2008 Woodie Awards
MLB Spotlight: NL East
Dov Quint
Issue date: 8/31/05 Section: Sports
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Well, it's late August, the summer is winding down, and we're heading for Labor Day weekend - the cut off point that separates baseball's contenders from its pretenders. But this year, the wild card race in the National League has presented a different spin. Five teams - the Marlins, Phillies, Nationals, and Mets, all from the NL East, and the Astros from the NL Central - are neck in neck for the last spot in the playoffs, and it might in fact come down to the very last weekend of the season to see who joins this year's three division winners in the playoffs come October. Keep in mind that the last three World Series Champions were all wild card winners.
[Note: All stats as of August 23.]
Breaking Down The Contenders
Houston Astros: The Astros have been the most surprising team of the five. After starting the season 15-30, they have rebounded to work their way back into the playoff race by going on a run, very similar to the one they made during the second half of last season. Their starting pitching has single-handedly carried them back into contention. If not for their dismal offense, Houston might actually be closer to division leader St. Louis than to the wild card contenders. Led by the trio of Roger Clemens (microscopic ERA of 0.56 on the road), Roy Oswalt (15-10, 2.68), Andy Pettitte (5-2, 1.86 since the break) and flame-throwing closer Brad Lidge, the Astros have victimized opposing teams. Now, if only their offense could score some runs. In order to understand Houston's hitting woes, one needs to look no further than pitcher Roger Clemens. Clemens has pitched lights-out baseball with a league-leading 1.56 ERA, but only has 11 wins to show for it. Wondering why? The Astros have scored 2 runs or less in 12 of Clemens' 26 starts, and have been shut out in 7 of those 12.
Outlook: The Astros' easier schedule the rest of the way may have a lot to do with who comes out of the race on top. In addition to watching the other contenders (all members of the NL East) beat up on each other due to the unbalanced schedule, Houston meanwhile will have to play eight of their final twelve series against teams with losing records; not such a difficult task considering their dominant pitching.
[Note: All stats as of August 23.]
Breaking Down The Contenders
Houston Astros: The Astros have been the most surprising team of the five. After starting the season 15-30, they have rebounded to work their way back into the playoff race by going on a run, very similar to the one they made during the second half of last season. Their starting pitching has single-handedly carried them back into contention. If not for their dismal offense, Houston might actually be closer to division leader St. Louis than to the wild card contenders. Led by the trio of Roger Clemens (microscopic ERA of 0.56 on the road), Roy Oswalt (15-10, 2.68), Andy Pettitte (5-2, 1.86 since the break) and flame-throwing closer Brad Lidge, the Astros have victimized opposing teams. Now, if only their offense could score some runs. In order to understand Houston's hitting woes, one needs to look no further than pitcher Roger Clemens. Clemens has pitched lights-out baseball with a league-leading 1.56 ERA, but only has 11 wins to show for it. Wondering why? The Astros have scored 2 runs or less in 12 of Clemens' 26 starts, and have been shut out in 7 of those 12.
Outlook: The Astros' easier schedule the rest of the way may have a lot to do with who comes out of the race on top. In addition to watching the other contenders (all members of the NL East) beat up on each other due to the unbalanced schedule, Houston meanwhile will have to play eight of their final twelve series against teams with losing records; not such a difficult task considering their dominant pitching.