Shorter edition tonight due to some personal reasons (sleep)
Woeful Week
It has certainly not been a banner April for much of the NL East. Not a single member of the division has a winning record over the last 10 days.
1st Place — Atlanta Braves (10-7, 4-2 L7 days)
The Braves are one of the few winners of the last actual week, finishing off the Angels and winning the Guardians series
They are HITTING right now their 94 runs being the 2nd best in baseball only behind the Astros.
They’ve scored 10+ runs three times in the first 2 weeks of April, and there really isn’t a week part of the lineup right now. Eight of their regulars have an OPS over .800 in the L7 days. It’s full speed ahead for this bunch. The only team in the division that can really say that.
There’s a little to clean up on the defensive end right now, but overall this team looks prepared to step into this next week of NL East matchups (2 more vs Marlins, 3 with the Phils, and then starting next week with the Nationals).
2nd Place — Miami Marlins (9-8, 3-4 L7 days)
This team is a hard one to figure out they beat up on the Reds to being the week, got swept by the Tigers in Detroit, and on Monday waxed the division leading Atlanta Braves 10-4.
Norby had a great week posting a 1.046 OPS but then on the other hand the carriage turned back into a pumpkin for Hicks and Sanoja both with sub-.500 OPS
Tyler Philips has been an emergent star in the back end of the bullpen, but Sandy Alcantara got tagged by a shuffling Tigers offense.
They’re hitting for now, but their 29th ranked team defense is gonna be a hinderance to whatever future this team may or may not have had.
They got the first from the Braves, but the next 2 will be a good indicator of if this team can find the right side of the roller coaster.
3rd Place — Philadelphia Phillies (8-8, 2-4 L7 days)
This isn’t what this team is. Losing both the Giants and Dbacks series shouldn’t have happened.
But whooping the Cubs 13-7 is what they are in my eyes.
After back to back shut outs in San Fran and a series without scoring more than 4 runs against the Snakes, the Phillies broke out in a big way.
Schwarber hit 2 NUKES, and Cristopher Sanchez threw a great game.
Harper and rookie Justin Crawford both have OPS over 1.000 in the L7 days… but that’s about where the fun ends.
The Phillies are just starting their Cubs Sandwich with a Braves set in the middle. Time will tell if the meat of their own order will step up with the top.
4th Place — Washington Nationals (7-9, 3-3 L7 days)
Pardon my French, but how the fuck did this team sweep the Brewers?
Yes it was a tad ass backwards with the triple bunt fiasco, Kyle Harrison getting railroaded by El Gary at 1B, and then an Angel Zerpa blowup…. but it really makes no sense
On brighter side of things, CJ Abrams and James Wood are hitting like ROCK STARS. Abrams tagged Paul Skenes for a 1st inning HR, and Wood has a 1.746 OPS over the L7.
But damn this bullpen is falling apart at the seams. Losing 2 members to the IL, and then giving up 16 runs to the Pirates on Monday night. They simply don’t have the horses for the long haul.
But who knows? 3 more against the Buccos and 3 against the Giants could of course still goes their way. It is a long and weird season after all.
5th Place — New York Mets (7-10, 1-6 L7 days)
Feeble.
That’s really the only way to describe the 6 game losing streak the Mets are on. Shutout in 3 of the L4, allowed 7 runs three of these L7… they’re rocking a -24 run differential during this past week.
Oooooof.
Nobody is hitting, and really the only bright side is Luis Robert sapping Juan Soto’s plate vision and zone control.
The offense is in dire straights, and they need to find a spark plug NOW, because the Dodgers won’t take their foot off their throats and the Cubs are itching to turn it around on somebody.
The League is too competitive to fall behind early.
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Odds and Ends
on Monday night NINE (!!) different players hit 2 or more Home Runs in a single game.
Josh Naylor
Ketel Marte
Kyle Schwarber
Nolan Arenado
Jeremiah Jackson
Aaron Judge
Mike Trout
Jake Burger
Tren Grisham
All went double deuces. What the fuck is Manfred doing to these baseballs???
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The Bronx Bombers were the Beneficiaries of such a thing Monday night
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The Astros continue to be an absolutely hilarious clusterfuck
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The Pirates have not one, but TWO of the top 5 OPS leaders in the National League.
Hoist the Cone