Daily Divisional Diatribe: Edition 2
Welcome back to the Daily Divisional Diatribe, if you missed out on the first on because you were slacking off (like I have been lately) just meander on over to this handy link and click it.
Before I go into baseball talk I’d just like to let you know why I have been a bit light on the posting of late. If you did not know, I am a senior high school student and these past few weeks have been probably the worst of my four years in regards to work load. Ironic huh? But it is true. Also, our team is in the midst of the 3a State Playoffs (we just got into the third round for the first time in our 7 year school history) and the combination of the two has given me a whole lot less time than I would like to write.
Never fear though, I will be back I action sooner than you think and if that’s good news to you than thanks bud; if you don’t really care than go read some of Fred and Lee’s pieces you schmuck! Just kidding… Anyways on to what you actually care about, the Atlanta Braves and those other teams around the NL East:
Just some insight into my life right now but I actually just recently found out about the miraculous button on almost every computer in America titled “PrntScr” on my Dell. So far I have assumed that it stands for “Print Screen” and it allows you to copy the image of your screen and use in programs like paint. Pretty nifty eh?
Well technically the Braves are in second place according to this screen shot but I am writing this right as the Braves are up 7-0 on the Marlins and the Nationals are losing to the Pirates 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth. So it’s completely plausible that the Braves have a half game lead by the time you are reading this.
Let’s pull out the binoculars and see what the teams in the NL East are up to:
Washington Nationals
The Nationals are having a solid season so far despite being bitten pretty roughly by the injury bug. Ryan Zimmerman recently came back from the DL, Michael Morse is injured, and Wilson Ramos recently tore his ACL. You have to give the team credit for staying at the top of the division while scoring hardly any runs and having so many players on the DL.
I guess you would have to thank their pitching for all of that. As a team they have an ERA of 2.92, FIP of 2.86, xFIP of 3.38, a K/9 of 8.62 and a BB/9 of 2.86.
You could also than Bryce Harper for selling some tickets, causing Cole Hamels to act like a spoiled child, missing a pop fly with his glove only to catch it bare handed (and get praise for it), and also hit himself in the face with his own bat.
The Nationals have been playing well for almost 40 games into the season but can their pitching stay hot?
Check out District on Deck for all things Washington Nationals.
New York Mets
Who would have thought that the Mets would have a winning percentage above .500 38 games into the season? Who would have thought that the Mets would have ever climbed higher than the 5th spot in the division throughout the entire season? Not I.
I also wouldn’t have expected them to have 3 guys batting over .300 (with at least 100 PA’s) and David Wright mustering a triple slash of .402/.497/.598 line and 2.7 WAR after just 24 games.
If the team’s pitching wasn’t such a joke I think they might have some people writing things titled “Mets a shoe-in for the playoffs?” Unfortunately for them, there pitching is a joke—and a good one—so no one will be writing such optimistic things for them.
If you’d like to keep a closer eye on the Mets go and take a gander at Rising Apple.
Miami Marlins
Like I said earlier the Braves better freaking win tonight against the Marlins are probably going to split a two game series (what?) with the Marlins. The Marlins have been pretty iffy throughout the season so far.
At times we see how Giancarlo and their offense should be hitting the ball but when Hanley and Jose are batting .228 and .254 respectively you are going to have your issues. With a rotation like theirs relying on a pitcher like Josh Johnson, you are DEFINITELY going to have your issues. Also with guys like Ozzie Guillen, Carlos Zambrano, and that Ramirez kid at the ‘hot’ corner you will never not have your issues.
Fun Fact: The only player on the team who has been worth more than 1 WAR this far is Omar Infante. Typical Bravian(?) success right there.
Ehsan Kassim runs a great Marlins site called Marlin Maniac if you were wondering.
Philadelphia Phillies
This picture sums up the Phillies season nicely: No matter which way you look at it, you know something bad or funny is about to happen, and the most probably outcome is both.
I might be being a bit pessimistic here but hey, pretty much hate the Phillies like lifelong Braves fans hate the Mets. Ever since I became a pretty dedicated Braves fan (2005-2006) the Phillies have been the team to hate.
It’s a wonderful day when Carlos Ruiz and company are sitting in last place behind the New York Mets.
That Balls Outta Here is where you can find all your Phillies information… if you would want such a thing.
Try and make your caption better, I eased up on you guys this week. Also do me a kindness and like Tomahawk Take on Facebook and follow me on twitter @CarlosCollazo__.