NL West: Worst. Division. Ever?

Like Charlie Weiss Weis passing a full length mirror, it's something I've always refused to look at; until now. The San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea has provided an intervention, making me face the stark reality: As of today, the 2008 NL West is the worst division in baseball history. Yes, worse even than the '94 AL West, which technically doesn't count because of the strike-shortened season. Damn you, Shea!

It was the AL West in '94, a season cut short on Aug. 12 when players went on strike. The A's were in the thick of the pennant race that year, one game out of first place. The Rangers were leading the division despite being 10 games below .500 at 52-62, and the rest of the pack included the 49-63 Mariners and 47-68 Angels. The division's winning percentage was .437, the lowest in history. The second-lowest winning percentage is .452, held by your 2008 NL West, barely ahead of the 2002 AL Central (.453), which featured the 106-loss Tigers and 100-loss Royals.

The five worst wining percentages ever:

• .437 - 1994 AL West

• .452 - 2008 NL West

• .453 - 2002 AL Central

• .454 - 1999 AL Central

• .457 - 2003 AL Central

The NL West, which still has two months to right itself, already looks better than it did on July 24, when all five teams were sub-.500. The Diamondbacks won six of seven since then, and the Dodgers reached .500 last weekend for first time since May 30.

Well, we knew the Giants were going to be bad, and the Padres are the Padres. But what's up with the Rockies, and especially the Diamondbacks, the latter whom a certain MSNBC TV host picked to make it to the World Series? Surely you can't blame their spectacular fail on injuries to Troy Tulowitzki and Eric Byrnes.

Westward Woe [SFGate]