D-backs Notebook: D-backs prepare for playoff push

The next three games will dictate the remainder of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2008 campaign.

That might seem hyperbolic, considering a major league baseball team takes part in 162 games every season, with each of them counting equally. But this weekend series in Los Angeles to take on the suddenly red-hot Dodgers may decide which NL West team is still playing competitive baseball into October.

Since that disappointing three-game slide in San Diego against the cellar-dwelling Padres, the Diamondbacks (71-68) have alternated wins and losses to hold a razor-thin division lead.

Outside of a pair of three-game winning streaks, August was a month the Diamondbacks would rather forget, finishing 12-15 overall and struggling to find any sort of rhythm in the batter’s box or the bullpen.

In addition, the squad lost Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson to a season-ending wrist injury on Aug. 9. Justin Upton spent most of August on the disabled list, as well, before returning to action late last week.

On the bright side for the D-backs, scrappy infielder David Eckstein has also made his presence felt. Since coming over from Toronto on Sunday, Eckstein has tallied four hits in three games and helped to add some much-needed defensive depth at second base.

Not to be outdone, the deal for former Cincinnati Reds’ slugger Adam Dunn has boosted in the middle of the line-up, where he has hit .281 to go along with 27 walks (bringing his league-leading total to 105) and three dingers. Dunn’s heroics late in Wednesday night’s 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals turned what looked to be another loss into an exciting win — the type of one-run victory the D-backs thrived on last season.

Rays steal thunder

Perhaps the come-from-behind victory will kick-start a September rally for a team that has been less than inspired since that nightmarish month of May.

If one takes a look at the numbers, the team batting average (.252) is roughly the same as last season’s 90-win team, and the 4.01 team ERA among the best in the National League.

However, that aggressive style of play and that sense of urgency that turned the Diamondbacks into a “whole exceeds the sum of the parts” type of squad last season has been sorely lacking.

This team still doesn’t steal any bases (50 so far, 27th in the majors) and fans don’t see manager Bob Melvin employ as many hit-and-run plays as he did during his Manager of the Year campaign in 2007.

Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski (perhaps the most consistently great sportswriter currently working) wrote a piece for SI.com discussing the Tampa Bay Rays — an overachieving group of youngsters that have charged to the top of the AL East and given fans of every small-market baseball club a glimmer of hope.

The Rays have infiltrated the division’s top spot — a perch typically reserved for the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox — behind a dominant starting rotation, an air-tight bullpen, a sparkling home record (53-20), and an opportunistic offense.

“Their lineup is not overpowering — the Rays are ninth in the league in runs scored — but they walk a lot (second in the AL), and they play aggressively (they lead the league in stolen bases and are third in triples),” Posnanski writes.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like the 2007 Diamondbacks?

What happened?

Of course, the Diamondbacks could ride the Eckstein/Dunn acquisitions and the scorching Stephen Drew (12 out of his last 26, including Chase Field’s first-ever cycle on Monday) through September and repeat as NL West champions.

But this season’s game plan seems to have only two options:

Option No. 1: Hope Brandon Webb (19-6, 2.96 ERA, front-runner for the NL Cy Young award) and Dan Haren (14-7, 3.24 ERA, 176 strikeouts, 1.09 WHIP) shut down the opposition.

Option No. 2: Cross fingers and hope for the best.

It’s no secret that this season’s bullpen has fallen off the pace of last year’s top-notch group. The D-backs dealt reigning NL saves king Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros in a defensible move this past off-season, but his absence has forced each of the remaining relievers into uncomfortable positions.

Brandon Lyon, last season’s premier set-up man, has not flourished in the closer’s role. While he has tallied 26 saves, he’s racked up a 4.76 ERA with four losses and five blown saves.

Before his terrific performance in the St. Louis series, set-up man Chad Qualls was slogging through a forgettable second half, blowing seven saves and losing eight decisions.

The only somewhat consistent reliever this season has been fire-baller Juan Cruz, who will likely see as much action as he can handle throughout the stretch run.

D-backs fans hope this up-and-down bullpen doesn’t dip into one of its valleys on this L.A. trip.

Despite injuries to Jeff Kent (knee), Nomar Garciaparra (knee, fatigue), Rafael Furcal (back), Juan Pierre (back) and Andruw Jones (general uselessness), the Dodgers have won five straight — including a pair at Chase field last weekend — and climbed back to within striking distance of the NL West playoff spot.

Since coming over from the Boston Red Sox in baseball’s most talked-about deadline deal, Manny Ramirez is hitting .407 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI.

James Loney, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Russell Martin have shined throughout the season, with Chad Billingsley, Derek Lowe and Hiroki Kuroda anchoring the pitching staff (team ERA: 3.76, No. 1 in the NL).

For both the Dodgers and the D-backs, the push for the postseason begins tonight at 7:05 p.m.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747

This weekend

Game 1: Friday, 7:05 p.m. Dan Haren versus Derek Lowe. ESPN.

Game 2: Saturday, 12:55 p.m. Brandon Webb versus Chad Billingsley. FOX.

Game 3: Sunday, 1:10 p.m. Randy Johnson versus Clayton Kershaw. FSN.