Hits just keep getting harder to find

Baseball is one sport people love to over-intellectualize.\nI've heard fellow Cubs fans tell me that Carlos Zambrano is a better young pitcher than Kerry Wood or Mark Prior. (He's not.) I've heard even non-Cardinals fans tell me that Albert Pujols deserved the 2001 National League Most Valuable Player Award over Barry Bonds because Pujols' team made the playoffs and Bonds' didn't, forgetting that Bonds hit 73 homers. (Nope.) And countless times, I've heard that so and so didn't win not because they lacked better players but because they lacked team "chemistry," whatever that is. (That's preposterous.)\nThe one that people love to pounce on is that pitching and defense is 80 or 90 percent of the game and offense is a minor factor. That's tiresome.\nWhen the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series with twin pitching aces Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, many know-it-alls said, "Told you so." But I refused to be convinced that a team that had Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez on it wouldn't have the same chance to win.\nThis year's prime example is the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have astoundingly good pitching, ranking No. 1 in team ERA. Yet, at 46-42, they continue to fall further behind the first-place and archrival Giants with their limp league-worst offense.\nPart of their problems stems from their over reliance on Shawn Green. It wasn't until Green's fourth big-league season with the Blue Jays in 1998 that Green became a really good player with 35 homers, 35 steals and 100 RBIs. And while hitters have off years now and again, his 2000 season with the Dodgers, when he had only 24 homers and 99 RBIs, was also somewhat of a disappointment.\nWhile exceptions occasionally creep up -- Barry Bonds didn't become a superstar until his fifth season -- most superstars get the hang of things much earlier. And once they do, falloffs in production are relatively slight. Green hit a gulf in 2000 that would suggest he is a player that cannot be fully relied upon. \nWhen they gave Green a six-year, $84 million contract after trading for him, the Dodgers were expecting Green to carry them. His walks are way down, suggesting bad plate discipline and a sign that the pressure is getting to him.\nGreen isn't the only problem. Adrian Beltre is hitting only .214. Paul Lo Duca is one of the game's most overrated players, hitting for a fine average but no power, walks or stolen bases. Cesar Izturis and Alex Cora are fine defenders in the middle infield but can't hit to save their lives. \nBefore going on the disabled list last week, Brian Jordan wasn't embarrassing himself but wasn't hitting for power or stealing bases anymore either. They got unlucky with Fred McGriff, who went on the DL with a torn groin twice in a month after never having to go on the DL in his 18-year career. Dave Roberts steals every base except first, and now he's on the DL too with a hamstring injury.\nSure, maybe they can trade for Marlins' third baseman Mike Lowell. While I am not sure whether to believe the Marlins when they say they won't be trading Mike Lowell this season, I am beginning to believe that the Dodgers are more than one Mike Lowell away from catching the Giants.\nWhat's a shame is the Dodgers may have the best starting pitcher in Kevin Brown and the best relief pitcher in Eric Gagne in the National League. But Brown's $15 million per year contract is also sapping the Dodgers of even more financial flexibility to make moves, and now Brown's complaining of an abdominal strain.\nThe Chicago White Sox are the American League equivalent to the Dodgers. Their flaccid offense ranks 13th in the American League in runs scored. They signed Paul Konerko -- hmmm, an ex-Dodger -- to a huge multi-year contract before the season, and he has responded by hitting … .183, all for only $6.25 million. Magglio Ordonez has disappointed. Young third base hopeful Joe Crede has flopped, hitting only .228 with below-average power and no walks or speed.\nThe White Sox rank fourth in the American League in pitching. The three teams ahead of them, Seattle, Oakland and the New York Yankees, all are playoff contenders. Those teams have great offensive players like Ichiro, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada. The White Sox' best offensive player is Frank Thomas, and even he is not what he once was.\nSo it's time to realize the best offense is a good offense. So don't think so hard.