SI.com's Ryan Hunt takes a poke at answering a few baseball questions.

BQ	Who are the most unheralded pitchers in the pennant race?

Miguel Batista didn't even start the season in the Diamondbacks' rotation. M. David Leeds/Allsport It's hard to miss the numbers put up by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. You can't ignore Mark Prior or Kerry Wood. And it's taken Dontrelle Willis three months become a household name. Not coincidentally, all of those pitchers are in the playoff race. And for good reason. But don't forget these five pitchers, who have had just as big an impact on the postseason chase, often from the lower end of the rotation. Mark Redman, Marlins: The D-Train came from nowhere, but Redman has been just as big of a surprise. After all, this is the same pitcher who lost 15 games in Detroit last season (which is becoming easy to do). But Redman, who has a 10-5 record with a sparkling 2.82 ERA, has become a strikeout pitcher with his development of a nasty changeup -- in 65 2/3 fewer innings, he's struck out only eight fewer batters than all of last season. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs: Outside of the A's, does any team have a scarier trio of young pitchers than the Cubs? But while Oakland's Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder all get their fair share of publicity, Zambrano can't escape the shadows of Wood and Prior. But with 11 wins and a 3.08 ERA -- better than Wood, Mulder and Zito -- Zambrano won't be in the background much longer. Joel Pineiro, Mariners: Pineiro is one of four Mariners starters with a sub-4.00 ERA (Freddy Garcia is the lone outcast), but it's still Garcia and 40-year-old Jamie Moyer's team ... for now. AL hitters have only a .233 average against Pineiro, which puts the 24-year-old in the vicinity of Pedro, Zito, Hudson and Esteban Loaiza. Miguel Batista, Diamondbacks: He's not just hiding behind the Unit and Schilling; Batista has been obscured by rookie Brandon Webb, as well. But Batista's 2.86 ERA ranks 10th in the majors, even though Arizona only has been able to get him seven victories. Darrell May, Royals: Speaking of someone who gets no run support, May has won only five games this season despite an ERA of 3.76. And while Lima Time gets the pub, May has been a stable force in a surprising Royals rotation all season. The 31-year-old lefty was out of baseball for four seasons before coming back to post a 5.35 ERA in Kansas City last season. This season, he's allowed opponents to hit just .241, which ranks eighth in the AL.

BQ	Will the Royals' season still be a success if they miss the playoffs?

It all depends on how you look at it. Certainly, no one expected to the Royals to be in contention in late August. Just finishing .500 is a victory in itself for Kansas City, considering it kicks in an extension clause in All-Star Mike Sweeney's contract. And the Royals need to win only 17 of their final 43 games to reach .500. Forget .500, though. The Royals can become the first team to win a division title after a 100-loss season in more than a century. But, remember, this was a team that had a seven-game lead at the All-Star break. Only two teams (the '93 San Francisco Giants and the '78 Boston Red Sox) have failed to hold on to an All-Star break lead that big. They've still got a 1 1/2-game lead over the hard-charging White Sox, who have a much tougher schedule down the stretch. The Twins, meanwhile, can't beat anyone consistently besides the Tigers after their surprising 2002 uprising. But if the Royals don't win the AL Central, it will be a tough final chapter to a storybook season.

BQ	Has Mike Hampton turned it around?

Hey, he's won seven consecutive decisions and hasn't lost since July 1. In that eight-start span, he's lowered his ERA almost a half point (from 4.70 to 4.21). But make no mistake, this isn't the same Hampton who won 22 games for the Astros in 1999. But he's also not the version who imploded in Colorado. The key for Hampton -- or more important, the Braves -- is that he is getting deep into ballgames. In his past eight starts, he's pitched at least six innings every time and gone into the seventh in all but one. The big difference? The decrease in walks; he's walked more than two batters only once since July 1. Still, in that span, he's had only three quality starts (six or more innings, three or fewer runs), including the past two. Before a recent 17-inning span in which he allowed two combined runs, Hampton gave up four runs or more in five of his six starts after July 1. He was 4-0 in those starts. But when you're pitching for the Braves, if you can get into the seventh inning allowing four runs or fewer, you're going to win some games ... at least in the regular season.