National League leaders’ strengths and weaknesses
With 50 games left to go in the Major League Baseball season, division leaders are desperate to hold on to their titles and fulfill their post-season aspirations. Here are the current National League division leaders’ strengths and weaknesses:
NL West – San Diego Padres: The Padres have the best record in the Nationals right now and have been riding their pitching to success in the West division. The Padres team ERA of 3.28 is currently the best in the League and their depth at pitcher is immense. Come play-off time, the Padres will have a great rotation with the likes of Mat Latos and Jon Garland to lead them, with phenomenal relief from Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams.
The Padres' flaw is their lack of offence. The Padres’ hitting isn’t as bad as was initially expected, but it is by no means dominant. San Diego has been slightly lucky by playing in the extremely pitcher-friendly Petco Park, where their opponents’ offence is easily stifled. The Padres lineup has produced just enough to scrape by on pitching and if that equilibrium holds the Padres can be fine in the post-season.
NL East – Atlanta Braves: The Braves have held the NL East lead since 31 May and have done so with the help of their deep bullpen. The Braves have a nice starting rotation of Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, and Derek Lowe to lead them into some of the best relievers in the MLB. Those last three innings have been absolutely dominated by Jonny Venters, Takashi Saito, and Billy Wagner respectively.
The closest thing the Braves have towards a weakness is their offence. It is by no means terrible, but their offensive roster has been plagued with injuries throughout the season. Franchise player Chipper Jones has become injury prone as he has aged and Troy Glaus saw a hot streak derailed by injury as well. The Braves have hoped to revamp their offence a bit by trading the underperforming Melky Cabrera for Rick Ankiel.
Atlanta doesn't need much offence and really just need to carry a lead into the seventh inning. After that, the lights-out triumvirate of Venters, Saito, and Wagner takes over and tends to lead the Braves to victory.
NL Central – Cincinnati Reds: The Red have led their division since just 2 August, and look to maintain control thanks to their current four game winning streak. This is their first time atop the division so deep in the season since 1995. Interestingly enough, the Reds are currently two games above the St. Louis Cardinals for the title, and the two contenders begin a three-game series on Monday.
Unlike the other National League division leaders, the Reds have thrived thanks to their offensive production. The team has a National League-leading .273 overall batting average and has seen great offence from Joey Votto. In general, the Reds have some of the majors’ finest hitters.
The Reds also have a strong pitcher in Bronson Arroyo, and he’ll certainly be seeing his share of short-rest starts if the divisional race gets really close.
Aside from Arroyo though, the Reds do not have much pitching depth or experience. They have three starters who are 24 years old or younger, none of who have ever pitched in a pennant race before. In fact, Mike Leake and Travis Wood are rookies with imposed inning limits. As neither has faced post-season qualification pressure it is possible that they will melt under pressure as the Reds seek the division crown. The three-game series against the Cardinals will be a good gauge for how they young pitchers might play under stress.
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