(My Sportsbook) - If you take a glance at the standings in the National League West, it's hard to imagine that the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the top teams. One quarter of the way through the season, the club that lost 111 games last year and traded away five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson has been the surprise in the National League.

More than ever before, there is no clear-cut favorite in the NL West. Barry Bonds isn't in the lineup for the Giants. The Dodgers have cooled off since their amazing start. The Padres have made an amazing run this month to the top of the division, while the Rockies are simply overmatched.

Arizona set a franchise record for losses last year at 51-111 and the team had over a dozen players on the disabled list at varying intervals. The defense was horrendous with an NL-leading 139 errors and manager Bob Brenly was canned in mid-season.

This year is a completely different story and a lot of the early success revolves not only around manager Bob Melvin, but third-year starter Brandon Webb. The 26-year-old righthander won his first three starts of the season and is still unbeaten at 5-0 after eight outings.

It's a complete turnaround for Webb, considering he was 3-9 prior to the All- Star break last year and finished with the most losses in the National League at 7-16. His sinkerball has been working well. Webb's ERA stands at 3.48, not a big difference (3.59) to last season, but he has much better location of his pitches and he's being aggressive. He topped the NL with 119 walks and 17 wild pitches last year and that was a concern going into this season, especially since Webb, Russ Ortiz (112) and Shawn Estes (105) walked the most batters in the Senior Circuit last year.

There is a huge difference this season, as Webb was at 16 walks through eight starts, although opponents were still hitting .273 against him. The main reason for his success is his sinker, as Webb continues to lead the majors in ground out to fly out ratio.

Arizona's eighth pick in the 2000 First Year Player Draft, Webb made a small challenge for NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2003, but there was immense pressure on him last season working from the second spot behind Johnson. The focus is not squarely on him this season though, as Ortiz, Estes, Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey also have a chance to share the limelight and they are doing just that through 1 1/2 months of the season, exceeding all expectations.

Arizona's rotation has more than held up its end of the bargain, but is this an aberration? That is one of a few questions surrounding the Diamondbacks. First, can they continue to take advantage of the misfortunes of other clubs in their division? Second, can the Diamondbacks keep winning close games at such a frantic pace? Third, will the pitching hold up over a 162-game slate?

There are already some answers and they bode well for the D'Backs. First, Arizona is 18-8 against teams within the NL West. Incredibly, that's three wins shy of last season's total (21-55) against divisional foes.

Second, the Diamondbacks are close to the top of the NL West despite being outscored by 23 runs this season. They have been winning the tight contests, going 15-9 in games decided by two runs or less.

The way Melvin has structured his bullpen, the Diamondbacks have won the close games and should continue to thrive with Brandon Lyon as the closer. Lance Cormier has been excellent (0.50 in middle relief), but parts of the 'pen aren't as solid with Kerry Ligtenberg (23.40 ERA), Javier Lopez (9.39 ERA) and Jose Valverde (8.31 ERA) all struggling. That could become a huge problem in the long run.

During a stretch between April 20-30, the Diamondbacks played 10 straight games decided by two runs or less and went 7-3.

Lyon has stepped into the closer's role for the injured Greg Aquino and has been phenomenal. He has 13 saves in 14 opportunities, and with a razor-thin 1.96 ERA Lyon is maybe the biggest reason why the Diamondbacks are six games over .500. He has converted his last 12 save chances.

One caveat in all this is Lyon is now feeling tenderness in his pitching arm. He underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery on March 24, 2004 and didn't pitch in the majors last year.

Another big difference is defense. The team gained experience up the middle with shortstop Royce Clayton and second baseman Craig Counsell. They are one of the top teams in the majors in fielding percentage, although they didn't have an errorless game Tuesday night in a 3-0 loss at Houston.

The offense has been led by Luis Gonzalez and Counsell, but a healthy Troy Glaus could go a long way in determining the success of the Diamondbacks. Already with 11 homers and 29 RBI this season, Glaus is making a huge impact on a team that for the most part has struggled at the plate. Shawn Green (.162) has trouble hitting lefties this season, but overall if Vazquez, Ortiz, Webb, Estes and Halsey continue to be steady performers, stay within the game plan and can avoid the DL, the Diamondbacks may still be a contender by the All-Star break.

Could 2005 mark a monumental turnaround for the D'Backs? They've done it before. In 1998, their first year in the league, they went 65-97. A year later they won a franchise-record 100 games and captured the NL West. They'll definitely finish with more wins than last season, but at this point, challenging for the division title seems far-fetched, especially with a bullpen that has too many weak spots.