Baseball’s Post-season Pre-season: When Small Market Teams Attack (Week 2 the NL)

The hottest Olsen

(Continued from last week's rundown of AL Small Market teams.)

I want to point out the complexity of 1 week in the US first. Starting with baseball; just last week, the Rays and by further stretch, the Pirates, were both in contention, but have dropped off quicker than the Mary Kate and Ashley’s acting careers. By the way, if you've seen Silent House you will be introduced to the youngest and by far the hottest of the sisters, Elizabeth Olson. Andy Pettitte has rejoined the Yankees. The Brewers and the Angels are hotter than a SoCal fire and the O’s have continued to win in marathon type ballgames. Yunel Escobar wrote a gay slur as a “joke” and is now suspended for three games (It’s ok because his interior designer and his hair dresser are both gay…). Romney has once again proven that he has no interest in presiding over the entire country, just simply 50%. So without further ado, here are the small NL teams who are proving that the 1% can’t have all of the fun.

Nationals (20th in payroll; 89-57)

The Nationals have finally emerged from the shadows of the Baltimore Orioles and developed into the best team in baseball. Unlike in the AL with the miracle A’s and O’s, it's pretty evident why this team is so successful. First off, their run differential is +128 which is one run less than than the NL Central and NL West’s leading teams (Reds and Giants) run differential combined. This team has been firing on all cylinders this year and I do not foresee them not going there, well, unless one of the large market teams legally but unjustly throws their money around to steal their stars, as is tradition.

They are young, dumb, and full of…skills. Strasburg has a great year recovering from TJ surgery (That stands for Tommy John Surgery and not waking up in a bath tub in Tijuana without a kidney) but how are they going to handle his absence? Well, quite frankly, they're not fucked. He's been a great contributor pitching lights out (15-6 record, 3.16 ERA, 197 SO’s, 159.3 innings pitched), but he isn't their ace as they have the deepest rotation in baseball. As much as he dislikes the situation of sitting down during a playoff season, it was a move to prolong his career, which he should be happy about.

Just in case you were wondering why the NATS are really so good, here's a crazy stat: 4 of their pitchers are in the top 11 in NL ERA. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detwiler, and Stephen Strasburg (although he’s now riding pine and I’m not talking about Escobar’s eye black pine). That’s fucking out of control. Gio Gonzalez only needs 1 more win to hit the 20 mark. Even without Strasburg it's apparent they have some studs slinging that ball.


In regards to their offense it’s pretty middle of the pack. But Bryce Harper, the 19 year old prodigy, is being considered to be the next Hank Aaron. Ok, maybe I’m just saying that but still. This guy is young and at the ripe age of 19, he hit 19 HR’s, 50 RBIs, and had a .263 BA. That last stat is not going to change the world, but for those haters, he can’t even drink legally. Besides him, they have consistent but not game changers in Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond. Jayson “I added a Y because it was cool” Werth is playing pretty well. By the way, they're 9th in MLB for youngest roster, averaging 27.6 years young.

So what transformed a team of vegabonds into the best team in baseball? They added stud pitchers in Gio Gonzalez. Jordan Zimmerman and Detwiler are finally coming into their own. They increased their defense with LaRoche and added a solid bat in Werth. They have developed some young stars in Strasburg and Harper. On top of this, have an extremely underrated manager in the Davey Johnson, who I feel has managed every team at some point. The only people that can stop them is themselves. Oh, and two big fat naked bikers having sex behind home plate. I mean how are they suppose to pitch with that going on?


Braves (16th in payroll, 85-64)

Hotlanta, that place is WHACK. It’s hard to believe that they're in the lower half of payrolls as they always contend. It seems like the Braves are having a statement year in honor of destined HOF Chipper Jones. HE apparently has been drinking out of the same cool-aid as Ray Lewis since neither appear to be affected by age. Besides his bat, Martin Prado is number 9 in the NL for avg at .301, Jason Heyward has 27 jacks, but besides these three, they aren’t worth the charmin extra they wipe their ass with.

Runs wise, they've done a solid job as they've scored the fourth most runs in the NL (657). Pitching they have the fourth best ERA and opponents batting average, which is at 3.56 and .248 respectably. But where they are elite is their defense, which has only committed 79 errors, best in the NL and number 2 for put-outs. These are great numbers seeing how they are third in Total Chances, which equates to more opportunities to screw up. They have a 1.5 game lead with 13 games left. How fitting would it be to see Chipper Jones waving good bye to a sport that treated him so well with a world Series Champion hat on?






Cincinnati Reds (17th in payroll; 89-59)

The Reds magic number is 4 to clinch the NL Central. They are 8th in the NL with 630 runs batted in. They're 5th in slugging percentage. So while these numbers are directly located at the middle of the heap, it is important to understand that this team revolves around pitching. They have the second lowest ERA in the NL at 3.42 and number 7 in opponents’ batting average. Between allowing few runs, they are also number three in errors at a low 81 committed this year. Also, Johnny Cueto has the fourth lowest ERA in the NL.

They sit righteously on top while being outspent by the St. Louis Cardinals by about $28 million. Jay Bruce has the third most HR’s in the NL with 33. Joey Votto is a great defensive player. Todd Frazier is the man of the future as he has enough strength to wrestle a bear. One of my roommates won’t shut-up about this kid - granted he's also from Toms River, which is also Frazier’s hometown. By the way, does anyone remember when he hit a homerun as the bat left his hand? Pretty damn solid.



(Pittsburgh Pirates 26th in payroll ; 74-73)


Sorry Pittsburgh, on second thought, I’m going to make your portion very simple. Andrew McCutchen, Andrew MCCutchen, AND Andrew McCutchen. They're on a slippery slope towards watching the post season on TV. At least Dark Knight Rises was filmed there. Am I right or am I right?

So keep watching the rest of the season unfold. The hottest races are the AL East and the AL Central. While the AL Wild Card race is close, the NL has 7 teams within 4.5 games. Oh, and welcome back football.

- Kyle