Climbing the Ladder with the National League 4/27/2008
by Scott Powers
Cubs take lead in Central
Today’s slate of NL games features a matchup of the past two NL Cy Young Award-winners.
The 2006 recipient, Brandon Webb, will bring his 5-0 record and 2.31 ERA to San Diego to do battle with 2007 honoree Jake Peavy and his 3-0 record and 2.00 ERA.
The two have put up similar numbers this year. In fact, the main difference between them is that Webb and the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks benefit from the best offense in the NL while Peavy and the last-place San Diego Padres suffer from the second-worst.
Despite pitching in the same division for the sixth straight year, the two aces will be meeting for only the fifth time. They met three times in 2005, resulting in only one decision apiece – in favor of Peavy.
When they met in 2007, each pitched brilliantly but earned no decision.
If past performances are any indication, expect both aces to make it through the weekend with their records intact.
The Diamondbacks continue to lead the way in the NL West, six games ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Colorado Rockies are a game behind them and half a game ahead of the Padres.
In the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs did it with their bats this past week and now boast the second-best offense and second-best record in the major leagues.
The Cubs’ veteran corner infield combination of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez has led the way with a combined OPS of 1.021. Rookies Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto have also contributed extensively with a combined OPS of .994.
Carlos Zambrano is looking like the ace the Cubs believed he could be, striking out 27 and walking five while giving the team four quality starts in five attempts. Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol have also contributed solid innings.
The Milwaukee Brewers got a surprise this week from youngster Yovani Gallardo – two surprises, actually. He lasted seven innings in each of his first two starts of the year, allowing just one run on a solo homer.
As if it doesn’t go without saying, Albert Pujols keeps swinging a hot bat for the St. Louis Cardinals. His on-base percentage recently rose above the .500 mark. That means he makes an out less than half the time he steps to the plate, something no one else can say.
The three teams in the bottom half of the division are continuing to fight for fourth place.
In the NL East the New York Mets fell back into the middle of the pack, a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies and half a game ahead of the Atlanta Braves.
Chase Utley has been the best player in MLB. He had a colossal eight-game stretch from April 17 through Thursday in which he recorded 17 hits, including seven of his MLB-high 10 home runs.
The Braves are still unable to catch a break. At 0-for-8 in one-run games, they stand at .500 despite having the best pitching staff and the second-best offense in the NL East.
The Washington Nationals, meanwhile, have continued their campaign for worst record in the league. Christian Guzman and Odalis Perez are putting together solid campaigns but not team-leading campaigns.
While the rest of the division flounders, the Florida Marlins find themselves in first. Ace Scott Olsen has been a big part of that, going 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA. Hanley Ramirez, Josh Willingham and Jorge Cantu are providing the pop to win ballgames.
It is still anyone’s division, and with mostly interdivisional play this week, it may take a little longer to establish a leader.
