The Tribune declared that the National League West was over on May 4. That’s because Arizona led the Dodgers by 5 1/2 games at the end of April and no team ever had failed to win a division after building a five-game lead at the end of the first month.
Oops. After going 20-8 in April, the Diamondbacks fell to their true level. A 59-71 performance followed, which caused Arizona to be eliminated from the NL West race Thursday.
“After the first month, we couldn’t put together anything that resembled the type of production that would suggest a 20-8 first month,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We were searching for consistency but haven’t been able to find it.”
Arizona led the division for 153 days en route to also-ran status. It wasted a chance to go to the playoffs with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson (48-25 entering the final weekend).
