Sunday, July 16, 2000
NL INSIDER
West race could go to last day
By Chris Haft
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Though the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets will grab plenty of attention as they battle through the rest of the season in the East, their West Division counterparts may provide the league's best entertainment.
Arizona, San Francisco, Colorado and Los Angeles entered Saturday separated by six games. Despite the recent struggles of the Rockies and Dodgers, each of the four is capable of winning the division, with a break or two.
“It wouldn't surprise me if our division stays tight,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.
The Diamondbacks have maintained first place while playing most of the season without third baseman Matt Williams and first baseman Erubiel Durazo — “impact players,” said a teammate, second baseman Jay Bell — and losing right-hander Todd Stottlemyre until at least September. Arizona was among seven teams that tried to pry Denny Neagle from the Reds before the New York Yankees succeeded.
Durazo (right wrist) returned after the All-Star break and Williams (right quadriceps) could return soon. Their improving health heartens the Diamondbacks, as does their memory of a 52-21 second-half record last season when they won the West.
“If we continue to pitch like we have been and with those guys back in the lineup, it's conceivable we could have a second half like we did last year,” Bell said.
Said ace left-hander Randy Johnson, “We've got a lot to look forward to.”
That includes a potentially thrilling finish. Arizona and second-place San Francisco face each other eight times in the season's final 11 days, including five games at Pacific Bell Park and a three-game, end-of-year series at Phoenix.
San Francisco, dismissed in preseason forecasts, started 4-11 but is 44-28 since April 21, the league's best record in that span. The Giants might have the division's deepest starting rotation, though Joe Nathan's stint on the disabled list causes some concern. The Barry Bonds-Jeff Kent-Ellis Burks-J.T. Snow core has remained productive, to say the least.
“There's no doubt we can compete with anybody in our division,” Sabean said.
The same can be said of the Rockies, who were the talk of baseball in May and part of June. “I think we've made tremendous strides toward being a championship club in a very short time,” Colorado general manager Dan O'Dowd said.
As long as they're playing at home, that is. Colorado is 17-31 on the road, with only 22 home runs outside of Coors Field.
The nine-game losing streak the Rockies took into their series finale against the Reds might have dented their confidence. Ask reliever Gabe White, a former Red: “We (stink) right now. We absolutely (stink). We don't have what it takes to get it done. We don't have the pitching, we don't have the hitting.”
Los Angeles has plenty of both. All the Dodgers have lacked in recent years has been character — a clubhouse leader or two, the chemistry to band together for a sustained march.
That quality might be lacking again — within the front office, not the clubhouse. Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone has begun to complain that he has assembled almost as much talent as possible, suggesting that manager Davey Johnson and the players are at fault.
The Dodgers' effectiveness in the clutch has suffered. At the All-Star break, they ranked eighth in the league in hitting with runners in scoring position (.257) and seventh in close-and-late situations (.241).
“We have to get more out of what we have,” Malone said. “This personnel has to perform. There are seven (former) All-Stars here. It's not a talent issue. It's a per formance issue.”
THE "OTHER' DEAL: The Neagle trade overshadowed Philadelphia's unloading of Andy Ashby upon the Atlanta Braves. But Friday night, Ashby pitched a complete-game victory in his Braves debut.
The Phillies' reasons for dealing Ashby mirrored the Reds' logic in trading Neagle. Philadelphia knew Ashby would become a free agent after the season. Disgusted at the prospect of receiving nothing but a pair of compensatory draft choices for him, the Phillies decided that taking 23-year-old lefties Bruce Chen and Jimmy Osting from Atlanta was better.
“To get zero back, potentially, didn't make sense for us,” Phillies general manager Ed Wade said. “This might be perceived by some as us giving up on the season, but that is absolutely not the case.”
LEST WE FORGET: Last Tuesday's All-Star Game was originally set for Pro Player Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins. But on Nov. 30, 1998, baseball officials took the game from Florida and awarded it to Atlanta and Turner Field, declaring that the midsummer classic must be played at newer sites whenever possible.
So when people lament the acres of empty seats at Marlins home games, they can blame commissioner Bud Selig as much as the team's also-ran status, though Florida has established itself as one of the majors' best young teams. Had the Marlins kept the All-Star Game, incentive plans for fans probably would have doubled their season-ticket base of 6,500.
“I know there were a lot of people, as soon as we lost the All-Star Game, who dropped their season tickets,” said Lou DePaoli, Florida's vice president in charge of sales. “And it was for that reason specifically.”
Participate in our e-mail Reds poll
Reds Stories
