Phoenix.BloggersPub

In the last week, we’ve basically seen the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers basically demonstrate that they don’t really want to win the National League West. The Diamondbacks have lost 4 out of their last 5 to the Marlins and Padres, and the Dodgers, well they have completely forgotten how to win. They’ve lost 7 out of their last 8, and 5 in a row, including an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Washington last night. The Dodgers have “exploded” for 6 runs in their last 5 games.

I, myself wrote a piece last week comparing the Dodgers’ stretch run schedule to that of the D-Backs. Shame on me for not including the Colorado Rockies in that article.

Here we go again. As of August 27, the Rockies are just 6 games out of first place in the National League West, and they are playing good baseball. The Rocks have won 4 in a row and 9 of their last 11. When the Diamondbacks left Denver on August 14th after taking 2 of 3 from the Rockies, Colorado was 9 games out of 1st. In less than 2 weeks, they are the only team in the division headed in the right direction.

It’s impossible for the Rockies to do it again, right? Keep in mind that last year on August 27th, they were 6.5 games out, and the two teams ahead of them (the ‘07 D-Backs and the ‘07 Padres) were far superior to this year’s competition.

No they don’t have Todd Helton for the rest of the season, but Troy Tulowitzki seems to be shaking off his sophomore slump. Tulowitzki, the runner-up in the National League Rookie of the Year voting last season, had a dreadful first half, hitting just .166. But after the break, he’s hitting .340. Matt Holliday is one of the most potent forces in all of baseball, Garrett Atkins has quietly driven in 80 runs this season, Brad Hawpe is hitting .366 after the break, and Willy Tavares is still a pesky leadoff man who leads the National League with 61 stolen bases. Ian Stewart is hitting .361 in the second half of the season and as a team, the Rockies are hitting close to .300 since the break.

Pitching-wise, the Rockies have tightened things up as well in the last month and a half. Their bullpen has converted 13 of 15 save opportunities, and the starting rotation of Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Livan Hernandez and Jorge De La Rosa has a respectable 15-10 record after the break, although Hernandez has been hit hard in 2 of his 3 starts with the Rockies, and his ERA with Colorado is 15.32, and tonight faces Tim Lincecum and the Giants in San Francisco.

Colorado’s remaining schedule has them playing 15 of their last 28 at home (including a 9-game homestand in mid-September). In their last 28 games, they play 6 games against a team with a winning record. And yes, all 6 of those are against the Diamondbacks. No better way to catch the team you’re chasing than by beating them head to head, right?

Last year, the Rockies had to win 14 out of their last 15 to clinch the Wildcard. They don’t have to get nearly that hot this year based on the way the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers are playing.

I’m not saying the Rockies will come back and win this division, although it wouldn’t shock me. I am, however, officially declaring this a 3-team race. The most dangerous part about the Rockies is that they’ve done it before, and they have the confidence to do it again.

If Hernandez somehow beats Tim Lincecum tonight in San Francisco, then we really have ourselves a story.