MLB: Looking at the National League Races

Posted on | July 7, 2009 | No Comments

In the last blog we looked at the top of each division in the American League. Now we’re going to take a look at the races in the National League. And we will begin in the National League East.

For a while it didn’t seem like any team in the NL East wanted to win the division. But now perhaps the Phillies do want it. They’ve now won 4 straight games and they’ve opened up a small 2 game lead over the Florida Marlins. The Mets are now 4.5 games back, which isn’t bad considering they’ve lost a ton of games the last couple of weeks. And even the Braves aren’t out of it. They’re just 5 games back. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this division is that the Nationals are a whopping 19 games back. How can any team be 19 games back in such a mediocre division? And it isn’t even the All Star Break yet.

Meanwhile, in the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals are holding onto a slim 1 game lead. They’re up a game on the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago Cubs are just 2 games back and the Cubs and Red are both 3.5 games back. So, this is another division full of mediocre teams. But it should make for a great race through September and into October.

In the NL West the Los Angeles Dodgers have Manny back and they continue to roll along. They’ve actually been playing some bad baseball lately but they still have a 7 game lead over the San Francisco Giants. Look out for the Giants. They have a really good shot at making the Wild Card. The only problem for them is the fact that they have to play the Dodgers so much. But I still think they’ll make it.

So, I like the Mets to win the East (I know, I know, but give them some more time), the Cards to win the Central, and the Dodgers to take the West. The Giants are my Wild Card team. At least for now.

Related posts:

1. MLB: The National League
2. MLB: A Look at the National League
3. MLB: National League Starting to Sort Itself Out
4. MLB: Looking at the National League
5. MLB: Looking at the Races in the American League

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