New Rule: Public floggings for anyone that uses lack of wins to justify not voting Chris Young for Cy Young.

National League West Notes

Arizona Diamondbacks

Hot: Eric Byrnes continues to contribute across the board in every fantasy offensive category. For the month of July, Byrnes is hitting .276 with a home run, five RBI, nine runs, and nine stolen bases in 58 at-bats.

Not: Micah Owings started the season off strong, but he has tailed off significantly of late. In his last three starts, Owings is 0-3 with a 10.43 ERA and 1.91 WHIP. In 14 2/3 innings, Owings has nine strikeouts but he has also walked seven, and six of the 21 hits he has allowed left the yard.

Colorado Rockies

It’s a tale of two catchers…

Hot: Yorvit Torrealba is hot this month, hitting .375 with two home runs, seven RBI, and twelve runs scored, and he has struck out just four times, while also walking four times, in 40 at-bats. Torrealba has fully cemented himself as the everyday catcher.

Not: Chris Iannetta, meanwhile, was supposed to be the catcher of the future and a stud prospect, but he has fizzled out significantly in the bigs this year, and he has been horrific in the limited playing time he has received this month. Appearing in just six games, Iannetta is hitless in 17 at-bats. The only positive is that he has more walks than strikeouts, with three walks and two strikeouts, but when you are making outs at a rate of 17 per 20 plate appearances is there really much of a silver lining?

Los Angeles Dodgers

Hot: Is there anything Russell Martin cannot do? For the month of July, Martin is hitting .382 with two homers, twelve RBI, eight runs, and two stolen bases. Moreover, he is an excellent defensive catcher too. Yes, he really does do it all.

Not: Derek Lowe had just been cruising along, but he hit a few speed bumps when the calendar flipped over to July. In four starts this July, Lowe is 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP.

San Diego Padres

Hot: Can we give the Cy Young award to Chris Young now and just get it over with? Three starts, one win, 20 innings, nine hits, three walks, just one earned run, and 23 strikeouts – the only negative is the lack of wins, and no one can blame that on Young with those numbers. Of course, maybe someone can blame him – Joe Morgan would say he does not know how to win, and there are Cy voters out there that vote on wins, so the best pitcher might not win yet again.

Not: In four starts this month, Justin Germano is 1-3 with a 6.64 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP – the magic is gone here, folks.

San Francisco Giants

Hot: After a few rough outings, Tim Lincecum is back to being a dominating ace. In his last three starts, Lincecum is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA, with 25 strikeouts and eight walks in 19 1/3 innings.

Not: There was plenty of reason to be shocked by Matt Morris’ great early start, and absolutely no reason to believe that it would continue. It has not – in his last three starts, Morris is 0-2 with a 9.77 ERA and 1.98 WHIP, with almost as many home runs (4) as strikeouts (6).

Have a question or comment for Mark? Email him at markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com