Remember when the Washington Nationals were in first place?
It was only two weeks ago that the team jumped out to 3-0 start, but it seems like ages since the Nationals last appeared invincible. Over a 10-day stretch, the Nats seemingly attempted to set a new record for futility by dropping nine consecutive games, including losses to the mediocre Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.
After three games in which Washington became synonymous with quality starting pitching, solid fundamentals and clutch hitting, youth and inexperience are now crippling the squad from the nation's capital. The back-end of the starting rotation features Odalis Perez, John Lannan and Jason Bergmann, who have combined to post an ERA of 7.78.
This ineptitude in the starting rotation might be overcome with a high-octane offense. The Nationals, however, sit in dead last in the majors with a .232 team batting average and are close to last in the National League in runs, home runs and stolen bases, which clearly does not bode well for the success of manager Manny Acta's team.
Not quite as uninspiring as the Nationals through the early going, the Colorado Rockies are still similarly feeling the heat. The National League's representatives in last year's Fall Classic have stumbled out to an early 5-7 record, mostly due to the awful 5.66 combined ERA of Colorado's starting pitchers.
This has resulted specifically from the inability of Colorado's young core of Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales to progress on the mound after each pitcher's promising 2007. Francis in particular enjoyed a stellar end to his season last year but looks extremely lost in 2008, registering an ERA of 9.53 thus far.
Additionally, the well-publicized struggles of last year's should-be Rookie of the Year Troy Tulowitzki have been nothing short of dramatic. Although a slight sophomore slump may have been predicted by some, a complete power outage to the tune of zero home runs, zero RBI and a .159 batting average through 11 games has shocked even the most outspoken skeptics.
Prior to the season, many prognosticators believed the Rockies could repeat as National League champs in 2008; however, there will be a new senior circuit representative in the World Series unless the Rockies receive consistent starting pitching and better production from their shortstop.
Meanwhile, moving from the league's lowliest to its top dogs, look no further than the team with the best record in the NL: the Arizona Diamondbacks. After destroying the competition throughout the regular season last year to the tune of a league-best 90 wins, the youthful Diamondbacks rode the arm of Brandon Webb and the bats of young prospects Chris Young, Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson all the way to the National League Championship Series.
Arizona's starting rotation has clearly set the tone in the early going thus far in 2008. What was already an adequate starting rotation has clearly become one of the league's elite with the offseason acquisition of Dan Haren, the AL's All-Star starter last July. Haren, Webb and Micah Owings have anchored a rotation that ranks first in the NL in wins, second in ERA and second in batting average against.
The rotation can only improve from here, as a newly healthy and motivated Randy Johnson continues to make his run at the 300-win club. The Big Unit seemingly cannot wait to silence his doubters - and he's currently sitting on 284 career wins and has surpassed Roger Clemens for second place on the all-time strikeouts list.
While it's easy to rely on the old adage that "pitching wins championships," one should keep in mind that this Arizona team is more well rounded than it may appear. It can't hurt the Diamondbacks, however, to lead the league as a team in runs, home runs, RBI and batting average.
Reynolds and another young stud, Justin Upton, have acted as the catalysts for the Diamondbacks' offense thus far, combining to hit .334 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI through their first 13 games. Every day Upton looks more and more like a confident veteran than the 20-year-old rookie that he is.
