NL East Midseason Review

Our midseason reviews continue with the NL East this evening.

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves (52-36)
The Atlanta Braves have surprised a lot of people so far this season, jumping out to the best record in the NL for the first half of the year.  A lot of questions will circulate in the second half about whether or not they can maintain their success, or if they will return to their 9-game losing streak days from earlier this season.  Rookie Jason Heyward has performed well to this point, and will look to continue his ROY campaign.

New York Mets (48-40)
In spite being the NL East version of the Red Sox (i.e. - the team dealing with a lot of injury questions), the Mets have managed to put together a pretty good first half.  Of course, given their ability to fall totally apart at the end of the season, don't expect much more than this, Mets fans.

Philadelphia Phillies (47-40)
The reigning two-time NL Champs have struggled at times this season, and find themselves looking up at two teams as we close out the first half of the season.  Should the good people of Philadelphia worry?  Probably not.  The Mets will inevitably collapse, and the Braves may not be able to hold up late in the season.  Don't worry, Philadelphia, you still have Roy Halladay... you know, the one who is supposed to destroy NL bats with his mere thoughts.  Isn't that what everybody was saying at the beginning of the season?

Florida Marlins (42-46)
The Marlins have had a minor implosion so far this season.  When Freddy Gonzalez benched Hanley for a couple of games for a perceived lack of hustle, it became clear whose team roamed South Beach.  Gonzalez is now looking for alternative employment, and Hanley got to play in Anaheim at the beginning of the week.  Don't worry Miami, you haven't paid attention to the Marlins in a while, and there's no reason to now.  Scratch that - pitcher Josh Johnson is quietly putting together a very good season, but, again, nobody is around to see it.

Washington Nationals (39-50)
Do you remember when the Nationals were relevant?  People were talking about the chances that they stuck around for the Wild Card Race, and there was all kinds of excitement about Strasburg's debut.  Well, that was fun.  Welcome back to reality.  On the bright side, the way things are shaping up, the Nationals will not be the worst team in baseball, meaning that their streak of #1 picks is in jeopardy.