by John Scanlan<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Dodgers are 7 games better than any other team in the NL, but that won\u2019t stop people from asking if they\u2019re \u201chearing footsteps\u201d.<\/p>\n
There are times I hear footsteps and there are times I don\u2019t hear footsteps.<\/p>\n
I hear thundering footsteps when I\u2019m at the Shakey\u2019s Bunch-o-Lunch with Torosian and I\u2019m getting ready to grab the last piece of fried chicken.<\/p>\n
I hear my own footsteps going in the opposite direction when Villanueva starts talking about horse racing, soccer and Formula One.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers started June with an 8 game lead in the division. It stands at 7 now. No, they\u2019re not hearing footsteps, so quit dreaming Giants and Rockies fans. Focus on attaining something achievable: the NL Wild Card.<\/p>\n
Much has been said of Jim Tracy\u2019s return sparking the Rockie. Like I said last year when Willie Randolph got fired and replaced with Jerry Manuel, there shouldn\u2019t be too much read into a team\u2019s performance when a new manager takes over. Last year, the Mets were bound to play better, regardless of who was running the show. Same goes for the Rockies. Jim Tracy\u2019s presence isn\u2019t making this team pitch better or hit better. They are just merely getting to where they should be: hovering around .500. If Clint Hurdle had stuck around, they most likely would have been somewhat close to where they are now.<\/p>\n
Of course, some will think it is Tracy bashing, but it really isn\u2019t. I\u2019m just of the ilk that managers don\u2019t make much of a difference either way. In my opinion, managers are worth plus or minus two games per year. It\u2019s the talent that matters.<\/p>\n
When all is said and done, the Rockies will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 77-80 wins and that won\u2019t be Tracy\u2019s fault. Jason Marquis will return to being Jason Marquis, Clint Barmes won\u2019t be the answer at 2B, Todd Helton will get hurt and the bullpen will bring more frustration than relief. Right now, though, it\u2019s a nice run.<\/p>\n
As for the Giants, they\u2019re the team you don\u2019t want to face in the playoffs. They may not hit enough to get there, but right now nobody in the NL has a better rotation or bullpen than the guys from Frisco. If they can get Jonathan Sanchez straightened out, watch out. If they can go out and land a real middle of the lineup type of guy, they\u2019ll be a threat to go deep in the postseason as teams will have to beat Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain while also sliding by Randy Johnson or a somewhat improved Barry Zito. Relying on Pablo Sandoval to carry your team offensively, though, is like counting on Peterson to carry a NASCAR segment on the Mid-Valley Sports Show every Tuesday night from 7-9 on midvalleysports.com.<\/p>\n
John Scanlan pretends to know sports Monday-Thursday on midvalleysports.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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