NL East (2018)

[mitlen]

No, this:

Is that a new model?

[dcpatti]

Mets starter Jason Vargas has an ERA of 13.86, WHIP of 2.76, and has given up 19 runs on 26 hits in 12 innings (3 starts). 1.29 strikeout/walk and righties are hitting .476 against him (OPS 1.321) 

[Mattionals]

Mets starter Jason Vargas has an ERA of 13.86, WHIP of 2.76, and has given up 19 runs on 26 hits in 12 innings (3 starts). 1.29 strikeout/walk and righties are hitting .476 against him (OPS 1.321) 

And they designated Harvey.

[Monarch]

And they designated Harvey.

I've got to learn to pace myself. 3 weeks ago I handed the division to the Mets.

[imref]

Mets starter Jason Vargas has an ERA of 13.86, WHIP of 2.76, and has given up 19 runs on 26 hits in 12 innings (3 starts). 1.29 strikeout/walk and righties are hitting .476 against him (OPS 1.321) 

In these parts, that's known as "Edwin Jackson Numbers"

[imref]

Is that a new model?

[Optics]

Mets  batting out of order. That's something that doesn't even happen in Little League.

And remember when they were chanting "Harvey's better!?" at Strasburg? Yeah, where's your hero now?

God I love crapting on New York fans.

[Ray D]

Mets  batting out of order. That's something that doesn't even happen in Little League.

It happens.  It's just that nobody notices.

[Natsinpwc]

Braves win again.

[Greg_SRT]

Braves win again.

Yeah, they will at least 60 times this year.

[Natsinpwc]

Yeah, they will at least 60 times this year.

Is that a typo? Did you mean 90? 😉

[Greg_SRT]

Is that a typo? Did you mean 90? 😉

They could win 90. but seems unlikely considering they don't have the pitching.

[Optics]

Braves will regress at some point. I mean they're on pace to win 98 games. None of our teams that were much better on paper won that many except for the '12 Nats and the Braves don't come close to the pitching that team had.

Remember, even the Cubs were 2nd place until like, what August of last year? And I believe the Indians too didn't secure the division until late.

[NatsAllThe Way]

Braves will regress at some point. I mean they're on pace to win 98 games. None of our teams that were much better on paper won that many except for the '12 Nats and the Braves don't come close to the pitching that team had.

Remember, even the Cubs were 2nd place until like, what August of last year? And I believe the Indians too didn't secure the division until late.

Seasons are rarely played on paper. 

[aspenbubba]

Seasons are rarely played on paper. 

Do you mean we have to wait until the end of September?

[Truconfidence]

Braves will regress at some point. I mean they're on pace to win 98 games. None of our teams that were much better on paper won that many except for the '12 Nats and the Braves don't come close to the pitching that team had.

Remember, even the Cubs were 2nd place until like, what August of last year? And I believe the Indians too didn't secure the division until late.

you mean Nick Markakis isnt gonna bat .340???

[Greg_SRT]

Do you mean we have to wait until the end of September?

[catocony]

FedEx needs to get to the bottom of the snafu fast.  Zimmerman's PEDs are somehow getting re-routed to Markakis's house.

[dracnal]

Seasons are rarely played on paper.

How many times have they played the Marlins vs how many times have we played the Marlins?  How many more games do they have vs the Marlins?

[Elvir Ovcina]

How many times have they played the Marlins vs how many times have we played the Marlins?  How many more games do they have vs the Marlins?

They've only played one series against the Marlins - went 3-1.  The really notable thing is that the Braves are 17-8 on the road.  There's no way they can keep that up the full season (but they've also played 10 more road games than home, so that may wash out).

[dcpatti]

They've only played one series against the Marlins - went 3-1.  The really notable thing is that the Braves are 17-8 on the road.  There's no way they can keep that up the full season (but they've also played 10 more road games than home, so that may wash out).

They've also not spent a whole lot of time outside of the Eastern time zone, which really does matter.  Their second-half schedule is a lot tougher than their first half, while we have the reverse, partially due to all the travel.  Our most difficult stretch of travel is already behind us.  Hopefully our scouts are doing a good job out there gathering info about all these rookie batters and pitchers so we can have good solid game plans against them when we play them a million times in the second half.

[Elvir Ovcina]

They've also not spent a whole lot of time outside of the Eastern time zone, which really does matter.  Their second-half schedule is a lot tougher than their first half, while we have the reverse, partially due to all the travel.  Our most difficult stretch of travel is already behind us.  Hopefully our scouts are doing a good job out there gathering info about all these rookie batters and pitchers so we can have good solid game plans against them when we play them a million times in the second half.

It's also a 3-loss gap.  That's not much.  We're only 1/4 of the way through the season.  Stranger things have happened, but one would expect the Braves to regress.  Whether the Nats make up the ground is dependent a lot on health, but not totally.  Even without Murphy and the DDM, the team is still pretty good.

[dcpatti]

It's also a 3-loss gap.  That's not much.  We're only 1/4 of the way through the season.  Stranger things have happened, but one would expect the Braves to regress.  Whether the Nats make up the ground is dependent a lot on health, but not totally.  Even without Murphy and the DDM, the team is still pretty good.

Yep, all we have to do is sweep them once and that gap is gone. We can definitely do that!

[Senatorswin]

The talk about the braves playing the easier teams so far and the nats playing tougher teams early in the season reminds me of something Earl Weaver once said. Back then the royals were lousy. He said you want to play the royals in August as opposed to early in the year. Early in the year they don't know they're the royals but by August they remember they're the royals and play like it.
I guess that means teams with weaknesses can get off to good starts but over the long haul the weaknesses put them where they belong.

[Steve Rogers]

If we're pointing at arbitrary cutoffs, let's look at what the Mets have done since their last World Series win: 2 whole NL pennants in 31 years of play.  Both times, they were quickly dispatched from the World Series.  Pretty sure fans of the Braves, Phillies, Giants, Dodgers, and possibly even the D'Backs and Marlins have to be happier with what they've accomplished over that same three-decade time frame.

The 50 year cutoff was in relationship to the Expos/Nationals franchise entering the league. I forgot to include the Dodgers win last season which pushed them to 6. My bad.