Sep 4th 2008 7:00AM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

The contenders in the NL West might not have gaudy records — only the Diamondbacks sit above .500 entering play Thursday — but that doesn’t mean the race won’t be plenty entertaining. Think about the last couple of days.

Tuesday Dodgers phenom Clayton Kershaw and prized acquisition Manny Ramirez powered Los Angeles to within 1 1/2 games of first-place Diamondbacks. Wednesday Arizona’s own trade catch Adam Dunn gave the D’backs a walk-off win and some breathing room ahead of their final series with the rival Dodgers.

All the while, the Rockies, the darlings of last year’s postseason, are lurking. Colorado is 17-14 since the beginning of August, and lest you think it isn’t a real factor well back of Los Angeles and Arizona, the Rockies will play both clubs a combined nine times in the coming weeks.

The beauty of a protracted pennant race, especially one with three teams battling for a lone playoff spot, is that it’s bound to be exciting even if the teams aren’t great, or even very good.Continue Reading