NL West

With the MLB playoffs just around the corner, San Francisco Giants are on verge of eliminating the San Diego Padres from the divisional race and claim their first NL West crown since 2003. 

Barry Bonds isn’t the big bopper in the lineup anymore and Jason Schmidt isn’t the ace of the pitching staff. 

Instead the 2010 Giants have a young catcher by the name of Buster Posey leading the way on offense and a pitching staff led by two time NL CY Young Award winner Time Lincecum.

On August 25, the San Diego Padres were the class of the National League. They were 76-50 and had a six game lead over the San Francisco Giants. The Padres were the surprise team of baseball, picked by most experts to finish in fourth in the NL West. 

Led by young starting pitching and a reliable closer in Heath Bell, the Padres had led the division a majority of the season. Manager Bud Black had done a phenomenal job with the club and was the front-runner to win NL Manager of the Year. 

One more.

That's all the San Diego Padres can afford before their off season officially begins a lot sooner than they thought it would.

Looking back to the end of August, the Padres had what most would consider a big lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants. Fast forward one month, and not only is their lead gone but the deficit has reached its breaking point after losing 22 of their last 34 games.

San Francisco Giants have been one of the hottest teams in all of Major League baseball since the start of September. After a rough August that saw them play unimpressive baseball to the tune of a .464 winning percentage for the month, they have bounced back to be one of the best teams in baseball.

Although there are only four games remaining in the 2010 regular season, things are active with regards to the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff. This news covers not only those on the major league staff but also pitchers in Tucson attending Instructional League.

Let’s begin with the major league roster. Starter Ian Kennedy made his final start of the season last night against the San Francisco Giants. Kennedy pitched well going five innings allowing just five hits.

They were called the Cinderella team of 2010: a collection of second-hand, ragtag players who stepped it up all season long and put together a season of shock and awe in San Diego.

Now, with just three games left in the regular season, all the magic potions in the universe may not be enough to help the San Diego Padres.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the magic number is one, and the Padres are coming to town. With the postseason scent filling out nostrils, it is time to take inventory, which provides good information and fun speculation. First, it is necessary to recall what we know as facts, as much as there can be in sports.

The Giants have a magic number of one.

The only way the Giants do not win the division is for the struggling Padres to win four in a row against San Francisco.

What I am trying to say is that it's over.

For those who have commented on my articles, I will say it: I was wrong. But I did say the Giants would win the division at the beginning of the season.

When the 2010 season began, very few people thought that the Rockies would be looking forward to the 2011 season by the end of September. However, they find themselves in that position in their final series of the season in St. Louis.

Unless something dramatic occurs at the McCourt divorce trial, it's very safe to say that Frank McCourt will maintain control of the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into 2011. Even if Jamie finds herself on the winning end of Judge Scott Gordon's decision, it's quite possible that the appeals process could take up to several years, which would leave Frank in control indefinitely.