Tight Races In The NL East/Central Going Into 2nd Half Of Season

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About 11 years ago, I watched former shortstop Jose Reyes (who is now retired) play some of the best games of his career. He inspired me to play and actually “enjoy” being a shortstop and wear the number seven as a softball player. I witnessed him being a fourth-time All-Star and an NL batting champion. Although he was joined by a great lineup that included David Wright, Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, and Ike Davis, the “Bad Guys” finished with a 77-85 (.425) record that season, coming in the second to last spot of the NL East. Fast forward 11 years and the Mets are now at the top of the NL East with a 73-39 (.652) record.

“Staying Alive”

The Atlanta Braves have started a long, tough 28-game stretch during August and have games against the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, and the New York Mets. Braves third baseman Austin Riley has a “hot bat” and a new “hot deal” (10-year, $212 million) and leads the team in batting average (.297) and home runs (30). By this time, I’ll be attending my 20-year high school reunion. I’m nearly halfway there, and it seems far away but very close. There are a lot of great things to expect from Riley because he is young and very productive.

Across the road in the NL Central, my mother’s Pittsburgh Pirates are struggling and in next to last place with a 45-67 (.402) record. There’s a tight race between the division-leading, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams are only half a game apart. The Cardinals” five-game winning streak has come to an end with a mind-blowing loss to the Rockies on Tuesday night. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with an impressive batting average (.332) as the second batter in the lineup. He currently has 27 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 131 hits. According to FanSided’s “Redbird Rants,” the Cardinals are now favored to win the NL Central instead of the Brewers. With 51 games left, there is so much that can happen.

What are the odds that the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and the Pittsburgh Pirates were tied at 44-65 (.404)? which means all three teams were 16.5 games behind just a few days ago. This will be very interesting to watch because there is such a huge gap between these three clubs and the NL Central’s second-place leader, the Brewers.

The NL East and Central divisions are continuing to make things interesting going into the second half of the season. Opinions on FanSided also state that even without Juan Soto, the Cardinal’s “revamped” roster can potentially compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers in October.

Who will finish on top?