The National League West could very well be decided this weekend at Chavez Ravine as the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams met last weekend in Phoenix, and the Dodgers took two out of three to cut further into the D-Backs’ division lead. Since taking the last two games at Chase Field, the Dodgers went on to sweep San Diego, while the Diamondbacks were taking two out of three from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Normally in September when there’s two teams separated by less than two games, the media would be all over the series. But the media, and fans, realize that one of these teams will win the NL West by default, and quite possibly with a losing record. The Dodgers are a very underwhelming 23-21 since the All-Star break, while the D-Backs have gone 23-20. This is the final matchup between these two teams this season, unless they subject us to play a one-game playoff in the event of a tie. Imagine the drama of a team fighting to go above .500 and clinching a division title in the process!

Here’s a closer look at both teams…

Los Angeles Dodgers (70-70, 2nd place in NL West, 1.5 games behind Arizona)

Manager: Joe Torre (1st year with Dodgers, 70-70)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: James Loney, .304

Runs: Matt Kemp, 80

Hits: James Loney, 157

HR: Andre Ethier, 19

RBI: James Loney, 76

SB: Juan Pierre, 38

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Derek Lowe, 180.2

Wins: Chad Billingsley, 13

ERA: Chad Billingsley, 3.13

Strikeouts: Chad Billingsley, 177

Saves: Takashi Saito, 17

Bottom Line: All snarkiness aside, there is a couple of intriguing things about this 3-game series. The most intriguing is the fact that the Diamondbacks can’t get Manny Ramirez out. I’m not kidding. Honestly, most of the National League hasn’t been able to get Manny out. He’s hitting .407 with 10 home runs and 29 rbis since coming to L.A. He’s hitting a ridiculous .529 against the Diamondbacks this season. And let’s not forget, he played against Arizona in a 3-game Interleague series in June, and went only 2 for 12 in that series. So, since joining the Dodgers, Manny is 16 for 22 against the Diamondbacks! For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s .727! THAT’S AN AIRPLANE, NOT A BATTING AVERAGE! Good hitters in slow pitch softball are hard-pressed to put up numbers like that.

But Manny is not the only Dodger who’s been swinging a hot bat. First baseman James Loney is hitting .421 in the last two weeks. Andre Ethier has hit 4 home runs in the last 14 days. More potentially bad news for the D-Backs…shortstop Rafael Furcal and closer Takashi Saito could both be close to returning for manager Joe Torre. Despite the bad records, it’ll be a fun 3 weeks in L.A. and Phoenix.

Los Angeles’ pitchers vs. Arizona

Tonight: Derek Lowe (2008: 11-11, 3.69 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 5-7, 4.01 ERA)

Saturday: Chad Billingsley (2008: 12-10, 3.15 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 5-4, 3.74 ERA)

Sunday: Clayton Kershaw (2008: 3-5, 4.50 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (71-68, 1st place in NL West, 1.5 games ahead of Los Angeles)

Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 314-312)

Offensive Leaders:

AVG: Orlando Hudson, .305

Runs: Mark Reynolds, 83

Hits: Stephen Drew, 151

HR: Mark Reynolds, 27

RBI: Mark Reynolds, 92

SB: Chris Young, 10

Pitching Leaders:

INN: Brandon Webb, 192

Wins: Brandon Webb, 19

ERA: Brandon Webb, 3.19

Strikeouts: Dan Haren, 176

Saves: Brandon Lyon, 26

Bottom Line:Despite pretty shaky starting pitching, the Diamondbacks took two out of three from St. Louis, mostly due to the Cardinals’ horrific bullpen. Stephen Drew was red hot against the Cards, going 7 for 14 in the 3 games, including hitting for the cycle in Monday’s opener. He’s hitting .462 since going 0 for San Diego early last week. David Eckstein has been a sparkplug for the Diamondbacks in his short time with the team, hitting .364 with 3 rbis against St. Louis.

But all the intrigue surrounding the Diamondbacks is related to their starting pitching. With their obvious deficiencies for much of the season offensively, defensively and in the bullpen, the rotation has been the key for the Snakes staying in first place since the first week of the season. The starting pitching has been, in a word, brutal in the last week plus for manager Bob Melvin. In their last 6 starts combined, Dan Haren, Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson have a collective ERA of 7.67 and given up 10 home runs. By the way, the Diamondbacks are 1-5 in those 6 starts. If Arizona has any chance to hold off the Dodgers, this trio, who will pitch this weekend, needs to return to their early season form, and quick.

Arizona’s pitchers vs. Los Angeles:

Tonight: Dan Haren (2008: 14-7, 3.24 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 3-2, 3.86 ERA)

Saturday: Brandon Webb (2008: 19-6, 3.19 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 10-4, 2.94 ERA)

Sunday: Randy Johnson (2008: 10-9, 4.21 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 8-6, 2.72 ERA)

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