Reds start season on fire; Cubs, Phillies in the cellar

As the first week of the National League season has clearly proven, preseason speculation is about as trustworthy as a politician during campaign season.

Spring training favorites the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies are off to gloomy starts while former cellar dwellers, the Cincinnati Reds, sit atop the NL Central with a 5-2 record.

Philly seems to have lost the cheese to its steak, winning a league worst one out of its first seven games. After seeing any pre-season optimism they might have had get swept away in a three-game series against the reigning World Champion Florida Marlins, the Phillies returned home for their inaugural game in the new Citizen's Bank Park. It was just like the days back at the Vet, however, as the team floundered, losing 4-1 to the Reds in the damp, cold weather. The boo-birds were out and the upper deck was empty by the fifth inning; so much for turning over a new leaf.

As Inside the NL so sagely foretold last week, the Cubs are hexed, and that's all there is to it. Not only does Chicago have the curse of the goat working against it this season, but the Sports Illustrated baseball preview edition cover jinx has landed on the team as well. The Cubs sit dead last in the NL Central as of Monday at 3-4.

Hurler Mark Prior remains on the disabled list and will probably stay out of the line-up until late May or early June. Fellow pitcher Kerry Wood has shown some promise early on (especially in his 11-strikeout performance on Sunday), but the newly-reacquired Greg Maddux was beaten to a pulp in his Wrigley Field debut, 13-2, by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Reds are clicking on all cylinders for the first time since their last winning season in 2000. Ken Griffey Jr. is healthy again and has been productive thus far batting .318 with two homers and five RBI through five games. The 34-year-old outfielder has lost many of his prime years to injury, but still is only 177 homeruns behind Barry Bonds and Willie Mays for third place all time. If Griffey stays off the DL, he could break out of the slump he's been in since joining the Reds in 2000.

Another outfielder that has been putting numbers up early for the Reds is 24-year-old Adam Dunn. The fourth year slugger is hitting .381, just behind team leader Sean Casey's .385, with four dingers and four knocked in through six games. Dunn has had problems in the past with his role on the team, but with hitting coach Chris Chambliss' guidance, seems to have matured and come into his own in the lineup. Fully recovered from a thumb injury he suffered last August, Dunn should continue to compliment Griffey in both the outfield and at the plate.

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a solid start with a division-leading 4-2 record. Gaps between the five western teams could show up early as the first two weeks of the season have been devoted to division play. LA took two of three from the Colorado Rockies over the weekend and will play two, three-game series with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants this week.

Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre has come roaring out of the gate batting .478 with three homers and eight RBI in the first week. Obviously this hyper-production won't continue for the entire season, but Beltre has the tools to remain consistently good for LA should he stay healthy and avoid the slumps he has been prone to in years past.

On a side note, Giants outfielder Barry Bonds hit his 660th homerun on Monday tying his godfather Willie Mays for third on the career homer list. This milestone should actually be the most important thing in this article, but Bonds already receives way too much coverage, and he's a miserable human being anyway.