FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Over the next several days, I'll be taking a division-by-division look at the teams in MLB. First up: the National League East.

 1. NY Mets (21-12, 0 GB) - the pre-season pick of most baseball writers, the Mets are off to a fast start. Although their schedule has had them away from Shea for long stretches early, they've played well on the road (14-5) and now return home for series against the red-hot Brewers, the improved Cubs, and then an interleague set with the Yankees ... so May 11-20 will be an interesting time. They have the talent to win 2 of those 3 series.

Offense: best in the National League, with 174 runs through 33 games, edging out the Marlins' production.

Pitching: 117 runs allowed in 33 games, right up there with (gulp) the Cubs for the NL lead. For the youngsters in the rotation, Maine has been brilliant, but has been offset by Pelfrey's struggles so far.

Outlook: Closest thing the NL has to a 'lock' for a playoff spot.

 1 (T) Atlanta (21-12, 0 GB) - yes, the Braves are back. It's clear that I haven't given them enough credit, as I felt the Mets would have left them in the dust by now. Statistically speaking, they're playing a little above their heads right now - but you have to give credit where it's due. They have positioned themselves for yet another strong playoff run in 2007.

Offense: one of the best in the NL, with 163 runs scored in 33 games. Young studs like McCann and Francoeur are blended nicely with established stars like Chipper and Edgar Renteria, and Kelly Johnson has been a revelation at the top of the lineup, channelling Joe Morgan to begin the year.

Pitching: Uncharacteristically average, allowing 144 runs in 33 games. Nothing wrong with Smoltz, and Tim Hudson has started the year on fire. But the youngsters in the rotation (Chuck James, Kyle Davies) have been average or worse; Hampton is gone (again); and his replacement, Redman, has bombed. Pitching is still unsettled, but the bullpen is definitely above average (even with Wickman on the DL) and this organization still has young arms when needed (we're looking at you, Mr. Lerew - nice debut).

Outlook: Playoffs are looking probable, but I still say Wild Card is the most likely scenario.

 3. Florida Marlins (15-18, 6 GB) - Fredi Gonzalez inherits a team with some tremendous talent. Youth and inconsistency must be served before the Marlins can morph into winners.

Offense: better than you'd think. For awhile, they led all of baseball in runs scored, and are still right with the Mets for the NL lead. Miguel Cabrera is a top-10 fantasy player, as is young SS Hanley Ramirez, who is putting up frightening numbers (.336/.415/.536, with 10 steals). Almost every hitter on this team has power, and they should continue to score their runs.

Pitching: Not pretty. 179 runs allowed, most in the NL. The starters haven't been awful, but neither have they been very good. Dontrelle Willis is 5-2, but has allowed 78 baserunners in 50 innings and has a 5.40 ERA. Last year's no-hit wunderkind, Anibal Sanchez, was demoted to the minors to work on some things, then hit the minor-league DL. Ouch. And the bullpen has been used quite a lot so far - reliever Kevin Gregg already ranks fourth on the team with 21 innings pitched. At this rate, the bullpen arms will collapse and things will get really ugly.

Outlook: Will fight the Phillies for 3rd place all summer.

 4. Philadelphia Phillies (15-19, 6.5 GB) - all is not well in the city of Brotherly Love, but you knew this. The Phillies are once again perceived as under-achieving, after SS Jimmy Rollins proclaimed them the team to beat in this division. But they're playing just well enough to hang around.

Offense: the club's strong suit, with 169 runs scored. Rollins is doing what he can to make good on his words (.301/.355/.582) and already has 20 extra-base-hits. Utley is hitting well. Shane Victorino has been given the green light to run and has been successful at the top of the order (13 steals so far). Rowand is hitting out of his mind (.360/.438/.552). All of this offsets Ryan Howard's slump and injury, and the power suddenly missing from Burrell's bat. Overall, a very potent group.

Pitching: For every run the offense scores, the pitching gives one up (166 runs allowed). Moyer is still baffling hitters with his 6 different super-slo-mo changeups - at this rate, he'll be getting people out when he's 50. Young Cole Hamels is all that and a bag of chips - living up to his billing as the next Tom Glavine, and a #1 in the making. Lieber has been fairly good. After that, it gets rocky. Opening Day starter Brett Myers is the new closer, since Tom Gordon's arm finally blew up - maybe for good this time. There's no consistency in this bullpen.

Outlook: Maybe 3rd, maybe 4th. Florida - Philly games will be entertaining for those who like offense.

 5. Washington Nationals (9-25, 12.5 GB) - they were supposed to be quite bad, and guess what? They are, in fact, as bad as advertised. Losers of 8 in a row as of this writing, there are no hopes in sight, other than perhaps the first pick in the amateur draft in June 2008.

Offense: 99 runs scored? In 34 games? That's historically bad, and of course the worst in baseball this year. Young outfielders Ryan Church and Austin Kearns are rays of hope, but the rain keeps falling.

Pitching: They went into the season with only John Patterson as an established starter. Patterson is 1-5, 7.47 ERA, and is now hurt. Young Shawn Hill and Jason Bergmann keep them in some games, but as of May 9, no-one on the staff has more than 2 wins.

Outlook: The only question is, how bad will they be? The sportswriters will delight in historical comparisons with the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who lost 119 games. Ah, but there was a silver lining in Detroit ...

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Coming tomorrow: the NL Central - probably this year's most surprising division.