NL West Notes: Dodgers, Rockies, Giambi, Puig

Last night, the Dodgers saw a glimpse of what the newly-acquired Josh Beckett might be capable of when he turned in 6.2 strong innings of work on the way to a 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks.  Ned Colletti & Co. will be hoping to see more of the same as they look to make their playoff push.  Here's more out of Los Angeles and other notes out of the NL West..

• Other clubs are convinced that the blockbuster deal which brought Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers took them out of the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.  The other usual suspects, like the Red Sox and Yankees, are unlikely to be in on the outfielder as well, which makes it hard to predict where he might end up.  One AL exec guesses that a mid-market team will come out of the woodwork to sign Hamilton.
• Rockies slugger Jason Giambi has no plans to retire and hopes to continue playing in 2013, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  "I would to love to play if I can get a job," Giambi said. "That's kind of up to everybody else. If I have an opportunity, I would love to play."
• Pricey Cuban import Yasiel Puig isn't particularly concerned about how long it might take him to reach the major leagues, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  If he proves worthy of starting, it may be hard for the Dodgers to find a spot for him as they have Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford under contract through at least 2017.  The Dodgers signed Puig to a seven-year, $42MM contract back in June.