Macha scouts the N.L. West

OAKLAND -- Some may snub the tightly bunched National League West, but Ken Macha isn't among them. The A's manager finished 8-10 against the much-maligned division in interleague play, and can certainly vouch for its pitching.

In nine of those 10 defeats, Oakland scored just 10 runs. The A's suffered back-to-back shutout defeats at Coors Field in Denver, of all places, and dropped a one-hitter by Giants rookie Matt Cain.

The most success for Macha and the A's was a three-game sweep of the Dodgers.

"They're going to have a very interesting race," Macha said. "They're all very competitive. The whole division is balanced, with every game difficult to win. Every one of those teams is quality. There hasn't been a pushover."

While Macha contends that it's any team's race, he leaned toward Colorado while assessing the second-half chase for the N.L. West title:

Rockies

"I was very impressed with some of their young hitters. Matt Holliday … is going to be a great player. I thought they had some very good starting pitching, and the bullpen threw the ball well. They're definitely in the mix.

"Another thing I was very impressed with as a manager was their execution. When the bunt was on, they got it down. When the hit and run was on, they got it done. They had some disciplined at-bats in situational hitting. And they may have fresh legs at the end of the year."

Padres

"I was pretty impressed with their pitching overall. We wound up beating Jake Peavy, but he has great stuff. They have Trevor Hoffman at the end of the game, and some pretty good other guys coming out of the bullpen, pretty good arms.

"They're a little older, with Vinny Castilla and Mike Piazza, and we ran on them. I think people can take advantage of that."

Dodgers

"I think the development of their young players will determine what they do. Their catcher (Russell Martin) and the one outfielder, Matt Kemp … he has a very quick bat, and he can do some damage. (Macha failed to mention rookie Andre Ethier, whom the A's traded for Milton Bradley and is batting .352.)

"Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, J.D. Drew and Kenny Lofton -- the middle of their lineup -- are veteran guys, so they'll be right there, too.

"But with (closer) Eric Gagné out, they're having some bullpen problems, and having a good bullpen down the stretch is huge."

Giants

"The big concern is health. The more they have Barry (Bonds) in the lineup, the better they're going to be. Without Barry, it's kind of like the Yankees missing (Hideki) Matsui and (Gary) Sheffield. If veteran guys are out, it makes it easier to pitch to them at the end of the game.

"And if Armando Benítez comes back healthy and able to get the last three outs, it will be key for them. Their strength is a veteran lineup. They know how to play the game. (Omar) Vizquel is a very intelligent player, and he's a winner. … "Their starting pitching is pretty solid, too, with Jason Schmidt and the young kid (Cain) coming through."

Diamondbacks

"The Arizona starter (Miguel Batista, five-hitter) looked unbelievable against us, and he had a 6.00 ERA coming in, and we know what Brandon Webb can do. But their bullpen is a little short.

"Their defense is pretty good. They came in 3-20, but I look out there and I see Shawn Green, Connor Jackson, Chad Tracy, Craig Counsell, Luis Gonzalez -- they have good balance in their lineup. Don't count Arizona out."