NL West

Like most fans out there, I was completely fine with the Vicente Padilla deal. He cost the prorated league minimum and has pitched well thus far.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers made it through the weekend and took care of business.

The offense finally came alive and boomed for 19 runs in the first two games against a tough Giants pitching staff.

On Friday night, they worked Matt Cain for a 31-pitch first inning, in which they plated two runs en route to a 10-3 win.

The key hit in the first inning was a James Loney two-out, two RBI double.

The San Diego Padres were left for dead in late July, but since the All-Star break, this team has shown that they could be a definite factor next season.

There is finally a hint of promise in San Diego and it's not because the San Diego Chargers are about to kick off their 2009 season tonight against Oakland.

I'll be honest, when the Giants signed Brad Penny on Aug. 31, I wasn't thinking he could recreate what he did the last time he was considered a legitimate major-league pitcher when he first strapped on the orange and black.

Not only was his time in Boston a complete disaster, his 2008 in sunny SoCal wasn't exactly something you want to remember either.

With all the hoopla surrounding the onslaught of the National Football League's Opening Weekend as well as a couple huge college football games, the San Francisco Giants' weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers flew almost completely off the radar.

In truth, I don't really have a beef with that—the return of such monsters as well as the renewal of storied college rivalries merit every drop of ink they got.

Yorvit Torrealba did his best to be the hero for the second night in a row, but the Colorado Rockies ended up losing in the 10th inning on a bases-loaded walk to Padres pinch-hitter Nick Hundley.

Never, ever go to sleep on these Rockies.

Never let it be said that my fear of the Baseball Gods' wrath is phobic. Exaggerated perhaps, but certainly not unfounded or illogical.

"As a die-hard San Francisco Giant fan with a long memory pockmarked by devastation, I'm trying not to get too excited. But it's getting harder and harder..."

I wrote those words to end an article about Brad Penny's resplendent debut against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost starting pitcher Eric Milton for an extended period of time after he underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a herniated disc from his back. The 33-year-old is most likely out for the rest of the season.

The initial injury occurred sometime during an outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 5.

During the game, Milton failed to cover first base on a ground ball. When Milton returned to the dugout, he denied that he had been hurt. However, manager Joe Torre saw Milton grasping his back and knew something was most likely wrong.