WILD, WILD MESS EQUALITY (AND MEDIOCRITY) SEEMS TO BE THE NL WEST'S SIGNATURE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

It is flat out bias. Admit it, your mind is all made up. Objectivity gone the way of Tom Cruise. Haven't even considered the possibility of being wrong.

It's a refrain so familiar, so accepted, no one bothers to question if it is still accurate:

The National League West is the worst division in baseball.

It seems to just be understood. A division of the feeble. A division so low the Dodgers can reel off 17 victories in 18 games and now find themselves an entire one game up.

Here's a little something to rock the preconceptions: The West is not the worst division in the NL, and a case could be made it's the best.

Admittedly, this is like the sveltest guy at the fat farm, what with the entire NL playing in the giant shadow of the big bully American League.

The AL has won seven of the last 10 World Series. Hasn't lost an All-Star game in 10 years. Has dominated interleague play.

The entire NL is substandard. Not just the NL West, but the whole league.

But guess which NL division has fared best in interleague play?

Yep, those sad sacks from the West. Now it must be admitted their 35-40 record against the AL isn't exactly imposing, but it beats the East (35-52) and kicks booty on the Central (31-62).

See, what makes the NL West better than your average bear is also what makes it inferior: Everybody is pretty good.

Not great, but OK.

Good enough to take turns beating the stuffing out of each other.

Good enough to take turns atop the NL West.

It's equality at its finest, or mediocrity, depending upon your viewpoint.

Each of the four teams in the West has gone on impressive winning, and losing, streaks. Has taken turns looking like they were the team to beat, and the team to beat down.

The four teams are all within four games of each other. They may be packed tighter than sardines, but they do not reek.

The Dodgers and Padres have modest winning records. The Diamondbacks and Giants are three games under .500.

Nothing overwhelming, but not exactly embarrassing either.

Yet the perceptions persists that the NL West is the black sheep of the MLB family, a sorry little thing you have to own up to but would rather keep hidden.

This lack of respects is really a hangover from last season's face-down stupor.

There is no question last season the NL West was the joke of baseball.

For a long time it threatened to send its ``champion'' into the playoffs with a losing record. The Padres had to rally in September to finish two games over .500.

``Last year it was down,'' said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. ``Injuries were a huge part and teams couldn't respond.

``I think it's a better division this year. Every team has had real hot and cold streaks. Ours has been more pronounced, but every team has been through it. If you're not a good club, you can't run off a good streak.''

Look at the rest of the NL.

In the East, the Mets are rolling with a double-digit lead.

It's a division with one great team and not much else. The streaking Phillies are two games over .500, and the three other teams would trail any team in the West.

The Central is even worse. The division-leading Cardinals have the same amount of victories (66) as the Dodgers and lead the Reds by one game. The other four teams have worse records than any team in the West.

The West is a combined 142-143 against all other NL teams. That's not awful, it's average.

``I think the division is better than it was,'' Colletti said. ``It all goes in cycles. When you're down like (the West) was in '05, some of the perception is remnants from last year.''

The West is a team without a monster team, without a clear leader. It isn't the Mets and a bunch of guys, it's four teams still dreaming of a division title or wild-card berth.

All this equality translates into teams taking turns pummeling the other into submission.

``It's a division that takes turns beating each other up,'' said Giants general manager Brian Sabean. ``We just go toe to toe. All our games are meaningful.''

Thus the argument the West is the best division in the NL. Four teams with a chance to win, to make their games in September significant.

At a time we can't even agree how many planets our in our solar system, why is it so difficult to recognize the West is OK?

``I think we'll ride it out the rest of the year like this,'' Colletti said. ``There's a lot of parity.''

There is a lot of bias against the West, but its demise is old news. Top to bottom, it's a competitive division. Just one lacking any semblance of respect.

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5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Mike Piazza 

(2 -- color) Luis E. Gonzalez 

(3 -- color) Nomar Garciaparra

(4 -- color) Barry Bonds

(5 -- color) Todd Helton