Asked about the standings in the National League West, Mark Sweeney shook his head and recalled the 2005 season.
That was the year the Dodgers' pinch-hitting specialist played for the division champion San Diego Padres -- the 82-80 division champion Padres.
"We almost had to apologize for it," Sweeney said. "That's what this feels like."
The second-place Dodgers will open a three-game series tonight at first-place Arizona with the top spot in the division at stake.
Both teams are under .500 and could still be that way by the end of the weekend.
The defending division champion Diamondbacks, who were 17-6 and had a seven-game lead over the Dodgers on April 25, hold only a one-game margin, their record a humble 47-48. The Dodgers are 46-49.
"We've climbed up a very winnable division," Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe said.
Winnable enough that San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean essentially counted his team out of contention at the start of the season but finds it in third place coming out of the All-Star break. At 40-55, the Giants trail the Diamondbacks by seven games.
Reigning NL champion Colorado, which reached the postseason last year as the wild-card team, is in fourth at 39-57. A visit to the Rockies is next on the Dodgers' schedule.
"I thought the division was going to be much better than this," Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa said. "Looking at the first half, out of the three divisions, I have to think it's the weakest division."
The Diamondbacks are 21-10 within the division but 26-38 against everyone else. The Dodgers are 31-35 outside the NL West.
The five teams in the NL West are a combined 56 games under .500 against teams outside of their division.
Sabean and Dodgers Manager Joe Torre acknowledged thinking that Arizona would run away with the division, only to see the Diamondbacks let themselves be swallowed up by the chase pack.
"The more we see the National League, I think the more we see that there a few really good teams, a few not-so-good teams, and most of the teams in the middle," Sabean said.
Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee of the Central and, perhaps, Philadelphia and New York in the East fit in the first category.
Of the teams in the West, Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said, "Everybody has players that don't have a lot of major league experience and they're going to have ups and downs."
