Out to Lunch with Papa Slater: The NL East

By Papa Slater



As the dog days of summer approach, there is nothing quite as dandy as sitting back with an adult beverage or lemonade and turning on some mid-season baseball. As the months start heating up, so are certain teams. There is one division which appeals more to me above all others. The National League East babbyyyy. As an avid Phillies fan I feel it is my civic duty to break down my thoughts feelings and concerns on how the East will end up.

There are many different factors that play a roll in how the NL East will pan out. Do the Mets pitchers have enough stamina to make it deep this year? Will the Braves be able to finally start hitting the ball soon? Can the Phils stay hot after the All Star Break? Will those damn Marlins exceed expectations again and hang around til September? Let me express my completely bias opinion and see if i can get anyone to agree.

The Washington Nationals are the least of my worries to interfere with anything what-so-ever. They are a mere 30-39 and are over 8 games out at this point. They only won 71 games last year, and I am confident they will have less than 70 wins this year. There is a lack of talent in both dynamics of the game. Pitching has been below average since the injuries of John Patterson and Jason Bergman. There has been a poor showing of offensive display from anyone other than Dimitri Young and Brian Zimmerman. The Nats have been through an awful amount of injuries and loss of talent, and I don't see any success for this ballclub in the near future.

Moving onto a team that seems to shock the nation every year with a late season rally; the Florida Marlins. The Marlins are always in Wild Card contention. Most people don’t consider the Marlins to be a threat due to the lack of total salary for their squad, which is 2nd lowest in the majors at a mere $30.507 million. The Marlins are a fun team to watch when certain players are making it do what it do. Dontrelle Willis is one of the most animated pitchers in the league. He is currently struggling this season due to lack of offensive contribution with a 7-6 record. Armando Benitez has a 1.29 ERA in six appearances with the Fish since being aquired from San Fran. Another Marlin to watch is Miguel Cabrera, an explosive 3rd basemen with unlimited talent. Even though he is only 24 it seems he has been in the league for 15 years. Even with the talent of thse couple players, there is no shot for a team with 20 players only making league minimum. I say this now but come September, a wild card run would come as no surprise.

Being a phillies fan, it's nearly impossible for me to like the Atlanta Braves. Ever since they moved from NL West to East it seems they have always been getting in the way. The Braves consistently make it to the divisional playoffs, and seemingly consistently lose the series. This season the Braves have a solid lineup, but aren’t divisional championship worthy. The biggest damper on their season has to have been losing Mike Hampton for 6-9 months. Atlanta now has to put all its pressure on 8 year veteran Tim Hudson and 18 year crafty righty John Smotlz to take them to the playoffs. The pitching is certainly a strong point, with leadership and talent in the rotation and in the bullpen. The weak point is definitely their offense. During recent interleague play the Braves have a 1-5 record and only 11 runs in the five loses. Edgar Renteria will always hit the ball well and Willie Harris is one of the hottest hitters in the league right now. However, that doesn’t make up for the fact that after Andruw and Chipper Jones, there are nothing but outs. This is why the Braves will soon start to self-destruct. If a team can’t get consistent hits out of their 6-8 hitters they will not succeed late in the season. Maybe next year boys.

I hate the New York Mets. I’ll even go as far as saying I hate Mets fans. I’ll even dance with the Devil and say my hatred for the Mets is more than that of the Yankees. The reasoning is because of their recent ability to be a fantastic team and play well in all aspects of the game (and outperform the Phillies). This is not the Mets year. They are having a very impressive amount of offensive production. Jose Reyes is the fastest man on Earth. He was found racing cheetahs in Africa in the off-season just to develop more cat-like instincts. Carlos Beltran has been facing minor injury this season and has only ‘belted” 9 dingers so far and hitting a non-salary worthy .265. Carlos Delgado isn’t performing how a veteran that wants a ring would be, only hitting .229 with 11 homers. Paul Lo Duca and David Wright have been playing well thus far into the season, both hitting around .300 with consistent hits every game. The downfall of the NY Mets will be the pitching. Pedro lost his killer instinct once he said the Yankees were his daddy, hes never really been a man to be feared after that. Orlando Hernandez isn’t exactly young anymore and doesn’t have the power he used to. Billy Wagner is a chump and a big piece of excrement. He’s actually excellent, with his 100mph fastball and ass-kicker attitude. Pedro Feliciano is a decent reliever, syke. Tom Glavine has just checked into an old age home down in Florida. Oliver Perez is the only pitcher I can imagine having a good 2nd half of the season, and guess what sports fans, that’s not quite enough. Atleast not this season.

Time for me to talk about the Phillies as if they have made the playoffs since their World Series appearance in 1993. If you know anyone who likes a Philadelphia sports team, you know that before the season starts you hear “This is the year” and “Playoffs baby, Playoffs”. Midway through the season you get “They will pick it up right after All-Star Break”. At the end of the season you get “$*%@ the Phils these guys $&*%# stink!” Well you won’t be hearing the ladder from this guy this year. I know what you’re thinking, “Yea right this kids a joke”…..maybe so….but I could probably beat you up just on pent up aggression from watching my teams constantly lose when it counts….so watch yourself.

Here is why Philly fans are full steam behind this team. It’s a team we actually like, it’s a team with skill, charisma, power, and even poise. There certainly are a few kinks that need to be worked out, but it is bound to happen. I love watching ESPN every night and just seein Chase Utley hit a ball 500 feet or Shane Victorino throw someone out from deep right field. The Phils were hurt when losing closer Brett Myers a couple weeks ago, but his expected return should provide a nice kick to morale (or maybe a punch to the proverbial spousal face). Cole Hamels is absolutely filthy. He has a 90-94mph lively fastball, an outstanding change up and is working on perfect his curve. He is young, yet doesn’t get discouraged after letting up a couple hits. Stolen bases are sufficient with Victorino having 3rd most in the NL (21) and Jimmy Rollins having 10th most (13). Ryan Howard has found his swing and has knocked out 15 dingers thus far into the season, 9 since his May 25th activation from the DL. Aarron Rowand is hitting .320 with 82 hits already. There are many factors that are leading me to believe that this is the year for the Phils to make the playoffs this year. With leadership from Jaime Moyer for the pitchers, and Utley, Howard and Rowand as leaders for the lineup, this team will have a fantastic 2nd half.

In conclusion to this little diddy I put together on my lunchbreak, the NL East is definitely a division to follow this season. There are going to be swings in division leaders and the teams always play good ball against each other. I am excited for the cease of interleague play and return to good old fashioned competition. Keep and eye on those fightin’ Phils!

Out to Lunch with Papa Slater is written during the hour lunch break of OrderMeADouble Staffer Papa Slater. He's hungry for his tasty lunch, and also hungry to feed your wandering mind.