Dodgers (19-13)
Underachievers: Rafael Furcal (.235/.306/.276) and Nomar Garciaparra (.276/.321/.366).
Overachievers: Brad Penny hasn't allowed a homer. Mark Hendrickson has a .69 WHIP, which is something that could get you arrested in Alabama.
Something that scares me: I thought this was the year Jeff Kent would turn to dust. He's actually doing alright.
Some good ol' schadenfreude: Hey, Juan Pierre has a .279 batting average and a 75% stolen base success rate! Good for him! Enjoy that for the next five years, Los Angeles....
Padres (18-14)
Underachievers: Kevin Kouzmanoff (.103/.182/.154) has been like Todd Linden without all of the hard contact. Mike Cameron is better than this (.203/.280/.266).
Overachievers: José Cruz, Jr. is having a great start to the season (.321/.394/.583 in 84 AB). My advice for San Diego is to count on that happening for the rest of the season. Even if he starts slumping, he should be in the lineup every day. Even if he starts to look like a 7-year-old in his first season of fast-pitch little league, he'll come around. You just keep playing him, San Diego.
Something that scares me: They picked Heath Bell off the top of the trash can, and he's automatically awesome. Maybe these relievers aren't turning the professional corner on their own....
Some good ol' schadenfreude: Clay Hensley is getting bombed. Total number of young pitchers the Giants had and gave away for a box of blank VHS tapes, but now regret giving away: 38 37.
Arizona (18-16)
Underachievers: Every hitter who isn't Orlando Hudson or Chad Tracy. Maybe every single prospect they have is just a warmed-over Dante Powell, but somehow I doubt it....
Overachievers: Livan Hernandez has more walks than strikeouts, but an ERA of 3.20. Orlando Hudson had room for improvement, but he isn't this good.
Something that scares me: Every single one of the golden boy prospects is flopping hard, and the team is still over .500. What happens if half of the team starts hitting as well as projected?
Some good ol' schadenfreude: Randy Johnson is hittable. I've waited nine years to write that, and last year didn't count because he was in a different league.
Colorado (14-18)
Underachievers: Jeff Francis has been giving up a ton of hits, which have lead to two tons of runs. That probably isn't going to last. Garrett Atkins can be much better (.263/.350/.390).
Overachievers: Steve Finley can't keep that lofty .175/.254/.281 line going forever. At some point, he'll start slumping.
Something that scares me: Todd Helton's goatee. Also, there aren't too many overachievers at all, with the exception of Helton's .518 on-base percentage. Maybe the goatee is some sort of alien symbiote that's taking over his brain; it's responsible for his offensive resurgence now, and possibly the death of his neighbors later. That would make things really interesting. Helton killing his neighbors because of alien possession would rank a 3.5 on the Clemens Scale, with one being "not newsworthy" and a five being "Clemens comes back to the Yankees."
Some good ol' schadenfreude: Josh Fogg: Still a Rockie.
Comment starter: Are these two teams better or worse than they've shown? Is there anything jumping out at you when you look at their collective stats?