WEST        W  L  PCT  GB   HOME  ROAD  RS  RA  STRK  L10
x-San Diego   88 74 .543  -   43-38 45-36 731 679 Won 2  8-2
y-LA Dodgers  88 74 .543  -   49-32 39-42 820 751 Won 7  9-1
San Francisco 76 85 .472 11.5 43-38 33-47 746 790 Lost 4 1-9
Colorado      76 86 .469 12   44-37 32-49 813 812 Lost 1 5-5
Arizona       76 86 .469 12   39-42 37-44 773 788 Lost 2 4-6

Painting by: Charles Russell

11/27/06
The division is in motion more this off season than in most. Two teams, the Giants and the Padres, are changing managers. The Giants, however, signed the Padre manager while the Padres went with a green kid in Bud Black. There's been a few signings and trades so far in the division but the biggest news is who wasn't retained. The Giants appear to be letting their biggest names leave as Barry Bonds may be on the move as well as Jason Schmidt and Moises Alou. The Dodgers have let JD Drew test the free agent market while the DBacks have let fan favorite, Luis Gonzalez, go.

Some big names are reported to be possibly headed to the NL West. ESPN reported late Monday afternoon that the Red Sox are "aggressively" shopping Ramirez, listing the Dodgers and the Padres among the teams that have inquired about the veteran slugger who would become expendable if the Sox sign JD Drew. The San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier in the day that the Giants also are interested in Ramirez, but pointed out that there are numerous obstacles ahead, including the future of Barry Bonds. If he re-signs with the Giants, it would blow any potential trade for Ramirez right out of McCovey Cove.


There's still a few months to go so it'll be interesting to see how things shake out, however, the Rockies seemed well position to move up in the standings by doing virtually nothing especially if the teams in the division keep replacing their old established stars with over-paid lesser ones. An example of this is the Dodgers recent signing of Juan Pierre. The Rockies have a horrible time scoring in Dodger stadium, however, now with Pierre out in center, then look for the Rockie base runners moving up a base with more regularity than in the past.

We'll give more updates as the winter rolls on.

9/28/06
The Rockies finish with a 4-15 record against the hated Dodgers

9/20/06
The Rockies finish with a 10-8 record against the hated Giants.

9/17/06
The Rockies finish with a 7-12 record against the hated DBacks.

9/6/06
The Rockies finish with a 11-9 record against the hated Padres.

9/3/06.. MLB.com
Hurdle was asked what he thought of the up-and-down division on Saturday, and he had this to say: "I think this division is a lot better than people give credit to. ... The Dodgers are getting stronger as the season goes. The Giants have proven to be the Giants: They hang around and then come back. The Diamondbacks have reinvented themselves."

7/17/06
Moves:
The West is still a very tight division despite the Rockies current swoon.  The rumor mill has the Giants and Diamondbacks as possible sellers. San Francisco is taking calls about moving Jason Schmidt along with many of their old veterans who will be free agents Moises Alou, Ray Durham, Pedro Feliz, Todd Greene, Jose Vizcaino, Steve Kline, Steve Finley and Jamey Wright. Trading or releasing all these players could add $40-50 million in added flexibility for 2007. The DBacks find themselves in a similar positions albeit for different reasons. They are looking to move veterans like Gonzo and Shawn Green to make way for their younger/cheaper players.

The Dodgers and Padres are buyers. The Dodgers are looking for depth in the rotation and are considering making a move for Greg Maddux, Dontrelle Willis, Barry Zito and Livan Hernandez.  Offense is always a need especially with the injury to Jeff Kent. With that deep farm system one would expect a few moves indeed. The Padres are also looking to dump veterans like Vinny Castilla and Ryan Klesko and are seriously hunting for a younger thirdbaseman like Brewers' Billy Hall and Corey Koskie, the Braves' Wilson Betemit and Indians Triple-A prospect Andy Marte. Bench depth and starting pitching is also a concern.

7/12/06
The division is tight. The last-place DBacks are just five games back of the first-place Padres. It has been this close all season long. One team makes a little run, another keeps pace while the others tread water, then they switch dancing partners and do it again... never resulting in anything other than mediocrity.

With all that in mind, I think we can definitely get an idea as to who will probably win the division. So even though I still think the Giants have the best potential for a good starting rotation at the top, the Dodgers are probably going to capture it with around 90-95 wins. The Giants slide into second with 85-90. San Diego has a staff that is so bland that you wonder how they are holding it together but they will with  final effort being between 80-85. The good guys will bounce up and down on the .500 mark and also finish with 80-85 wins. The DBacks will clunk in at 75 wins or so.


5/15/06

It's plain to see now that the NL West is quite a bit better than most everyone and every sportswriter thought it would be. Obviously, the Rockies are leading the way in the surprise department with a winning record. The DBacks and the Padres with big winning streaks of late are making national headlines. And anybody that knows anything will tell you that once the Giants get the Bonds/Ruth thingy over with, then they'll start to play better mainly because of that nice rotation. And don't count out those Dodgers.. they have added a very veteran team over the winter and it is just taking some time for them to get their bearings.

It won't surprise me if 4 out of the five members are over .500 for the year. No, I doubt there will be any 100 game winners.. maybe not even any 90 game winners, but the race is certainly going to be tight the whole season.

"Everybody is dramatically improved from last year," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told BaseballWeekly.com. "I don't see any club in the division significantly above the other clubs, so I think it's going to come down to confidence, health and whoever gets on a roll."

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With the reintroduction of the unbalanced schedule a few years ago, it has become mightily important to play extremely well within the division. Generally the Rockies are horrible in that regard with it being especially brutal for them on the road. The seasons collapses can usually be pinpointed back to how inept the team has been within its own division and, of course, its failings elsewhere on the road. However, in this section, we'll just focus on comparing the Rockies to the other teams in the NL west.

One important way for the Rockies to become competitive is to improve their lot in the west. The team doesn't need to be this all mighty powerhouse in order to get into the tournament, it only needs to just be better than the other teams within the division. Of course that kind of thinking wont win you a World Series, but it at least gets you pointed in the right direction.