Team Analysis, NL South

The Florida Marlins find themselves in first. With undeniable leader on offense, Murray Ramsey, the Marlins offense runs in high gear. Shut him down and the attack can come to a screeching halt. Defense is relatively sound, a few holes exist though. It is already rumored that Ivan Johnson, the two pitch Golden Boy, is a leading contender for the CY Young and he isn't even a starting pitcher. The rest of the staff is pretty damn good also.

The Texas Rangers find themselves in second place. The Rangers have a great team with a frustrated GM. Playoff bound is an interesting question however. Hitting is very good. Pitching can be somewhat of a disappointment at home. Defense has its weak links. Texas has a few sayings that can help, Oklahoma sucks that is why trees lean to the north, brown cloud to the west means New Mexico is coming for a visit, rain means Houston blows. What does that have to do with anything? Absolutely nothing. What can Texas do to fix their woes? The only thing I am saying is look at the stats and figure out how to fix what is wrong. Most of the answers are in conjunction with the stadium factors.

St. Louis Cardinals are in third at the moment. Actually being a contender is suddenly doubtful in all reality. They are not as bad as they look and surprisingly do better than what one would think. Remember what they accomplished in New Orleans last year. A better home turf this year is actually a benefit. The update actually hurt them a lot in every aspect of the game. Defensively, they are suddenly porous. Hitting is suddenly very inconsistent. Pitching is giving up way too many fan souvenirs.

Houston Astros are smoldering in last. The update last year left the GM fuming and knowing he had to rebuild for the future. Then this seemingly unabtrusive update made him madder than a wet hen probably. At the moment the defense is well, pathetic. Actually it always was, it just never reared its ugly head before. Out hitting the defensive woes doesn't work well anymore. There are some pieces to work with and in the near future however. I would even expect a future sell off in the off season, so AL teams take notice as there are still a few prize possessions available if you can afford them. The bright spot is the pitching staff who are doing well despite some the other woes. Mostly young and more young help in the minors. Getting the offense and defense right for the future is the primary concern.