I know it’s early the major league baseball season, but when did the National League division leaders decide they were just going to pull away from the competition?! I’m being a little facetious, but every division lead in the N.L. is 5 games or more, with the Cubs and Giants holding an 8.5 game and 6 game lead, respectively. The Nationals have the closet division race, with that 5 game separation between them and the New York Mets.
Speaking of the Mets, do you think they now regret not signing Daniel Murphy?! Sure, after Murphy went from hero to goat in a span of a week and a half during last year’s postseason run, it was easy for the Mets and the fan base to part ways with the infielder. Though, for $8 million dollars this season, the Nats seem like they got Murphy at a bargain, as he’s got a .367 batting average, 1st in the NL. Murphy is also 1st in the NL in Slugging %, 6th in RBI and playing like a true #4 hitter in the big leagues, protecting hitters when needed and punishing pitchers when the time is right. With that being said, the Mets are right where they want to be, not quite in the driver’s seat for the wild card spot, (again, still early) only a half-game behind the Cardinals for the WC spot. And with a pitching staff like the Mets have, I’d have to give New York the edge over St. Louis. The Cards starting pitching is now finally starting to show good signs, so watch out for the Red Birds, as they also sport the second best road record in the NL, only behind the 43-19 Chicago Cubs.
Again, still more than 65% of the season to go, but I don’t expect a whole lot to change in the NL West and Central. However, the NL East seems poised for a run to the finish, between the Mets and Nationals. Both teams have great pitching and still plenty of games to play each other as well. The same applies in the West and Central, but the control the Cubs have over the Central, seems insurmountable, with how good Chicago’s hitting and pitching combination is. When talking about the NL West, the Giants have a good hold of the division lead at 6 games, over the Dodgers, who can’t seem to get out of their own way, except when Clayton Kershaw pitches.
Ebbs and flows are a big part to a 162 game schedule, so I expect teams like the Cubs and Giants to hit their rough patches during the season, but not enough, that it sends said teams spiraling out of their division lead, but that’s why they play the games, I suppose…
Featured Image by: atn0197
