Talking Baseball

It was only a couple of years ago when the NL West was one of the worst division in baseball.

Then, that all seemed to change when the Padres, Diamondbacks and Dodgers all battled each other for supremecy in the West as well as being three dominant teams within the National League.

Now, the tables have turned once again as not one team within the NL West division has a record above .500. Not one. As much as I don’t enjoy the satire that ESPN anchors shove down our throats during each edition of Sports Center, one line was actually entertaining this morning.

It went something like this: “It’s ashame there is a rule that someone has to win the NL West because there isn’t a team in the division with a winning record.”

I agree with that sentiment. With the Diamondbacks losing two of three to the Phillies over the weekend, they have fallen to below .500 after starting the season as one of the best teams in all of baseball.

In 2005, the Phillies missed the playoffs by a slim margin, but could have been a postseason team if they were in the NL West. Their record for 2005 was 88-74, second to the Braves in the NL East, and was better than the West division winning San Diego Padres (82-80).

The Phillies had won 6 more games than the Padres in 2005 and still didn’t reach the playoffs. The NL West was the laughing stock of the National League in 2005, became respectable in 2006 and 2007, and has since returned to being the worst division in not only the National League but all of baseball with every team under .500.

It’s ashame that someone does have to win the NL West because the NL East race is shaping up to be one of the best in the past five years. The Phillies have a .5 game lead on the Mets, who have won nine straight, and the Marlins are 1.5 games out of first place. And here’s the catch; each of those three teams have records over .500. In fact, the Marlins are five games over .500, and are in third place in the East.

The Diamondbacks, in first place in the West, are one game under .500. The first place team. Come on! The West is an embarrassment to baseball. Yet, one of those teams will make it to the playoffs. At least it will only be one, since none of them have a shot as of today to win the Wild Card spot.

The NL West needs a lot of improvement if they want to be regarded as the toughest division in the National League. Right now, that honor has to go to the NL East because the top three teams are only separated by 1.5 games.

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