Will Arizona win NL West?

The Padres have lost five of six and are in a panic mode.

The Dodgers have lost five of seven and seem to be swimming upstream against the current.

So, how about those Arizona Diamondbacks to win the NL West?

The Diamondbacks, who have won five straight, are just 1 ½ games behind the division-leading Dodgers. They are one-half game behind the Padres; who can’t hit … and suddenly can’t pitch.

As much as the Padres might try to spin it differently, the Scott Linebrink trade for three minor leaguers with Milwaukee was not about this season. If it were, pitchers such as Jake Peavy and David Wells would not have been so outspoken about it.

Linebrink has been terrible lately, but who hasn’t among the Padres? Take away Chris Young, Milton Bradley and Brian Giles (at times), then tell me who has been shining this month.

Marcus Giles looks to be all but history at second base. Michael Barrett has yet to draw a walk in the five weeks since the Padres obtained him from the Chicago Cubs; this on a team that prides itself on going deep in the count at the plate.

It may look grim here, but how about those Dodgers and the injuries they keep piling up?

Any votes for Arizona to win the division?

Are the Padres becoming whiners?

David Wells approached the home plate umpire Saturday after giving up a home run.

The Padres pitcher argued balls and strikes, was told to return to the mound, then got ejected for coming back to argue more.

Finally, he ended his day with the childish behavior of throwing the ball against the netting behind home plate.

Greg Maddux spent Sunday arguing balls and strikes with the plate umpire. It’s obvious they’re not calling pitches off the plate strikes for him any more.

When Marcus Giles struck out to end Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Atlanta on a called strike off the plate, ESPN announcer Jon Miller said, “Those were the pitches Maddux wanted all night to be strikes.”

The unfortunate question now is: Are the Padres becoming whiners?

Perhaps that should be deferred to other teams.

The Florida Marlins certainly tired of watching Padres leadoff batter Brian Giles draw walks against them. Arguably, a lot of the pitches called balls were the same ones Wells and Maddux were begging for to be strikes.

“Brian Giles is a product of the system,” TV analyst Tommy Hutton said on FSN Florida. “I guarantee you if a few of those borderline pitches would be called strikes, he’d start swinging more.”

Maddux and Wells are being squeezed much more lately, not unlike all other pitchers. But as soon as the umpires start calling those pitches strikes, it’s certainly going to impact Brian Giles’ approach at the plate.

Padres suffer power outage

If pitching and defense win championships, the Padres may be in luck.

But if it comes down to power, the Padres may be in the tank.

Why? Five of the eight position players in their starting line-up during last night’s 3-2 win over Cincinnati have not hit a home run in May.

Mike Cameron did homer May 8 against Atlanta. Adrian Gonzalez homered May 9 against the Braves and Khalil Greene hit a round-tripper May 11 against St. Louis.

The remainder of the starting eight?

Brian Giles has not homered in 104 at bats since April 14.
Marcus Giles has not homered in 84 at bats since April 16.
Kevin Kouzmanoff has not homered in 59 at bats since April 14.
Jose Cruz Jr. has not homered in 48 at bats since April 27.
Josh Bard has not homered in 40 at bats since April 30.

Mike Piazza, where are you? (Or for that matter, where are Jack Cust … and Phil Nevin?)

Vin Scully: Simply the Best

Vin Scully is simply the best.

No other Major League Baseball television announcer can compare to the play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Listening to Scully is like taking a walk along the beach, listening to the waves. It's calm, relaxing and just a joyful sound to hear.

One of the things that makes Scully so great is his knowledge of the opposing team. This past weekend against the San Diego Padres, for instance, Scully came up with some gems that went well beyond the Padre media guide. Did you know ...

Shortstop Khalil Greene's father served as a Marine in Vietnam.

First baseman Adrian Gonzalez comes from a family that owns an air conditioning firm with five locations in San Diego County.

Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff played on a high school team in Evergreen, Colo., which never had a home game his senior season because of too much snow at 7,000 feet.

Then there are those famed Scully quotes.

After the Dodgers failed on a couple bunt attempts: "The art of bunting. You think it would be so easy."

When San Diego's Marcus Giles swung and missed a pitch from Takashi Saito: Marcus looked back at him as if to say, 'Where did that come from?' Well, it came from Japan."

On Padres hefty pitcher David Wells: "He grew up a surfer. Obviously, he needed a big board. Now, he's 'Hanging 10' on the mound at Petco Park."

Upon Derek Lowe being pulled from a game: "For Derek Lowe, he was cut off at the appropriate number of pitches -- 86."

The Scully quips and quotes are unending. Nobody does it better.