Baseball tickets in the NL East may as well be reclassified as “coronation” tickets, as the Mets have the biggest lead in the majors by far in any division. Given that the NL East is already decided, we’ll take a look at how each team got here and what they can look forward to both this year and next.
New York Mets
Currently:
The Mets are cruising along in the standings, and they went a solid 17-10 over the past 30 days. They are clearly the best team in the division, and if they don’t win the division this year, it’ll be the biggest story in the history of sports. They’re led by many, but Carlos Beltran is leading the way on offense.
Outlook:
The Mets need to get their pitching healthy and to get primed for the playoffs; otherwise they could actually be a bit vulnerable in the first round if they’re not ready to go.
Philadelphia Phillies
Currently:
Although the Phillies played better over the past month, it’s a classic case of too little, too late, even after going 17-12 over the past 30 days. The Phillies have some exciting young players on their roster, though, including Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, and that bodes well for the future.
Outlook:
The Phillies are built for the long haul, and they’ll be back next year.
Atlanta Braves
Currently:
It appeared for a short time that the Braves could somehow climb back into the race for the postseason after an awful start. However, it appears that their incredible postseason streak is going to end this season. The Braves fell back a bit, going 13-14 over the past month, and there’s way too much ground to make up for them to be a threat this season. Their nucleus is intact, though, with Andruw and Chipper Jones and Edgar Renteria.
Outlook:
The Braves always seem to have young players ready to step up, so they’ll be back in 2007.
Florida Marlins
Currently:
The Marlins are a good-looking young team, and given their youth, they’re bound to struggle from time to time. They won half of their games over the past month, but that isn’t nearly enough to stay competitive in this division. However, players like Miguel Cabrera are worth the effort of obtaining baseball tickets, and this team won’t be easy to beat for the rest of 2006.
Outlook:
The Marlins seem to win it all and then rebuild, so their rebuilding will continue in 2007. Watch out, though, as they’ll mature right before our eyes and challenge for big things soon enough.
Washington Nationals
Currently:
The Nationals had a halfway-decent month, going 13-14, but this young team is a long way from contending. They have one superstar in Alfonso Soriano, and since they chose not to trade him at the deadline, they’d better get busy building around him, as he is a franchise player.
Outlook:
If the Nationals add a piece or two to their young roster, baseball tickets will continue to sell well in Washington, D.C.
By Jay Nault sponsored by www.stubhub.com/ StubHub sells baseball tickets: www.stubhub.com/ concert tickets and more to just about any event in the world. Please link to this site when using this article. |
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