The National League East Is the Best Division in Baseball

Imagine it is the beginning of the season. You read the standings for the National League East and see Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, New York and Washington. That would pretty much line up the way that most forecasters would have predicted them to line up.

So here we are at the unofficial first third mark of the season, and the National League East is the exact reverse of what people predicted. So what the heck happened?

First of all, the Phillies might be in last place but they still have a winning record. Jimmy Rollins has been on the DL and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have been out all year so far. Roy Halladay left yesterday's game with soreness and the once invincible pitching staff might be vulnerable.

But Cole Hamels is putting together an amazing free-agent run and Hunter Pence has been picking up the power slack. And what other team has a .362 Average and an OPS over 1.000 like Carlos Ruiz?

The Braves have been on a horrible losing streak reminiscent of the end of the 2011 season. And remember when Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward were supposed to be the next great one-two punch in baseball? Are they over the hill at 22? Brandon Beachy has picked up some of the slack with a fabulous start. And Martin Prado and Michael Bourn have been the real one-two punch in Atlanta.

And those are the two worst teams.

Miami has survived the first Ozzie Guillen controversy and distraction. They also managed to not implode when Heath Bell was benched because of a first-month bust. His ERA is still above 8.00, but he is finally starting to compile saves.

The best move the Marlins made? They traded Mike Stanton for Giancarlo Stanton. Mike was a nice player, but Giancarlo has more style.

The Mets are the most unpredictable team in baseball. They started the season filled with tired veterans and low expectations. Then the best thing that could have happened to the team took place. A lot of the veterans got hurt and they were forced to play young, hungry and unknown players.

Did anyone predict that Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada and Kirk Nieuwenhuis would be part of a pennant race? Oh yeah, David Wright has been kind of awesome and Johan Santana is finding his Cy Young stuff again, which helps.

And then there is Washington. The only thing that can stop their pitching staff is the innings limits on Stephen Strasburg. Gio Gonzalez could be the best trade in baseball, and if Chien-Ming Wang makes the transition to closer, then there is barely a hole in the entire staff. And Bryce Harper has at least given the team a nice boost.

The point is the teams that seemed the shakiest are at the top. The teams that seem the most stable are on the bottom and none of them are bad. Can anyone honestly say that they know who is going to win this division?

The Phillies could get some of their stars back from injuries and come back to win their sixth straight Division Title.

The young Braves stars could click and go on a winning streak and put the rest of the Division in the dust.

The Marlins could ride their combination of young studs and high-price veterans to cruise to October.

The Mets could be a bunch of young kids led by the beloved David Wright and win New Yorkers' hearts with a division title.

Or Harper, Strasburg et al could say to baseball "We're not waiting for our turn" and hang on to their lead.

What other division in baseball could you say that about? None. That is why the NL East is the best division in the game.