Around the League-NL West

Reporting on the NL West is toe64.

Twenty games later and the NL West has changed - very little. The favorite, Seattle, has taken 1st Place by 2 games over the lackluster Night Watchmen who will need more than a night at the museum to come back to life. The Prairie Dogs remain hidden in their burrows and trail by 8 games while the Komodo Dragons are their own worst predator trailing by 9.

Seattle is 24-16 (another solid 12-8 since our last report) and continue to be driven forward by one of the best pitching rotations in the league (12-4, ERA 2.48, SO 99, during this 20 game stretch). C Fausto Gandarilla (11 game hitting streak, 17 more RBIs, 3 more HRs) and LF Miguel Mesa (10 more RBIs, 5 more HRs) continue to tear it up at the plate.

Colorado Springs is 22-18 but went a sub-par 9-11 being outscored by opponents 99 -78. Poor pitching, especially from the bullpen, and some minor injuries to key position players - RF Pedro Reyes and CF King Ashburn - were the major contributors. A ML promotion of SP prospect Caleb Einertson has helped but too early to tell if it will be enough.

Oklahoma City went 9-11 (16-24) and Albuquerque went 8-12 (15-25) while slightly improved over the prior 20 games, still lost ground. The Prairie Dogs are once again on a 4 game winning streak and continue to be led by the bat of 3B John Satou, now with help from CF Carlos Zorilla. Efforts to bring the Prairie Dogs out of their endless network of tunnels include recent promotions of P Tim Duncan, P Edgardo Bonilla, and 3B Buddy Sewell. The Komodo Dragons continue to rely on the bat of C Jorge Renteria and welcome the return of SS Kennie McCracken from the DL. They also look to the future with recently signed International Prospect CF Jorge Lopez.

Little known fact: At the time of this writing, the current 8 game winning streak by the Houston Roughnecks is courtesy of the NL West including a 4 game sweep over Seattle, a 3 game sweep of Colorado Springs, and taking the first game of the series from Albuquerque. "Dear Bagwelllbuff, HBD gift cards make excellent Thank You gifts. Sincerely, the NL West"