Here's the latest and
greatest from around the National League.
East
Division
Philadelphia Phillies (64-55) - Ryan Howard hit the 100-RBI mark.
That's good for the first-place lead in the NL as he's tied with Houston's now-injured
Carlos Lee. Howard is
also tied with Adam Dunn for the NL home run lead with 32. As for the Phils closer,
Brad Lidge has been
bothered by his shoulder lately, but he did make himself available on Tuesday
should he be needed.
New
York Mets (63-56) - The Mets are looking to get
back in first place in the NL East. What's a better way to do it than a road
trip to Washington and Pittsburgh? Carlos Delgado is a big reason the
Mets are back in the hunt. He has quietly picked himself up and has amassed 25
home runs and 73 RBI after a slow start to the season.
Florida Marlins (63-57) - The Marlins have been hot and
cold all season long. They can't seem to make up their mind if they really want
to go after the division or fade into the sunset. Consistently inconsistent they
are, which means they'll be around until late September no doubt. They'll need
Dan Uggla's bat,
though. He has no home runs and just three RBI since the first of
August.
Atlanta Braves (55-63) - First Tim Hudson hit the DL; now
Rafael Soriano. The
Braves are within mathematical striking distance, but there's just not much they
can do with the cards that they are being dealt. As for the Chipper Jones watch, he is playing
again. But who knows for how long. He's been plagued by injuries, as well, and
at .370 it's going to take an amazing final six weeks to reach
.400.
Washington Nationals (44-76) - After winning a doubleheader in
Colorado on
Thursday, the Nationals have dropped five straight, including four to the
Brewers over the weekend. At 44-76, unfortunately a 100-loss season isn't too
far-fetched for their first year in their fancy new
ballpark.
Central
Division
Chicago Cubs (71-47) - Despite a rare shellacking for
Carlos Zambrano at
the hands of the Cardinals on Saturday, the Cubs still took two of three from
the Redbirds. Kerry Wood also made his comeback from his blister problems and his
sore back, though he hasn't resumed closing games yet. Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson continue to be
brilliant pickups by the Cubs front office. In addition to their solid defensive
play, the combo has 20 home runs and 79 RBI for the Cubs.
Milwaukee Brewers (69-51) - A week ago, Milwaukee was fighting
amongst themselves. Since then they are 7-0. A four-game set against Washington helps, not to
mention a three-game set against the almost-as-beleaguered San Diego Padres.
Ben Sheets tossed yet
another complete game shutout on Saturday against the Nationals, good for his
11th win of the season.
St. Louis Cardinals (66-56) - Albert Pujols has a .347 batting
average, 24 home runs, and 75 RBI. And it's like no big deal. Do we just come to
expect this phenomenal play from him? Thing is the Cardinals really need to get
their closer situation figured out to stay in contention both in the divisional
race and the wild card. Adam Wainwright is making his way back from the DL and might just be
the guy to do it. Rookie Chris Perez
seems the current man, though his hold is still tenuous.
Houston Astros (60-59) - Houston is back above .500 with a four-game
sweep of the Reds over the weekend, but they took a big blow this past week.
Their top offensive producer, Carlos Lee, fractured a finger and will be most
likely out for the remainder of the season. Lance Berkman really needs to pick
up the slack for Lee. Berkman has just two home runs since July 1, but he did
hit a granny on Tuesday, which is a good sign.
Pittsburgh Pirates (54-65) - Paul Maholm is 7-7 with a
respectable 3.76 ERA. That's far better than Tom Gorzelanny, who burst onto the
scene last year and sits with a similar 6-7 record, but has a whopping 6.57 ERA.
Can either Maholm or Gorzelanny actually achieve double digits in wins this
season?
Cincinnati Reds (53-67) - Adam Dunn said farewell to
Cincy and went packing for a pennant race in the Arizona desert. There aren't any magic tricks
in Dusty Baker's bag
this first season in Cincinnati.
West
Division
Arizona Diamondbacks
(61-58) - Adam
Dunn's suitcase may bring a whole lotta strikeouts to the D'Backs lineup, but he
also brings one heckuva punch. Dunn is tied for the MLB lead with 32 home runs.
After rattling off four straight wins in five starts, Dan Haren did suffer his first loss
since the Fourth of July when the Braves touched him up for 10 hits and six runs
over 5.1 innings on Saturday.
Los
Angeles Dodgers (60-59) - Manny, Manny, Manny!
Many Ramirez has just
been a beast for the Dodgers. What was a weak power division just got a lot
stronger with Dunn and Ramirez. In 10 games and 40 at-bats, Ramirez is hitting
.475 with four home runs and 13 RBI. Dodger fans probably don't know what to do
with all these fireworks.
Colorado Rockies (53-68) - The Rockies missed a golden opportunity to do more than just
hang around this past week in the divisional race. They had seven games against
the Nationals and Padres, the two worst teams in the NL, and they managed to win
just twice. If you're looking for signs of that turnaround, Jeff Francis is going to have to
participate. He pitched for the first time in 10 days this past Thursday and got
knocked around for five runs by the Nationals. A 3-8 record with a 5.81 ERA just
isn't going to cut it.
San
Francisco Giants (50-68) - Tim Lincecum had to leave the game
early Tuesday after being hit with a line drive in the knee. X-rays were
negative, which is a good sign, so the Giants star pitcher should make a swift
recovery. He's their future, though, so don't expect the Giants to push him to
get back out there too soon.
San
Diego Padres (46-73) - Brian Giles vetoed a trade that
would have sent the outfielder to the Boston Red Sox. He passed on the
opportunity to play in October for a World Series. Giles doesn't exactly have
many years left. He either really likes the weather and life he has in San Diego or something
else went wrong with this deal.
Got
questions or comments? Sound off to pete@petekhazen.com.