Inside The N.L. West

Sporting News, The, July 17, 2000

Who's HOT

LF Luis Gonzalez topped off a strong streak in fine fashion last week when he became the first Diamondbacks player to hit for the cycle, which included his 18th homer of the year. Gonzalez hit .462 over a seven-day stretch to improve his average to .311.

Who's NOT

Padres relievers have done their part in keeping San Diego in last place, The bullpen was tagged with six losses in a recent stretch. Through last Saturday, the bullpen already had 18 losses, four shy of the total for all of 1999.

CIRCLE THE CALENDAR

The division competition will have to wait awhile for another shot at the Diamondbacks. Arizona doesn't play any N.L. West teams until September 11, a stretch of 67 games. In the final three weeks of the season, the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies have at least one series against Arizona.

Keep an eye on

When there's a Giant on base and 2B Jeff Kent is up, it's likely that Giant will score. Kent had a league-high 82 RBIs through last Saturday. Going for his fourth consecutive 100-RBI season, Kent was batting .373 with runners in scoring position.

High and inside

Through last Saturday, the Padres had yet to pitch a complete game. Matt Clement, who has never gone the distance in 51 career starts, was pulled with two outs to go in a 7-2 victory over the Dodgers last week.

TSN's Wired World

To get an idea of how consistent Dodgers RHP Kevin Brown is, consider: In only one of his first 17 starts did he allow more than three earned runs. In that start, he allowed four. For more on the Dodgers, visit:

sportingnews.com/baseball/teams/dodgers

PROSPECT WATCH

If the Rockies decide to make a trade before the deadline, one of the prospects teams might be asking about is LHP Chuck Crowder. The 23-year-old out of Georgia Tech won nine of 10 starts in one stretch and was 10-4 with a 3.01 ERA for Class A Salem (Va.) through last Saturday.

Arizona

50-37: 1st

Finding a No. 2 starter is Diamondbacks' No. 1 priority

SECOND-HALF STRATEGY: Though the first half may have seemed disappointing, the team actually is in better shape than it was a year ago, when it was 2 1/2 games back at the All-Star break. A straightened-out bullpen had a lot to do with last season's second-half surge, and the hope this year is that getting the lineup back intact will have the same effect. 3B Matt Williams, who missed the first six weeks with a broken foot and then was sidelined by a strained quadriceps, is expected back at full strength this week. 1B Erubiel Durazo, who has had a sore right wrist all year, should return soon. Putting those two in the lineup will give pitchers two more bats to fear.

MOVES TO MAKE: Right field has been an unproductive spot all season, but the primary need is a starting pitcher. No. 2 starter Todd Stottlemyre is out until September with elbow tendinitis, and struggling No. 3 starter Omar Daal has been banished to the bullpen. Rookies Geraldo Guzman and Nelson Figueroa will be given shots, but it can't be assumed they'll succeed, so Arizona is scouting all the usual pitching suspects. The problem is, what the Diamondbacks really want is a true No. 2, and there aren't any readily available. Adding the Phils' Curt Schilling probably would require a package including RHP Byung-Hyun Kim (that won't happen), and giving up talent to rent someone like Baltimore's Mike Mussina for two months isn't appealing. Pittsburgh's Francisco Cordova, however, might be available for the right price.

FEARLESS FORECAST: The Giants, Rockies and Dodgers have their strengths, but Arizona heads into the second half with the N.L. West lead and should be favored to win the division, mostly because of pitching. With LHP Randy Johnson going every fifth day and the bullpen deep and steady, the Diamondbacks should be able to repeal They may not win 100 games again, but they may not have to. Johnson has an outside chance to surpass his 1999 strikeout total of 364 and should top his team-record 17 victories. --Ed Price

MIDSEASON GRADES

OFFENSE C

Rookie OF Jason Conti has driven in more runs than the injured Matt Williams.

PITCHING B

The league's top starter and best bullpen make up for weaknesses.

OFFENSE B

The outfielders and catchers have been excellent in the field all season.

DIAMOND BACKS

               AVG    G     AB     R     H   HR   RBI

(*)Ryan( )    .333    2      6     1     2    0     0
Counsell( )   .321   24     56     7    18    2     6
Gonzalez( )   .311   87    331    63   103   16    53
Colbrunn      .307   52    114    15    35    6    19
Finley( )     .299   86    308    64    92   24    69
Womack( )     .280   80    354    48    99    5    32
Miller        .280   51    161    24    45    8    28
(*)Klassen    .265   25     68    12    18    2     8
Bell          .265   84    325    53    86    9    31
(*)Conti( )   .250    9     24     2     6    0     6
Lee( )        .231   68    216    32    50    8    39
Stinnett      .229   44    153    17    35    8    28
Bautista      .212   66    132    16    28    6    17
Frias(#)      .197   43     71     9    14    1     5

                  OBP    SLG   SB   K    BB   E

(*)Ryan( )       .333   .667    0    1    0   0
Counsell( )      .415   .462    1    6    9   2
Gonzalez( )      .404   .553    1   45   49   2
Colbrunn         .448   .544    0   20   23   5
Finley( )        .379   .594    6   45   38   2
Womack( )        .304   .393   18   34   10   9
Miller           .350   .516    2   34   17   5
(*)Klassen       .342   .397    1   18    8   2
Bell             .354   .422    3   55   45   6
(*)Conti( )      .357   .375    2    3    4   0
Lee( )           .304   .398    5   43   23   4
Stinnett         .302   .431    0   39   11   4
Bautista         .250   .402    3   26    7   1
Frias(#)         .288   .268    2    9    9   5

GRAND SLAMS: Harris, Miller (1)

               ERA     W-L    G     IP     H    R    ER

Johnson( )    1.77   13-2    18   137.2    92   32   27
Kim           2.11    2-3    35    42.2    23   12   10
(*)Padilla    2.15    2-0    23    29.1    26    7    7
Swindell( )   2.29    1-2    32    39.1    32   11   10
Plesac( )     3.80    1-0    31    21.1    20   13    9
Anderson( )   4.31    8-3    18   117.0   128   59   56
Morgan        4.31    4-2    31    64.2    69   31   31
Springer      5.73    2-2    28    33.0    34   22   21
Reynoso       5.81    5-6    16    83.2    93   56   54
Daal( )       7.36    2-10   18    91.2   121   86   75
Mantei        7.71    1-1    23    21.0    21   19   18

                HR     K    BB   SV   Avg.

Johnson( )      13    185   34    0   .193
Kim              4     71   15   14   .155
(*)Padilla       0     26    6    0   .236
Swindell( )      3     34   10    1   .219
Plesac( )        3     24   15    0   .247
Anderson( )     21     62   19    0   .284
Morgan          10     29   23    5   .288
Springer         6     28   23    0   .268
Reynoso         13     43   26    0   .285
Daal( )         17     41   40    0   .314
Mantei           4     23   18    3   .263