National League

By Chris Frakes,
Contributing writer , ‘11

Pitcher Cliff Lee of the Phillies

As the calendar turns to September, many teams with playoff aspirations begin their stretch run for the ultimate goal: a shot to win the pennant. This year, the National League pennant race is shaping up to be as exciting as ever.
Although the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals appear to have a good handle on their respected divisions, anything can happen during the final month of the season. Each team made big splashes near the trade deadline to help solidify its lineups and rotation, hoping the new acquisitions will help make the road to the playoffs smoother.
The Cardinals’ acquisition of Matt Holliday provides protection to one of the best hitters in all of baseball, Albert Pujols. Opposing teams will now have a tougher time pitching around the dangerous Pujols, who leads the Major League in walks due to the lack of protection behind him.
As of August 26, the Cardinals have a comfortable nine game lead over the second place Chicago Cubs, with the Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros a distant eleven games behind. The Cardinals lead in this division seems to be insurmountable, making them an almost lock for the playoffs.
In the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies have a comfortable lead in their division as well. The defending world champions came into the year as a favorite to repeat as division winner. At the trade deadline, the Phillies made a deal to get Cliff Lee, the reigning AL Cy Young winner to bolster their already strong pitching rotation. The addition of Pedro Martinez to the rotation moves Jamie Moyer to the bullpen, giving the Phillies two former Cy Young award winners along with the World Series MVP, Cole Hamels.
The Phillies will determine how far they will go this year. The Phillies will most likely end up with four players having 30 homeruns or more. With the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins’ distant seven games back on August 26, it appears that the Phillies will hit their way into the playoffs.
The Wild Card and NL West races are the tight ones which appear to be going down to the wire. In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants all appear to be within striking distance to take control of the close race. The Wild Card race appears to be a nail biter as well, with the Rockies, Giants, Braves and Marlins all within six games of each other.
The NL West appeared all but won for the Dodgers earlier in the season, taking a large lead in the division to the All-Star break. The Dodgers, however, have been playing below .500 ball since the mid-summer classic, allowing the Giants and Rockies to get back into the race. Neither the Dodgers nor Rockies made a big splash at the trade deadline, and the Giants acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The teams in the NL West competing in this tight division appear to be going into the Stretch run with what they started with, shaping up to being a great finish.
The National League appears to be concluding with close races in the West and the Wild Card. The East and Central leaders appear to be pulling away with their divisions, but in baseball anything can happen.