Sports Page Atlanta

The trade deadline moves changed the course of the NL West division. The Cubs are still top dog in the Central, and the Phillies are looking they won’t need the Mets to flounder in the final weeks, this season, to win the East.

1. Chicago Cubs | 69-46 | Previous: 1 - The Cubs lead the NL in runs scored, total bases, and the slash stats (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) and are just cruising along now that they have Soriano back. The Cubs are 8-2 in their last ten games.
2. Philadelphia Phillies | 62-51 | Previous: 3 - A career year for Burrell is keeping the boo birds away. Having a 2.5 game lead over the Marlins and 3.0 over the Mets doesn’t hurt either.
3. Milwaukee Brewers | 64-51 | Previous: 6 - A week of playing Atlanta and Cincinnati was just what the Doctor ordered. It gets better next week as the Brew Crew host Washington and travel to San Diego.
4. St. Louis Cardinals | 64-51 | Previous: 8 - Ryan Ludwick is killing the ball again, Pujols is being… Pujols, and the Cards just got Chris Carpenter back. All is good for a Wild Card run.
5. New York Mets | 59-54 | Previous: 2 - The Mets pitching staff is downwardly spiraling, both physically and mentally. Maine is hurt. So is Wagner. And what was that 80 MPH cheese that Pedro was offering last night?
6. Los Angeles Dodgers | 56-57 | Previous: 5 - Adding Manny and Casey Blake assured us of an NL West race that should go down to the wire. If the Dodgers could play five outfielders they’d be even better.
7. Arizona Diamondbacks | 59-55 | Previous: 4 - Failing to upgrade offensively at the trade deadline is the main reason the D-backs will soon look up at the Dodgers in the West.
8. Florida Marlins | 60-54 | Previous: 7 - Not getting Manny at the trade deadline will turn out to be huge mistake.
9. Houston Astros | 54-59 | Previous: 15 - The Randy Wolf trade seems to have invigorated this team. They’ve won seven out of ten since the trade.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates | 56-62 | Previous: 10 - The players coming back to the Bucs were more than enough for Jason Bay. They aren’t likely to help in ‘08, but the shining star of Jeff Karstens should be enough to get them by until next season.
11. Colorado Rockies | 52-63 | Previous: 9 - While they did nothing to make the team better at the trade deadline, think positive… you still have all your big named veterans. Unfortunately for the Rockies, another second half run is not likely as the Dodgers are just too good.
12. San Francisco | 48-65 | Previous: 12 - The Giants won series against the Padres and the Braves this past week, and we saw just how good Tim Lincecum can be. But, this offense is still anemic.
13. Atlanta Braves | 52-62 | Previous: 11 - No more Teixeira, Chipper’s out, Hudson’s out, and the rotation is counting on quality starts from the likes of Chuck James. That’s a recipe for disaster. On the bright side, Glavine could be back as early as next week.
14. Cincinnati Reds | 52-63 | Previous: 13 - The Reds were just swept by the Nationals. ‘Nuff said.
15. San Diego Padres | 44-70 | Previous: 14 - Jake Peavy is the only starting pitcher with a winning record at 8-7. The Pads just lost two series in a row last week to San Francisco and the Mets, and they’ve only won one series in the past eight attempts.
16. Washington Nationals | 42-71 | Previous: 16 - Their ace has an ERA well above 4.00 and their biggest power hitter is Ronnie Belliard with 10 home runs. However, they did just sweep the Reds after losing nine straight. That doesn’t mean things are looking up though.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Atlanta Braves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.