Hey… didn’t you used to be the NL West?

     Touted as baseball’s best and most competitive division before the season, the Diamondbacks have turned the West into their own personal month-long kegger.

      Just 23 games into the season, Arizona has somehow already managed to build a gaudy six-game lead.

     And if you think the D’Backs got fat on some other divisions’ bottom-dwellers, think again. Sixteen of their 17 wins have come against NL-West opponents.

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      Farewell, Manny Corpas.

      The rocked-in-the-Rockies closer hasn’t closed anything other than the door on himself.

      His blown saves on Tuesday and Wednesday extended to four, the streak of games in which Colorado took a lead into the eighth inning and lost, tying a major league record.

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      There is no question the Blue Jays can use an offensive threat like Frank Thomas.

      What they don’t need is a selfish, me-first player who might have been one tantrum away from blowing up what has been a pretty good clubhouse.

     Yes, Thomas’ final stretch with Toronto (4 for his last 35) was horrible, but he was good enough in the first few weeks to prove he still has some good baseball left in him. 

     The Jays should have been more patient, but Thomas should have handled the disappointment of reduced playing time in private. Should be interesting to see what he does in Oakland.

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      Speaking of the A’s … How do they do it?

      It seems every year they either trade or opt not to sign a top-of-the-rotation pitcher (Hudson, Zito, Haren, Mulder) yet, they are currently leading the AL in ERA – half a run better than any other pitching staff.

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     Regarding the whole Jaba Chamberlain starter/reliever  debate: Confidential to Hank Steinbrenner … Shaddap.

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     According to Forbes Magazine, the Dodgers are worth $694 million making them the fourth most valuable team in baseball.  Owner Frank McCourt bought the team (along with Dodger Stadium and the surrounding land, which are not included in Forbes' valuation) in 2004 for $430 million.

      How has the team so dramatically increased in value?  By charging more -- a lot more -- for everything from parking to popcorn.

      According to Team Marketing Report, the average cost for a family of four to attend a Dodger game four years ago was $154. Now it's $229. Ouch. 

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     Justin Upton is 20-years old. He is hitting .361 with an on-base percentage of .398.

     B.J. Upton is 23. He is hitting .304 with an o-b % of .383.    

     They both have speed to burn and are solid defensively.

     It feels like it's too soon to call them the best brother-brother combination in baseball history, but is it?

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      Don’t get me wrong – I’d still take Ryan Howard on my team, but the early-season returns don’t bode well for the former MVP.

      It’s not so much the .176 average or the mere nine RBIs in 23 games. It’s the strikeouts.

      Howard is making Andruw Jones look like a contact hitter.

      He’s racked up 34 Ks already, putting him on pace for 239. That would obliterate the all-time single season record of 199.  

      By the way… do you know who holds that record for most strikeouts in a season?

      Answer below.

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      What’s up with the Braves?

      Despite the monster production from Chipper Jones (.442-7-20), Atlanta heads into the weekend a .500 baseball team.

     And it’s not that they are losing games – it’s how they are losing. Their first five defeats of the year came by a single run, and they’ve run their record in one-run games to 0-7. 

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     Update on what will ultimately prove to be Randy Johnson’s futile quest for 16 more wins to give him 300 in his career…

      2008 Wins: 1

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      More on McCourt and the money:

      So, where is all that Dodgers revenue going?  McCourt insists he is putting it “into player salaries and back into the stadium to enhance the experience for the fans.”

       In reality, the Dodgers payroll is actually $4 million less than it was in 2003. In real money terms, that is a dramatic drop off.  And as anybody who ever remodeled their kitchen knows, improving the stadium is simply increasing its value ... for his own gain.

      Hey, nobody begrudges team owners making money. But people do mind a man making millions off of them and trying to spin it as if he is not.  

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    Question: If former White House intern Monica Lewinski married former Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski, do you think she would hyphenate her last name?

     And … is there any chance their children wouldn’t be chunky?

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     Credit to the Marlins, who are operating on a miniscule payroll of $21.8 million ($2-mil less than Jason Giambi who is hitting .135), but are leading the NL East. And if you get a chance to watch them play, take note of two of the sweetest swings in the game, possessed by Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs.

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     Answer to the single-season strikeout record question…. Ryan Howard is closing in on … his own record. Howard struck out 199 times last year.

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      Shocking stat of the week … Through six full seasons in the bigs, Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford already has 10 percent more triples (75) than Rickey Henderson had in his entire 25-year career (67). How whacked is that?