Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are in first place, sporting a 48 - 38 record and currently have a 4 game lead over the Florida Marlins. They just got Raul Ibanez back from injury and Jimmy Rollins has finally begun to show some signs of life at the plate. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are having their typical All-Star seasons. Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz have been solid contributors to the offense as well. Jayson Werth undoubtedly was the Phillies biggest surprise of the first half, blowing up to the point of 20 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Their offense isn't where they need any help.
J.A. Happ has been a welcomed addition to their starting rotation. In just 87 innings he has posted a 6 - 0 record and a 2.30 era. The rest of the starting rotation, Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Brett Myers (when he was healthy), Antonio Bastardo (when he was healthy) have all been downright terrible. The Phillies are certainly lucky that they are playing in such a weak division, or they would find themselves in serious trouble.
The Phillies will certainly be active at the trading deadline, in the market for starting pitching. Signing Pedro Martinez today was a very good start, he should be an added boost to the back end of their rotation. While he obviously isn't the pitcher he once was, he is much better than the 5.61 era he posted last season. If he pitches somewhere in between, the Phillies front office and fans will be extremely pleased. But, that won't be nearly enough! They need a top of the line, front-end starter. If they can't put a package together to get Roy Halladay (you'd have to lose Kyle Drabek, sorrrry), maybe they could package some lesser talent together to snatch Cliff Lee from the Indians. Or better yet, call the Orioles, see if you can put something together for Jeremy Guthrie. You need to get creative in your thinking, because you'll win the division with the team you currently have put together, but you don't have enough to repeat as champions. Yet...
Florida Marlins
The Marlins are a team a lot of people like. They're sneaky good, one of those teams that lurk in the shadows before making their move. They are perfectly placed as it stands right now at 46 - 44, they are just enough games out of the division race (4), where they think they have a realistic chance. And they're just as much in the wild card race as well (also 4), where the the playoffs are certainly a feasible goal to approach.
Offensively, you won't find many better. Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu and Cody Ross have swung some mighty good bats at this juncture of the season. If Dan Uggla is able to do anything other than hit a home run or strike out and raise that average from the depths of Papi-land (that's the name for anyone who bats under .230 now, it's Papi-Land)
I'm really high on the Marlins pitching rotation. Josh Johnson is an absolute stud at the front of that pitching staff. And after a terrible start to his season that saw him get demoted to the minor leagues, Ricky Nolasco is finally beginning to show signs of life as well. If the Marlins are able to get any form of sustained consistency from Chris Volstad and Andrew Miller, they could have one of the best young rotations in baseball.
But, like every team it seems, the problems lie solely in the bullpen. Their closer Mark Lindstrom has been on the disabled list for over a month, but even when he was pitching he wasn't pitching well at all (to the tune of a 6.52 era). Set-up men Leo Nunez and Dan Meyer have certainly been the bright spot to the much maligned Marlins pen, along with Kiko Calero. I wouldn't be shocked one bit to see the Marlins call up the Diamondbacks and see what it would take to pry away closer Chad Qualls.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves saw themselves have a mediocre first half racking up a 43 - 45 record, which currently places then 6 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. While it would seem the Braves are in a world of trouble and are looking at missing out on the playoffs for yet another season, I see big things for the Braves in the second half. The Braves aren't lacking many pieces that would keep them from contending with the rest of the National League East, either.
Offensively is where the Braves find their biggest problem. Their offense is not only inconsistent, but they lack a true power presence in the lineup as well. Even with the addition of Nate McLouth last month, the Braves find their offense just sputtering around. Trading for another bat would do the Braves a world of difference. It doesn't even need to be a standout offensive force (although, packaging Yunel Escobar, Jordan Schafer and a few prospects to land Matt Holliday couldn't hurt), but rather someone such as the Orioles Aubrey Huff could help immensely.
Their pitching staff has shaped up nicely with Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez stepping up as a nice 1, 2 punch at the back end of the Braves bullpen and the off-season additions of Javier Vazquez and Derek Lowe constantly keeping their teams in the game. Youngsters Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson have certainly lived up to their expectations as well. With the likely return of former Oakland Athletics standout pitcher Tim Hudson sometime in mid-august from Tommy John Surgery, he could certainly be prove to be one of the pivotal acquisitions the Braves need in order to make a move in the second half.
New York Mets
Oh, the Mets. What can I say about the precious Mets. Well, on the bright side, you have a really fan friendly new stadium. On the negative side of things, IT'S BIGGER THAN YOSEMITE! But, that's not something you can change. You have to live with what you're given. The Mets can't make any trades. Your farm system is completely barren of talent and frankly, whatever talent you do have, is already on your starting roster. Injuries have hurt your team terribly. It's hard to bounce back from injuries to Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes. If you add that to the fact David Wright has played more like Jose Reyes this year than he has like David Wright (duh power hitting), your team isn't going to win many games.
Frankly though, you can't blame Jerry Manuel, you can't blame the players. Blame Omar Minaya. This is the team he gave you. Even without the injuries, did you honestly think you would be competitive with a rotation (behind Santana) of Maine, Pelfrey, Perez and Livan Hernandez? If you just said yes to that question, you're obviously a Mets homer, Mike Francessa or ESPN, because anybody without a bias, knew that the Mets rotation was garbage. Then, even with injuries to Oliver Perez and John Maine, you don't call up Pedro Martinez? Really? You let him sign with one of your biggest rivals, when your team is in shambles. That just doesn't make sense. I know he's not the Pedro of 10 years ago, but I still guarantee he's better than anything you have.
I don't see any second half win streak that gets the Mets back into the race. Even if you get huge contributions from Gary Sheffield and David Wright learns how to hit for power again, it just doesn't seem plausible. Getting back Reyes, Delgado and Beltran will certainly help, but, they can't pitch for you. I just have one question to ask Mets fans, before I move on. How's it feel to know you have Oliver Perez for at least another 3 years for all that money? (ouch, too soon?)
Washington Nationals
For the love of all that is good and holy, sign Stephen Strasburg. That's all you have to do. That's all you have to worry about. Who cares about your stupid team? You're terrible anyway. Nobody watches you play. Your fans don't even care about your team. All your fans care about is signing Stephen Strasburg. Dangle that carrot in front of his face and let him bite.
Reading that you have ONLY offered him a minor league contract makes me angry and I've never met the kid, nor will I ever meet the kid. That is an absolute (originally there was 5 or 6 expletive laced words written here that I've since removed because this is a family friendly blog) deal and we all know it. Offer him the contract he rightly deserves. If you screw this one up, no Nationals fan will EVER go to another game again.
And believe me, everybody wants the Nationals to sign Strasburg, they want to see this deal get done, because they want to see this kid pitch.
Well, everyone except people in Montreal. Those bitter Expos fans are laughing their asses off right now.
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