod Beck still makes us happy.
COLORADO ROCKIES
Record at the All-Star Break (36-51)

First-Half Review
ED: Well, the insurance company is on the hook for Denny Neagle's contract anyway. And Jeromy Burnitz has discovered the majesty of playing at zero gravity. Vinny Castillo thanks the Lord for the same. Oh, and Larry Walker and Preston Wilson were hurt long enough for the Rockies to take a look at Matt Holliday and Kit Pellow. Otherwise, the Rockies performed down to their low expectations. Looks like the Rockies are well onto their way towards rebuilding plan #780.

BB: I enjoy that Pellow's gotten some playing time. Maybe he can out some more steroid users and get blacklisted from baseball for good. Being Rick Reilly's intern can't be that bad of a job. 

PR: Especially since the position of manly wife of Steve Rusin is already filled

PR: Since Walker is a personal fave, I was glad to see that at least he managed to align the vertebrae in his back long enough to collect his 2000 hit. And the only other thing that stood out for me in the first half was the ridiculous dreadlock mullet that Royce Clayton sported. He looks like the 847th Marley brother who is still wondering if Sun City ever got freed.

BB: Who?

ED:  I KNEW that joke was sooooooooooo not in Bill's lifetime.

PR: Actually to be fair, one of the bright spots for the Rockies is the numbers that Joe Kennedy has been putting up. I mean he has been able to keep his ERA under 4, his WHIP under 1.40 and opponents are hitting .245 against him. This all with splits that look almost identical (with actually about 3 more starts at Coors.) Yeah, it is the most backhanded of backhanded compliments but still. Geez, when looking at pitching maybe people will finally start to realize what an amazing season Gabe White put up a few years back.

BB: Yeah – the great numbers AND he managed to avoid getting arrested for child mol….ok, maybe we're done with that joke now. Sorry. 
Second-Half Outlook
ED: Ehh. The Rockies will NOT finish last, thanks to the D-Backs bottoming out. But what's the point of finishing fourth instead of fifth? I dunno. I'm asking. Obviously, the best possible second-half for the Rockies would be to find a place to trade Larry Walker and Preston Wilson (and Charles Johnson and Burnitz and Castillo and...) for some prospects and hope the pitching staff can keep from imploding long enough to prevent a 100 loss season. Big whoop.

PR: Colorado could easily finish last. All they need to do is call Kevin Jarvis back up and move Fassero back out of the pen. Trading Preston Wilson for Kenny Lofton wouldn’t help the offense but it would help the pocketbook. That would be a wash.

BB: The thing is that the Rockies have no clue how to succeed, so they just kind of meander on. The names change each year; some new outfielders and starting pitchers show up, the old ones leave, the team goes 75-87. This team isn't going to do anything until the Hampton and Neagle contracts come off the books.

ED:  Oh yeah.  But even then, getting rid of O'Dowd and bring in a GM with a plan who'll STICK to a plan is essential.  Until then, the Rockies are the Pirates at zero gravity.  Well, at least that doesn't affect Todd Helton one way or other.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
ED: We mocked Burnitz and Castillo and were wrong - so far. Bill nailed the ensuing hilarity of Shawn Chacon: Closer. 

PR: HEY! The Shawn Chacon jokes were all mine. This should be especially easy to remember since I was the only one really willing to provide any sort of analysis of this stupid team.

ED:  Oh yeah.  I'm gonna cop to the Deivi-Neifi, Hundley-LoDuca confusion idiocy again.  You can be Neifi, Phil.

PR: Okay, that works. I mean Perez has about the same mastery of the English language that I do.

PR: And I would say that we got Burnitz right since we talked about how he was going to put up decent numbers in Coors and only in Coors. (Looking at his splits in not for the weak at heart. Like a .300 point home/away split in his OPS.)  And we aren't going to discuss my bashing of Vinny Castilla, who I turned around and needed to carry my fantasy team for a good while (before trading him for Kevin Brown in not one of my finer fantasy moments). Oh and my hopes and dreams for Jeff Fassero were crushed. *sigh*

ED:  It's best not to linger too long on the Rockies, Neificito.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Record at the All-Star Break (31-58)

First-Half Review
ED: Boy, that Richie Sexson trade didn't look good for the D-Backs from the get-go but...Whoa Nelly! Did that get real ugly real quick-like. Same can be said for signing Roberto Alomar - though that at least that let the D-Backs play Scott Hairston. Randy Johnson threw a perfect game and got his 4000th career K this year. And Steve Finley made himself into some respectable trade bait. And elsewise...well, if you can't say anything nice.

PR: At least they finally got around to firing Bob Brenly (and by proxy 90% of the coaching staff, including Robin Yount. Bud Selig weeps.), who really was doing the poor man's Larussa is riding that 01 World Series victory as hard as he rode the youngest of pitching arms. It certainly appears that they have packed it in, going so far as telling the crippled veterans returning from the DL (i.e.: Alomar) that they aren't getting their jobs back. Excluding the youngsters, the D-Backs have two tradable commodities and its just the D-Backs luck that both have a full no-trade clause (the Big Unit's due to his contract, Finley's due to being a 10/5 guy). And yeah, maybe rushing Sexson back off the DL wasn't the smartest move this organization is going to make. I am still surprised Matt Williams wasn't talked out of retirement and asked to convert to first. Man, I am a fool. If they were bringing Williams back, Chad Tracy would be the one who has to move.

BB: All the Bautista's in baseball meld together by now for me, but I know that someone could use Denny Bautista. The Giants, for one.

ED:  That's DANNY Bautista, FWIW.

BB:  Someone will be dumb enough to take on Shea Hillenbrand. There isn't really much fun around this team – short Stephen Randolph's 29 K/37 BB/3.82 ERA performance. I just want them to pick a closer so my fantasy team can relax. 

Second-Half Outlook
ED: Owner Jerry Colangelo supposedly refuses to allow the D-Backs to shop Randy Johnson as he wants him to retire as a D-Back and go into the HOF in their colors - never mind the fact that The Big Mullet had a nice little career in Seattle before he got there, or how much sense the whole wearing a team's cap into the HOF makes; let's not use common sense with Jerry Colangelo. Now, I'm all for honoring community leaders and team legends and all, but Johnson's been in Arizona all of, what, 5 years. So, let's see, you want to mortgage the long-term future of your really-really bad team by holding onto your only big piece of really-really good trade bait in a way to ego-stroke yourself about the supposed legacy of a 7 year-old franchise? OK. Fine. Don't expect me to ever weep when Jerry Colangelo next needs to float a loan to meet payroll again. It's dumb business and bad baseball. Randy Johnson should be a Yankee or a Red Sock or Ranger or what have you before the leaves start to brown. If he isn't, then I hope the D-Backs have fun staring up at the Rockies for years to come. 

BB: Thank you Ed for using Red Sock and not Red Sox – I hate it when people refer to individual members of the Red Sox as a Red Sox as opposed to a Red Sock. As if the singular of Sox was Sox or something. Geez. 

ED:  Sooooo, wait...What does that make Steve Sax?

PR: Depending on who you believe, it is Johnson who refuses to be traded since the wife and kids love Arizona and stuff. Of course, the rumors are never going to go away and nothing will be certain till August 1st hits. I will be entertained to see what comically said package Joe Jr. settles for. Probably something like "Hey, sure I will take two 1B AAA prospects". Arizona will be able to catch a break in that the only place that Finley wants to go is San Diego and San Diego wants to bring him back.

ED: Of course, that's not the only problem the D-Backs have, Manager Bob Brenly ate away at arms at an alarming pace and got the canning he so rightly deserved, but Brenly's unemployment doesn't help the pitchers already crippled much.  Roberto Alomar wants to be traded but the D-Backs will be lucky to get rid of him for a bag of balls at this point in his career. The infield is full of rookies with marginal upside while the outfield is full of guys old enough to be their fathers. And while Operation Fire-Sale should have begun yesterday, can you really trust the inept Joe Garagiola, Jr. to get anything of value in return? Well, at least Arizona fans will have the Cardinals to not pay any attention to come the beginning of September.

BB: Joe Garagiola's a Baseball Man, Ed. What are you? Shut up. 

PR: Are there any other careers that Arizona can toy with this year? Any other people they want to yank off the DL when not healthy, throw them into the game and then be befuddled when they have to put them right back on the DL – most likely for the season (see: Sexson, Richie and Reynolds, Shane). Maybe Brandon Webb should fake his own ACL tear so he doesn't have to go out and get no run support every fifth day.

BB: I just noticed that Arizona let Steve Sparks pitch 93 innings for them so far this year. That is the good stuff right there. Matt Mantei got 10 innings in for the first half which seems about right. 

ED:  What about Todd Stottlemyre?  He'd still go.  He has a left arm too, ya know.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
ED: Bill had more belief in Casey Fossum than Bob Brenly did. And Phil pegged it that Robbie Alomar was done. Everything else we poked fun of with the D-Backs was too easy to take credit for, really.

PR: That Randy Johnson for Trot Nixon trade looks more and more like a reality now.
Return to the 2004 MLB Preview Page
Return Home