This morning, colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois called me to chat a bit about the ball, and between two conversations on the careers of Jesse Chavez and Edwin Jackson, he brought to my attention the current situation in the National.
And looking at the current portrait, you notice pretty quickly that there are a ton of stories and surprises within the sister of the American.
Before going any further, take the time to look at what it looks like before the day’s matches:
What we immediately notice is that the Atlanta Braves are in a class of their own. They have a superb 58-28 record, which allowed them to dethrone the Rays at the top of MLB.
We’re talking about a club that lost its starting shortstop last winter (Dansby Swanson) and is currently without Max Fried and Kyle Wright, two of their best starting pitchers.
That said, the Braves are real brutes offensively. Ronald Acuña Jr. is obviously the leader, but guys like Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy are producing a ton too.
And if Austin Riley can get back to hitting like he can, it will be even worse.
On the other hand, when we look behind the Braves, we see three clubs that surprise this year: the Marlins (who were obviously a Luis Arraez and a bad season from Sandy Alcantara to be good), the Diamondbacks (propelled by young Corbin Carroll and Zac Gallen) and the Reds (who surf on the Elly De La Cruz wave).
However, if we go back to DBackswho were firmly atop the National West, the current four-game losing streak is hurting the club, as the Dodgers are gaining ground and are just half a game off the lead.
And if Corbin Carroll is seriously injured, it would be a disaster in the desert.
And behind the top five, there is a great three-way fight for the last ticket to the playoffs: the Phillies are back to winning ways and would be the third team drafted if the season ended now, but the Giants (half a game ) and the Brewers (one game) are blowing their necks.
Then we get into the territory of disappointing teams: sure, the Padres and Mets are there (although they’re winning a bit more these days), but the Cubs and Pirates have slowed down a lot after a big start to season.
And, of course, no need to remind you that the Cardinals are in that group.
Unsurprisingly, the uninspiring Nationals and Rockies languish in the shallows, but in their case, that’s to be expected. They are not necessarily disappointments: they are simply bad.
In short, everywhere in the National, we are entitled to beautiful surprises and beautiful struggles. For the most part, it’s a struggle for the top of the division or a spot on the draft teams, but for the Braves, it’s a struggle with history.
They need to step up the pace, and it seems unlikely, but if they win 58 of their last 76 games, they’ll tie the 2001 Mariners for the best record in team history (116-46).
We will therefore be watching the action in the National over the coming weeks, but clearly, the end of the season promises to be exciting there. And with some good fights in the American as a bonus, we will be spoiled by the end of the regular season.
