Ok we’ve looked at the AL East and West now let’s take a peek at the senior circuit the East that is.
(Current as of 5/12/23 Noon EST)
| NL East | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 9 | 7 | .563 | —— |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 8 | .467 | 1 1/2 |
| Atlanta | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | 9 | .357 | 3 |
Florida: 9-7 .563 1st place
The good news : Florida is flush with .300 hitters including Fred McGriff (.350 .435 OBP) Rondell White ( .364) Mariano Duncan ( .348 9 RBI 10 Runs scored 12 RBI) and Vinny Castilla (.338 12 Runs scored) Even pitcher Mark Portugal has is hitting .333 with a walk. Barry Bonds is only batting .246 by comparison but he has driven in 14 and scored 16. Reliever Billy Taylor is 4-0 with one save and the only save blown by the team in 5 in save chances. .
The Bad News: Florida is only 1-3 vs Left handers and starters Mark Portugal worse with the normally sure handed Mike Lansing with 4 errors in 14 games
Didn’t see that coming: Not only has Florida yet to win a game on turf they are also the only first place team with a negative runs differential (-7)
Medical Report: The bad news is reliever Todd Jones who went down in the San Diego series won’t be back till the current road stand is over. Of course given his .565 avg against, 4.15 WHIP & ERA of 18.69 that not a great loss.
Coming Attractions: Florida continues a long road trip with stops at Minnesota (2) and a big series in Atlanta (4) where they will try to finally get a some wins away from home before coming back to see the Orioles for two begore hitting the road again. .
Cincinnati: 7-8 .467 2nd place 1 1/2 games out
The good news : Cincy’s 3.14 team ERA, 1.17 team WHIP , 46 Earned runs allowed and .993 fielding percentage all lead the majors. Their perfect 4-4 in save chances Lance Johnson and Barry Larkin each have 8 steals and Eric Davis’ 5 HR’s are second in the league.
The Bad News: With Ricky Henderson hitting .204 with a .338 OBP which is the highest on the team among players with at least 18 at bats and Eric Young hitting .241 with a .300 OBP the table isn’t being set for anyone. This would explain why the Reds have yet to win a 1 run game. Despite the highly touted Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate not only do they lead the majors in passed balls but have only caught 1 of 6 runners trying to steal.
Didn’t see that coming: After being unpicked in the draft Mike Blowers was picked up off waivers to help when Chris Sabo didn’t do the trick with Boggs on the DL. Blowers has hit .400 with an OBP of .538, a slugging of .800 and an OPS of 1.338
Medical Report: Cincinnati had an injury plagued start with Lance Johnson (3 games) Barry Larkin (4 games) and Wade Boggs who just returned from the 10 game disabled list for game two vs San Diego but for the first time since opening day they are all healthy
Coming Attractions: Cincy has one more at San Diego and then a pair at Chicago before they return home for 4 against Pittsburgh and a pair against the yanks.
Atlanta: 7-9 .438 3rd place 2 GB
The good news : Atlanta’s offense has been incredible with four starters Chipper Jones, Marques Grissom, Jose Offerman and Jim Eisenreich) hitting .364 or higher Jones has driven in 19 with 5 HR and before he broke a bone Larry Walker had 5 HR and 13 RBI. (Eisenreich is at .439). They lead the NL in hits and triples Homers and the majors in RBI’s. Alan Embree and newcomer Mariano Rivers (who came from the Yanks for John Smoltz who was 2-0) have not given up an earned run.
The Bad News: Closer John Wetland’s .333 avg against and 8.44 ERA is a big reason why they traded Smoltz for Rivera. More than half of their starts have been by pitchers with ERA’s from 5.79 to 12.46. Jeff Kent is hitting .150 in 15 games. Chris Hoiles is hitting .188 in 13 games. Their ERA is the 2nd worst in the league and only St. Louis has blown more saves in the league
Didn’t see that coming: Atlanta is the only team in the majors with both a losing record and a positive run differential. Greg Maddux 0-2 ERA 12.47 batters hitting .362 against.
Medical Report: It’s been a disaster for Atlanta in the outfield. Not only have they lost Jim Edmonds till the middle of their series vs San Diego three weeks away but Larry Walker broken bone means he will barely make it back before the September callups
Coming Attractions: It’s a back and forth scheduled for the braves, two in Toronto, back home for 4 vs Florida and a pair vs Cleveland then off on the road again to play the Padres.
Pittsburgh: 5-9 .357 4th place 3 GB
The good news : Glenallen Hill is hitting .333 playing full time and Mark Johnson is .393 with 3 HR and 7 RBI in part time play. Kevin Elster’s 5 HR puts him in a tie for 2nd in the league. On the mound Curt Schilling has proved himself worthy of the first pick overall in the draft with a 3-0 record in three starts a WHIP under 1 0.99 2 complete games and an ERA of 2.13. On the whole the team has an ERA of 3.39 (4th best in the majors) and has given up fewer hits (106) and fewer HR (7) than any other MLB team
The Bad News: Unfortunately the teams gloves have betrayed them their .966 fielding percentage is the worst in the league. Their Catchers have only thrown out 2 of 23 men trying to steal 0.87 the worst rate in the majors while giving up the fewest runs Pittsburgh has the lowest team avg in the majors (.224) and their obp of .297 is the 2nd worst. This is thanks to four regulars (Moises Alou, Ernie Young, Bret Boone and John Jaha ) all batting under .200 and two more starters (Joe Carter & Jason Kendall) both hitting .225 or under.
Didn’t see that coming: Pittsburgh has yet to win a game played on grass
Medical Report: Moises Alou missed the series against Cleveland but should be back for the final game vs Houston. Meanwhile Wade Terrell had to leave his last start early and will have his next start delayed by a day or two.
Coming Attractions: Pittsburgh has two at Houston before they head to Seattle for a pair and then Cincinnati for a big four game series.
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