Barry Zito is hot - really?

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Hot: Conor Jackson has finally started producing – about bloody time too. Over his last ten games, Jackson is hitting .375 with two home runs, five RBI, and two runs scored. Okay, it really is not that awesome with the lacks of runs and RBI, but take what you can get from Jackson at this point.

Not: Eric Byrnes has been huge all year, but he has been coming up short of late, when the Diamondbacks need him most. Byrnes is hitting just .184 with a home run, four RBI, and seven runs over the last ten games. Byrnes also has four stolen bases too, so as long as you can take the batting average hit he has been still helping, but that is a painful average for as many at-bats – 38 – as he picked up.

Colorado Rockies

Hot: Ubaldo Jimenez is settling into a nice groove, with four straight quality starts. During that time, Jimenez has racking up 23 strikeouts and walked only five, and he has won both decisions in that time.

Not: Remember when Todd Helton was an RBI machine? Remember all those seasons with fat homer numbers? Fine, yes, over his last ten games, he is hitting .371, but when you sign Todd Helton, you think you are signing Todd Helton, not Luis Castillo. During those same ten games, he has no homers and just two RBI – that is truly pathetic. His last home run came way back on August 19.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Hot: The Dodgers are morons. All Matt Kemp has done when he plays is produce, but the Dodgers kept finding ways to not play him – after all, why would anyone want to play a talented rookie when one can play a “proven” veteran instead? Kemp is hitting .333 over his last ten games with a home run, four RBI, five runs scored, and three stolen bases – one has to wonder how good the Dodgers might have been had Kemp received everyday at-bats all year.

Not: No matter what uniform he puts on, Shea Hillenbrand can find a way to suck in it. Over his last ten games, Triple-A Shea is hitting .216 with a home run, six RBI, and four runs scored. Brilliant signing by a front office bound and determined to sign every mediocre player that once played in Boston. In case Ned Colletti is wondering, Erik Hanson and Vaughn Eshelman are probably floating around somewhere.

San Diego Padres

Hot: It is too late to save this year for Kevin Kouzmanoff, but he is out there now trying to make a case for himself for next year. Kouzmanoff is doing a good job of that over the last ten games, as he hit .359 with a home run, three RBI, and six runs scored.

Not: Somewhere along the way, Michael Barrett forgot how to hit. Over his last ten games, Barrett has just five hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .161 batting average, with no home runs nor RBI and just three runs scored.

San Francisco Giants

Hot: In the “whodathunkit” department, Barry Zito is hot. Zito has tossed five straight quality starts, the last four of which were all at least seven innings. In his last four outings, Zito has allowed just four earned runs while striking out 24 and walking just four. Of course, because of how pathetic this club is, Zito won just one of those four.

Not: Is there really any reason for Ryan Klesko to keep getting chances to show why he is done? Over his last ten games, Klesko is hitting just .207, with no home runs and only three RBI. Is there a weaker first baseman out there?

Questions and comments can be sent to markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com