The Good: Roy Oswalt is 5-5 with a 3.15 ERA, young Jeriome Robertson is 8-3 with a 4.87 ERA, winning his last seven decisions and his last four starts. Then there's the back end of the bullpen, with Octavio Dotel (62 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings) and closer Billy Wagner (64 strikeouts in 51 2/3, and 25 saves). Richard Hidalgo (.317, 14 homers, 50 RBIs), Lance Berkman (17 homers, 59 RBIs) and Jeff Kent (.313, 11 homers, 50 RBIs) power the offense. Watch out for third baseman Morgan Ensberg (hitting .312, 17 homers, 44 RBIs).
The Bad: Wade Miller is 6-9 with a 4.66 ERA. Tim Redding also has a losing record, at 6-8. Overall, Houston starters have a 4.66 ERA, which is not all that good. Offensively, Berkman shows power and has a fine on-base percentage (.403). But what happened to the guy who hit .331 in 2001? The defense has been OK, but Craig Biggio does look lost in center once in a while. Kent has been hurt, though he seems ready to come back.
What's Next: This is a well-balanced team that should be in the Central race until the end. The Astros are not playing as well as they should, but they're 39-29 since a terrible 11-15 April, so they've been improving. With the talent in this division, they'll have to keep improving if they want to get in the postseason, because a wild card is not likely to come out of the Central.
The Good: The Cardinals have arguably the best lineup in the league, punctuated by Triple Crown candidate Albert Pujols in the No. 3 spot (.368, 27 homers, 86 RBIs) and All-Star teammate Jim Edmonds (.303, 28, 67) at cleanup. Throw in Scott Rolen (18 homers, 62 RBIs), Edgar Renteria (.331), J.D. Drew (.305 with 10 homers) and Tino Martinez (.281), and the middle of the lineup is awesome. Woody Williams leads the pitchers with a quiet 12-3 record and 3.01 ERA.
The Bad: Matt Morris has been so spotty (8-6, 4.19) that manager Tony La Russa pushed back his first start after the All-Star Game to give him more rest. Garrett Stephenson (4-9, 4.58) also is struggling. Jason Isringhausen, coming back from offseason shoulder surgery, is the closer, but he has only five saves and has thrown a mere 13 innings. You wonder if he'll be there when it counts.
What's Next: There's no reason the Cardinals shouldn't be better than four games over .500 at this point. The pitching has been suspect, but with that offense, the Cards have to make it work. They are 25-22 vs. the NL Central. They'll have to do better than that to win the pennant.
The Good: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood top one of the best young staffs in the game. And they can bring it. Prior (8-5, 3.01) has 150 strikeouts, second in the majors to Wood (9-6, 3.19), who has 156. Young center fielder Corey Patterson exploded with a .298 first half, with 13 homers and 55 RBIs. And after a slow start and some shenanigans, Sammy Sosa is hitting .312 with 18 homers and 51 RBIs.
The Bad: Patterson blew out a ligament in his knee and won't play again, leaving a huge hole in the top of the lineup. First baseman Hee Seop Choi does not have a homer and has only one RBI since he was knocked unconscious in a scary on-field collision with Wood on June 7. The Cubs still don't have a decent-hitting third baseman (Jose Hernandez has 22 strikeouts in 58 at-bats since his trade back to the Cubs). And now they may stick with old guy Eric Karros (who is hitting .323) at first.
What's Next: If not for Mark Grudzielenak and Karros, the Cubs could be a lot worse off than they are. But manager Dusty Baker knows they need some help in the bullpen, someone solid in center and one more bat if they're going to catch the Cardinals and Astros. It can be done. But the Cubs are going to have to get hot.
The Good: We're not quite sure why the Reds still think they're in this thing. They are scrappy, we'll give them that. In fact, 22 of their 43 wins have come in their last at-bat. They are 19-10 in one-run games and 10-2 in extra innings. Sean Casey is hitting .303, and extra outfielder Jose Guillen is hitting .337. And, oh, they can pound the ball. They're second in the NL with 123 homers, with outfielder Adam Dunn (25) topping the list.
The Bad: The problem is, they can't do much else. They have only 43 wins. They're 14th in the 16-team NL in on-base percentage. They're awful, the worst in the league, defensively. And their pitching, especially the starting pitching, is atrocious. The starting rotation has a 6.23 ERA. No one can win with that.
What's Next: Manager Bob Boone is mulling a return to a five-man rotation, but that won't make any difference. And without decent starting pitching, it doesn't matter how lousy the division or how good, say, Ken Griffey might be playing (five homers in his last five games, officially), winning a pennant's just not going to happen.
The Good: Sometimes you just have to look a little harder, that's all. Brian Giles (.306, 10 homers, 45 RBIs) is a legitimate All-Star, even though he didn't make it. Jason Kendall's been there pretty much every day, hitting .308. Their starting pitching, including Kip Wells and Kris Benson, could be good. And Mike Williams is an All-Star, with those 25 saves.
The Bad: Josh Fogg has a 4.68 ERA and is 5-4. The Bucs were hoping for more. The only Pirates starter with a winning record, in fact, is Jeff Suppan (8-7, 3.73), and now the Red Sox want him. We're starting to think Aramis Ramirez (.277, 11 homers, 62 RBIs) will never be the hitter we once thought he would be. And he's sure brutal at third. And Randall Simon smacked a sausage.
What's Next: Lloyd McClendon is on the proverbial hot seat. The Pirates have a losing record against all three divisions, not to mention that losing mark in interleague. So, don't expect much. Along with Suppan, Giles has been in the trade rumor mill. If either of them goes, Bucs fans, turn the channel to 2004 or '05.
The Good: New manager Ned Yost has a team that struggles every day and shows some signs of improvement, occasionally, but still falls flat. The Brewers are 13-14 in one-run games, which shows they're in some. Geoff Jenkins is hitting .275, with 20 homers and 60 RBIs. Richie Sexson is an All-Star with his 25 homers and 70 RBIs. And young Scott Podsednik has been a huge surprise, hitting .320.
The Bad: Closer Mike DeJean has blown seven games in 24 tries, especially hurtful on a team that needs every win it can get. Ben Sheets (7-7, 4.19) has given up more homers than anyone in the league (25). Glendon Rusch has lost 11 games, worst in the leagues. Pitchers Todd Ritchie and Nick Neugebauer are both out for the year with injuries. It's tough out there.
What's Next: Until the Brewers get some pitching, they're not going anywhere. Their hitters, many of them, are young and can come around. But the pitching, right now, with the exception of Sheets, seems years off.
Note: All stats through Sunday. All photos AP, except Mark Prior (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images), Adam Dunn (Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images) and Brian Giles (Jeff Gross/Getty Images).
