The NL West race is a tight one. That’s because nobody is really running away with it. As of today, the division-leading Diamondbacks are at a record of 47-48. The second place LA Dodgers are only 46-49, and 1 game back of Arizona. The San Francisco Giants are 7 games out of first place right now, but out of the three teams in that division, I believe that they are playing the best baseball.
Tim Lincecum (11-2) has been on fire making up for Barry Zito’s under-achieving pitching this year. Zito’s record is only 4-12 with a 5.62 ERA and only 65 strikeouts.

Barry Zito (Left) and Tim Lincecum (Right)

Lincecum has a 2.57 ERA and 135 strikeouts. Another outstanding pitcher is Jonathan Sanchez, who has a 3.97 ERA and 115 strikeouts this season. The relief pitcher, who could inevitably decide the fate of this team, Brian Wilson is an astounding player. When he comes in for relief, he on average plays a little under an inning a game and has only given up 3 home runs in 38 appearances.

The offense is struggling, but has an emerging hitter. C, Bengie Molina has 6 HRs, and a team-leading 56 RBIs.

The pitching, being terrific, and the offense, being poor, brings up a question worth asking. Where would the Giants be now if Barry Bonds was still there and hitting homers? Most likely in first place, because that would be the kind of shot in the arm (no pun intended) that the Giants' struggling offense needs to get them going. Bonds would do well more than make up for the lack of offesnive depth in San Fran. I doubt the owners are kicking themselves for letting him go.

If the offense does what they did before the All-Star break, which wasn’t much but enough to keep them afloat in the NL West race, and the pitching continues to dominate, I see this team taking it down to the wire with the D-Backs or the Dodgers and coming out victorious. If Zito can win more than 4 games in the second half, then in my opinion, this team gets in by 3-6 games.

I see them finishing with a record of 79-83, and with the way the rest of that division is playing, that could well be enough to win it.

Let me hear your thoughts. If this idea totally bewilders you, please try to keep your comments vulgarity-free. Thank you! Take care!

-Mike Greenspire