It appears the National League West race could go down to the final day of the 2010 season. If last night was any indication, we could be in for a whale of a finish.

The San Diego Padres snatched back first place in the NL West last night with a 3-1 win over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants inexplicably dropped a 2-0 decision to the Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-4.

Those results moved the Padres to the top of the NL West by a half game over the Giants, and three over the Rockies.

The Padres got a great pitching performance out of Tim Stauffer, who tossed six innings while allowing three hits, one run and two walks while striking out five.

Heath Bell came on in the ninth inning to notch his 43rd save in 46 chances, and his 30th in a row.

San Diego trailed 1-0 early, but got three runs in the top of the third, a two-run home run from Miguel Tejada was the difference. It was the 300th home run of Tejada’s career.

Tejada, a completely overlooked piece the Padres added on July 29, has been fantastic with the Friars. Tejada has essentially become San Diego’s everyday shortstop, and despite most experts saying he couldn’t hack it there anymore, he has been sound defensively.

On the offensive side, he’s hit eight home runs, driven in 27 runs and hit .273 since coming to the Padres.

So a throwaway trade at the deadline for a mid-level prospect has netted the Padres a key cog for the lineup and more protection for Adrian Gonzalez in the middle of San Diego’s lineup.

Great move by first-year general manager Jed Hoyer.

Cody Ross is headed from the Florida Marlins to the San Francisco Giants after the Bay-Area team claimed him off waivers. Apparently, the Marlins wanted to promote Cameron Maybin back up to the majors since the team’s playoff hopes are fading faster than Jennifer Aniston’s career.

And since we’re all experts on the Giants’ roster (wait, you’re not?), you must have thought, “but wait, the Giants already have Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, the newly-acquired Jose Guillen, and two backups who have both appeared in over 100 games! WHY would they get Cody Ross too?!?!” I’m so glad you asked.

Apparently, the Giants were worried the first-place San Diego Padres would claim Ross from the Marlins and moved to block them. I mean, I can’t totally blame them. The Padres do have something of a historical fetish for white, quasi-powerful outfielders (see: Giles, Brian; Klesko, Ryan; and Ludwick, Ryan). And that’s just the point. The Padres already HAVE enough outfielders for their playoff run. How many guys hitting in the .260′s does one team need, after all?

Usually, teams that move to block other teams from acquiring players don’t end up making the deal, but definitely make it clear that there’s no way their rival is getting said player. The Giants never thought they’d actually GET Ross, but here we are, and now the Giants are on the hook for the rest of Ross’s salary and have to make room on their roster, which means moving one of their other outfielders.

I’m not saying the Padres are in the Giants’ heads, but when a team thinks Cody freaking Ross is worth worrying about and even absorbing into their already full roster, you know they’re grasping at straws. I’ve been worried the whole season about the Padres’ chances at actually winning the West and making the playoffs with their current roster, but this is incredibly encouraging to see. Apparently, the Giants are just as nervous about this as I am.

So welcome to San Francisco, Cody! Please help the Giants win the Wild Card and stay very clear of first place.

Sunday afternoon the San Diego Padres finished a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, opening the second half of the season with a bang. The Friars outscored Arizona 26-10 over the weekend and have shown more life offensively over the past few weeks than they have for most of the season.

Despite the fact that on July 19 the Padres have the best record in the National League 54-37, ESPN (for the third straight day) did not run a headline about San Diego in its list of top baseball stories of the day. Above is a screenshot of what ESPN thought the top stories in baseball were yesterday.

Apparently the fact that the Dodgers were swept is important and a note about Roy Oswalt being sort of injured is more important than a team extending its division lead to four games by a sweep, and moving to the third-best record in baseball.

The Padres are certainly the biggest surprise of the Major League Baseball season thus far. ESPN ran 100 simulations of the season back in Spring Training, and the Padres won the National League West zero times. Zero. San Diego only won the Wild Card once in those simulations, and ranked as the 29th-worst team in baseball. Sports Illustrated also ranked the Padres dead last in the N.L. West in its 2010 baseball preview.

At this point, the Padres have allowed just 314 runs, best in the majors and 24 ahead of the second place team (San Francisco Giants at 338). San Diego also carries a run differential of plus-88, third best in baseball.

The Padres have done all of that with No. 1 starter Chris Young out all season and with starting outfielders Will Venable and Kyle Blanks currently on the Disabled List.

How have they done it? By having someone new step up every night.

On Sunday reserve outfielder Chris Denorfia went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI and three runs in San Diego’s 6-4 win.

Saturday night it was catcher Yorvit Torrealba playing the hero by going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in an 8-5 win.

Friday night the whole lineup stepped up in a 12-1 rout, in the team’s first game after the All-Star break.

Yet on none of those days did the Worldwide Leader mention anything about the Padres in their headline section.

And another thing, why is Heath Bell still listed in ESPN’s Rumors Central as one of the relievers potentially available for a contending team? Since when is a division leading team’s closer on the market? When was the last time a playoff-bound team traded its closer? ESPN has crossed Bobby Jenks off the list because the White Sox are now in first place in the A.L. Central, but haven’t done the same thing for Bell.

Will ESPN ever give the Padres the respect they deserve? At this point in the season the team’s success can’t be just a fluke.

Maybe they should ask Heath Bell what he thinks about ESPN and Baseball Tonight. Oh, wait, we already know.

There are only five words that come to mind when thinking about the first half the 2010 San Diego Padres just finished: What the hell just happened?

I seriously feel like Phil in The Hangover, when he wakes up the morning after with that “I can’t remember a thing so that must have been really great” grin on his face. Sadly, if the last few days are any indication, the first week of the second half will be the Padres’ “There’s a jungle cat in the bathroom!” moment. Hopefully we can avoid such things.

Just for a primer, remember that the Padres opened the 2010 season with the second-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball. At $37,799,300, San Diego ranked above only the Pittsburgh Pirates ($34,943,000). The Friars were also picked to finish dead-last in the National League West by every major publication, scouting service and expert out there.

They then went 3-6 to open the season before ripping off eight wins in a row and winning 16 of their next 21 games.

The Padres played excellent baseball for the rest of the first half and on July 4th they had the best record in the National League. Entering the All-Star break they sit at 51-37 in first place in the National League West by two games over the Colorado Rockies and just one game behind the Atlanta Braves for the best record in the N.L.

Uh, so what exactly just happened?

Yeah, we all knew the Padres could pitch. In fact, they currently lead all of baseball with a 3.21 ERA (second place is St. Louis at 3.41), and a .237 batting average against. But San Diego has put those numbers up without staff ace Chris Young who only started one game this season.

The reason for the Padres’ success this year has been guys like Jon Garland (8-6, 3.56 ERA), Clayton Richard (6-4, 3.33), Wade LeBlanc (4-7, 3.30), Luke Gregerson (3-5, 19 holds, 2.91 ERA, 0.74 WHIP) and Mike Adams (2-1, 22 holds, 2.19 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). While LeBlanc’s record might not be sparkling, he’s filled in beautifully since Young’s injury. He’s pitched far better than anyone imagined he could and has solidified a rotation spot.

As noted above with Gregerson and Adams’ numbers, it’s obvious that the Padres’ bullpen has been fantastic. Throw in All-Star closer Heath Bell’s 4-0 record with 24 saves (in 27 chances), along with a 1.88 ERA and you’ve got the best relief corps in baseball. Ryan Webb has also been a revelation for the Padres, as in 28 appearances he’s picked up a 3-1 record with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. And lefty Joe Thatcher has been steady in 26 appearances (1-0, 2.04 ERA, 0.74 WHIP).

The Padres have also gotten a stellar season thus far from 22-year-old righty Mat Latos. Latos – who was ridiculously left off the National League All-Star team – has been nearly unhittable this year. He’s put together a 10-4 record, with a 2.45 ERA and is second in the NL with a 0.97 WHIP.

Forgotten in all of the amazing pitching numbers is how the Padres offense – though still anemic at times – has come through with clutch hits and performances time and again.

Led by Adrian Gonzalez (.301, 18 home runs, 58 RBI, .397 OBP, .930 OPS) who is having an MVP-caliber season, the light-hitting Padres have gotten contributions from up and down the roster.

Injuries to guys like Kyle Blanks – who may or may not figure out how to hit in the big leagues,  Will Venable – who was starting to figure things out before hurting his back, and Everth Cabrera have hurt production and continuity all season, but somehow the Padres have pulled through.

On top of all that, if anyone has a vote for a skipper other than Bud Black for Manager of the Year honors, they’re insane. Completely, utterly, throwing their own feces at a wall insane. The man has been phenomenal.

The question is, will this last?

Honestly, I have no idea, I’m just kind of enjoying the ride while it lasts. Sure, deep down inside I have a sinking feeling that this team will disappoint me like it always does (see: the last six games of the first half), but hey, I’m a fan so I’m holding out (completely irrational) hope that maybe, just maybe, this is my team’s year!

Aw crap. I’m gonna have to take a tiger back to Mike Tyson’s place aren’t I?

Last year my beloved San Diego Padres sent their ace, Jake Peavy, to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for four young pitchers. I hated the move. I liked the players the Padres got in return, but I couldn’t stand thinking of a future without Peavy pitching for my team.

I’m here to admit that I was wrong and that former Padres general manager Kevin Towers is a genius. A freaking genius.

On Tuesday night Peavy was forced to abandon his outing against the Los Angeles Angels after just 1.2 innings and 28 pitches. An MRI later revealed that Peavy had a detached latissimus dorsi muscle in his back. So, dude threw his body around so hard that he detached a lat.

Ouch.

Peavy is likely done for the year due to that injury and it’s going to cost the White Sox a hefty price. The right-hander is scheduled to make $15 million this year, then a further $34 million over the next two seasons. That’s a lot of cash being tossed at a guy with major recent injury issues.

On top of that, Peavy hasn’t been his usual dominant self this season. His numbers at the time of the injury aren’t anything to write home about.

So far in 2010 the 29-year-old has compiled a 7-6 record with a 4.63 ERA, and a 1.23 WHIP. In 107 innings he has allowed 98 hits, 55 runs (all earned), 13 home runs, and 34 walks, while striking out 93 batters.

In comparison, Clayton Richard – one of the pitchers the Padres received in the Peavy deal – has been excellent this season. The 26-year-old lefty has a 6-4 record to go along with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. In 108 innings he’s allowed 101 hits, 37 runs (36 earned), eight home runs, and 42 walks, while striking out 87 batters.

Richard is also making just $423,700 this season.

So while the Sox now have to be cautious and closely monitor Peavy’s rehab and recovery, the Padres have a young lefty throwing exceptionally well. The Friars also have relievers Aaron Poreda and Adam Russell in Triple-A right now and both are ready to contribute when called upon.

Thank you Kevin Towers.