The Good: Don't look now, but Barry Bonds (.316, a baseball-best 30 homers, 63 RBIs) is just starting to heat up. Add Jose Cruz Jr. (.311, 14, 47), Marquis Grissom (16 homers, 47 RBIs) and Ray Durham (who's hitting .300), all plug-ins who weren't on last year's World Series team, and you have the makings of a champ. Don't forget All-Star starter Jason Schmidt (9-4, 2.37 ERA), Kirk Rueter (7-3, 4.46) and a bullpen anchored by Tim Worrell (20 saves) that has the best record (18-9) in the NL.
The Bad: Rueter isn't pitching all that well, Edgardo Alfonzo (.236) has been a free-agent flop and an injured Kurt Ainsworth (5-4, 3.82 in 11 starts) won't be back. Lefty Damian Moss started 5-0 with a 2.11 ERA, but he's now 7-6 with a 5.06 ERA.
What's Next: Cool-handed Felipe Alou has brought this team together and helped them to the nice lead at the break. But pitching is a going to be a concern in the second half. Both of the teams chasing them have better pitching than the Giants at this point. If GM Brian Sabean could land one starter before postseason rosters are set, that would make everyone in the Bay Area breathe a lot easier.
The Good: Young players have shined, especially starters Brandon Webb (7-2, 2.41) and Andrew Good (4-2, 5.29), reliever Jose Valverde (a 1.00 ERA), and infielders Matt Kata (.344), Alex Cintron (.300 with seven homers) and Robby Hammock (.282). The trade for Shea Hillenbrand from Boston brought immediate results (.345, six homers, 21 RBIs in 22 games). Old-timers Luis Gonzalez (.310, 18, 67) and Steve Finley (.308, 15, 47) have helped to steady the ship. A 12-game winning streak at the end of June got the D'backs back in the race.
The Bad: The injuries to Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Matt Mantei, Craig Counsell, Junior Spivey and all the other guys put Arizona behind in the first place. Bobby Valentine said they were done (which, for the D'backs, might be a good thing). Tony Womack has an awful .270 on-base percentage. The team said goodbye to original D'back Matt Williams.
What's Next: With a healthy and effective Johnson and Schilling, the D'backs would be tough to bet against, even facing a five-game hole. If they're not effective, though ... well, that's another story. Assuming they pitch decently, the Diamondbacks deserve to be in the postseason. Whether they can win the NL West, or slip past Philly into the wild card will be the question of their second half.
The Good: Paul Lo Duca can hit (.307). But on to the real good of the Dodgers -- their pitching. Kevin Brown is 10-4 with a 2.30 ERA. Kazuhira Ishii has recovered nicely from a line drive to his noggin (8-3, 2.94). Hideo Nomo has a sub 3.00 ERA. Odalis Perez is better than his 6-7, 4.25 ERA would indicate. And the bullpen ... Paul Quantrill, Guillermo Mota, Paul Shuey and Eric Gagne all have ERAs under 2.00. And Gagne has those 31 saves.
The Bad: Brian Jordan, hurt again, is gone for the year. So is pitcher Darren Dreifort. Again. Shawn Green (.255, 10, 45) has been asleep the whole first half. Adrian Beltre (.225) is a mystery. So is Daryle Ward. The Dodgers, if you haven't heard, can't hit a lick. They've picked up Jeromy Burnitz and Rickey Henderson to try to get things going. Good luck with that.
What's Next: A team with great pitching and horrible hitting, you have to figure, will end up somewhere in the middle of the pack. And that's where the Dodgers sit now. Maybe Burnitz and Rickey make the offense better. Maybe. But it has to get a lot better to overcome a 7 ½-game hole. The Dodgers have a wild-card chance, but not a good one.
The Good: Shawn Chacon had a beautiful half going (11-4, 4.27). Jason Jennings (9-6, 4.56) is showing that the club's faith in him was well placed. Darren Oliver (7-5, 4.67) is winning, too. Offensively, there's always Todd Helton (.349, 21, 78), and Preston Wilson is enjoying a rebirth in Denver (.307, 23, 91).
The Bad: Now Chacon's elbow is hurt, and we don't know where that will lead. And even given Helton's hitting, it's unusual to see the Rockies not leading the NL in hitting. Larry Walker and his bad shoulder are hitting only .295 (21 points below his career average) with just nine homers.
What's Next: No one expected the Rockies to be over .500 at this point of the season, so in a lot of ways, their season is already a success. The Rockies have cleaned up against the West, going 26-19, and are 35-16 at home, the best mark in baseball. There's little reason they can't finish around .500, maybe a little better. But to make up 8 ½ games on the Giants, or to jump back into the wild-card race is asking a little much.
The Good: Second baseman Mark Loretta is playing well (.310), Ryan Klesko still has some power (19 homers, 52 RBIs), rookie Xavier Nady is playing admirably after being forced into duty (.260), Sean Burroughs is making up for last year (.305) and All-Star Rondell White has 16 homers and 52 RBIs.
The Bad: The pitching is not good. Not good at all. Jake Peavy is the only starter with a winning record (8-7, 4.55). The hitting is not as good as it looks. San Diego ranks 15th in homers and 15th in slugging (.390). The preseason injuries to Phil Nevin and Trevor Hoffman have cast a pall over this club that hasn't let up all season.
What's Next: The Padres started 7-7, then went on a six-week freefall during which they went 8-33. That about sealed the deal. Now, they're looking forward to some more revenues when their new ballpark opens next year. That's what's next for the Padres: Next year.
