I think it's amazing how even though the Giants are now 13 games below .500, they're still considered to be a team that is "in the hunt." Before the season began, everybody was saying that the National League West is the weakest division in baseball and that it would end up being a four-way race.
As a Bay Area resident and long-time Giants fan, this season has both been astonishing but at the same time embarassing. The Giants just lost 2 out of 3 from the Last-placed Florida Marlins over the weekend. The Marlins have a better record than the Giants...and they're only 1 game over .500!!! The Padres could've easily ran away with the division, but after losing 7 in a row, the 3 other teams (Dodgers, D'Backs, and the Giants) now have a chance. God forbid that the Rockies get hot and actually get into the race, right now, it looks like anyone can walk away with the NL West Title.
The sad thing is, I really believe that this would be the first year that a team under .500 will still win a division title. Last time this happened was in '93 when the Braves finished 2 games below .500 (Correct me on that one, but I think they finished the season with a record of 79-83)
Whoever wins the division will have a lot of work ahead. Regardless how the season turns out, this will still be a laughable situation because of how the teams have just kept a "wait and see" attitude. And since they're all technically in the race, they can't really make any moves because of the impact that it may bring this season or next season.
Bottom line, if you're team is facing one of the NL West Teams in the playoffs (still hoping it's the Giants) you're as good as gold because there is absolutely no way that any of these teams have a shot in hell in winning the National League title...let alone finish the season with a .500 record or better.
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Topic: The Nl-west Race (Read 91 times)