NL East

NBA and NHL free agency is coming to an end and NFL training camp is a couple of weeks away, making the end of July a great time to take a trip around MLB. The All Star game is over and before the trade deadline, we can review what has happened up to this point, and what will happen the rest of the season. First up we tackle the NL East: Atlanta Braves (57-41): In a surprise that rivals the ending to "Wild Things" the Braves hold a sizable 5 game lead in the NL East and have done so without major contributions from Chipper Jones, and Jason Heyward. Jones is hitting .255 with only 7 HR's and is contemplating retirement, and Heyward who started his major league career as hot as Uruguayan world cup star Diego Forlan's girlfriend Zaira Nara but has leveled off with producing only 11 HR's and a .261 average.The Braves have been led by a strong supporting cast and quality pitching, which has been a constant under Bobby Cox's watch. Martin Prado is third in the league in hitting and All Star Omar Infante has been a big offensive surprise. The Braves were the first team to upgrade in the trade market acquiring Alex Gonzalez from Toronto. In Bobby Cox's and maybe Chipper Jones' final year, the Braves are all in and with their pitching depth, they should be as tough to catch as Paul Walker in a Honda Civic. Tim Hudson leads the starters with 10 wins and a 2.47 ERA while the young arms of Tommy Hanson and recently healthy Jair Jurrjens are capable of getting the ball straight to closer Billy Wagner. In a mix of young and old that is more realistic than the love plot in "Lost in Translation" the Braves are contenders and should be heard from in October. Philadelphia Phillies (51-46): The story of the Phillies season so far has been injuries and their Jim from "American Pie" like inability to score consistently. Ryan Howard has been the only Phillie regular to produce along the lines of what was expected. Injuries to Rollins, who has an OBP of .288 and Utley (.277, 11 HR, 37 RBI), along with Polanco and Ruiz for various parts of the season, have left the Phillies chasing in the division. The Phillies did fire hitting coach Milt Thompson this week and replaced him with former hitting coach Greg Gross. Hopefully for their sake Gross is more successful in his return to hitting coach than Saturday Night fever sequel "Staying Alive" starring John Travolta and directed by Sly Stallone. Jayson Werth could use a different voice as he has struggled, and has been mentioned prominently in recent trade talks. Roy Halladay has been as good as advertised with an ERA under 2.30 and Cole Hamels' turn around are both reasons for the Phillies to be optimistic about a hot streak and another postseason run. The Phillies will look for bullpen help before the trade deadline and would like to add a reliable third starter as Kendrick, Moyer, and Blanton have been as reliable as Marion Jones' steroid testimony. New York Mets (50-49): Recently the Mets have dropped like BP stock as they have gone 2-8 in their last ten games and have lost 6 of 7. The Mets are 22nd in team batting average and 23rd in HR's as Rod Barajas has doubled big money free agent pick up Jason Bay's home run total, 12 to 6 up to this point in the season. Ike Davis and David Wright's strong years have not been enough to make up for Bay's lack of power display (.749 OPS) that rivals a guy on the Bachelorette and Carlos Beltran's limited action, 7 games up to this point in the season due to reoccurring knee injuries. Young starters Jonathon Niese and Mike Pelfrey had kept the Mets near the top of the division for most of the season, but recent struggles and injuries, primarily to Pelfrey, have put the Mets in a tailspin and have left Jerry Manuel fielding questions about his job security. The Mets vastly over estimated the ability of Oliver Perez and John Maine to fit behind Johan Santana in the rotation. Jose Reyes' injuries have robbed the once promising shortstop of reaching his star potential as a leadoff hitter comparable to Rickey Henderson. The Met's recent play has left them closer to sellers than playoff contenders. Florida Marlins (50-49): It is not a good sign when your star player and reigning NL batting champ has his best night of the season in the HR derby. Hanley Ramirez was the first player the Marlins decided to lock up long term and what looked like a can't miss move has turned into New Coke. Ramirez called out former manager Freddi Gonzalez who had the audacity to ask Ramirez to hustle after a ball while playing defense. I mean really what kind of tyrant asks a multi-millionaire professional to hustle on defense, Gonzalez must have forgotten who was in charge and in turn was fired a few weeks later. Ramirez's .293 average and 13 home runs leave him behind team leaders Gaby Sanchez and Dan Uggla in those categories. The Marlins have a decent core, but as in most Johnny Depp movies, if your star does not perform you are in for a long year. Josh Johnson leads the league with a 1.61 ERA and his 9.45 K/9 show how truly dominating the best pitcher in baseball has been this year. Leo Nunez has also found the magic that seems to await every closer that goes to Florida and his 23 saves and 10.18 K/9 leave him atop the list of contenders looking for power arms in the bullpen and could give the Fish a chance to turn Nunez into prospects that can replace the promising turned disappointing Ricky Nolasco and Cameron Maybin. Washington Nationals (42-57): The most talked about last place team in the history of the game, is due to the emergence of Stephen Strasburg (9 games 5-2, 2.32 ERA) who has inspired Chuck Norris jokes at the rate of Tim Tebow. Stephen Strasburg doesn't wear a watch, HE decides what time it is and he can also divide by zero. His 12.42 K/9 and 1.07 WHIP are record low and he has lived up to the considerable hype that preceded him. Adam Dunn has also been a pleasant surprise for the Nats, Dunn power (23 HR's 61 RBIs) was expected, but his .278 avg and 96 hits are a major surprise. Dunn has combined with Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham to form a potent middle of the order that rivals the healthy Phillies in the division. One of the Nats issues is the inability of the top of the order to get on base. Regular leadoff man Nyjer Morgan has an OBP of .320 and Willy Tavares and Cristian Guzman have also been unable to steal first. The starters behind Strasburg are as unimpressive as the Hills series finale, but a team that would seem to be a natural seller has taken the attitude of an English Premier League team fighting relegation. The Nats management wants to keep the enthusiasm high around this team and in turn will probably not trade Dunn to the AL where he can DH. Dunn, is as miscast playing defense in the NL, as Magic Johnson was hosting a talk show. The Nats will continue to hit and once every five days they will be a major story when Strasburg pitches. One out of five is probably the same odds of catching a watchable episode of Walker Texas Ranger.