Hanley Ramirez can flat out rake, but the real questions about the Marlins have to do with pitching.

National League East

Florida Marlins – The Florida Marlins have ripped and laughed for their league worst payroll, but that pathetic group of underpaid players is leading the second most competitive division in baseball by a game and a half. Hanley Ramirez has started the year off hitting .337 with 8 home runs and 18 RBI. Leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage, and on-base plus slugging is left fielder Josh Willingham. Willingham has started they year hitting .341 with 6 home runs and 16 RBI. Everyone knows that the Marlins can light up the scoreboard in every inning, but one question is still unanswered; can the pitching staff hold up?

New York Mets – The Mets have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball, the best pitcher, and maybe the best left side of the infield in the game, but for some reason they can barely keep themselves above .500 to start the season. All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes has started the year off hitting just .237 with two home runs and nine RBI. Johan Santana has also had a slow start this year sporting a 3-2 record with a 3.12 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Santana’s slow start can be put on an offense that is only scoring four and a half runs per game. With a banged up rotation and an anemic offense, the Mets could spend the whole year looking up.

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies came into the year as the favorite in the NL East, but the horrific start by the entire pitching staff and their stud first baseman has them sitting in third place. A big reason the Phillies are sitting in third right now is Ryan Howard’s slow start. So far this season Howard is hitting .174 with five home runs, 11 RBI, and a whopping 37 strikeouts in 26 games. Due to Chase Utley and his ridiculously fast start this year the Phillies have stayed with in striking distance. Utley is currently hitting .359 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI. The starting pitching has been so bad this year that the set up man Tom Gordon is tied for the team lead in wins.

There are not many positive things to say about the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals so far this season. The Braves can at least blame some of their early season woes on injuries. So far this season the Braves have watched Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Mr. Sally Mike Hampton be put on the DL. The Nationals have not had as many injuries, but then again they did not have the same expectations as the Braves heading onto the season also. The only bright spot on the Nationals young season was the first game of the season when Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk off home run.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs came into the season thinking that they did not have enough bats to really win games, but they are actually second in the MLB in runs scored with 145. A big reason the Cubs have been able to score runs is the reemergence of Derek Lee and the addition of Kosuke Fukudome. Lee has hit .359 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. Fukudome on the other hand is finding a way to get on base and score runs by seeing as many pitches as possible. So far this season Fukudome is hitting .326 with one home run, nine RBI and he is fifth in the league in on-base percentage with a .444 OBP. On the bump, Carlos Zambrano leads the Cubs. Big Z is 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. Look for the Cubs to stay on top throughout the season.

St. Louis Cardinals – Before the Cards had reported to Spring Training they already had Chris Carpenter, Matt Clement, Mark Mulder, and Joel Pineiro on the disabled list. As if that was not bad enough, during spring training the Cards found out that slugger Albert Pujols might need Tommy John surgery. So far this season the Cards pitching staff has stepped up and filled the whole left behind by the team’s studs sitting on the DL. On the offense the Cards are led by the injured Pujols with a .376 average, five home runs, and 20 RBI. On the mound, the Cardinals have seen some surprisingly stellar stuff from Kyle Lohse. Lohse has been a career .500 pitcher, but this season he has been nothing less than great. In six starts this season Lohse is 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA and has not given up a single home run this season.

The rest of the division is a real crapshoot. The Brewers, Astros, Pirates and Reds will all battle for the cellar spot in the central division. Of the four teams, the Pirates have been the most surprising. Nate McLouth has hit .333 with 6 home runs and 21 RBI. McLouth has already had a 19 game hitting streak and is almost halfway to his previous home run total from a year ago.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks – The D-Backs are clearly the best team in all of baseball so far this season. Brandon Webb has been nothing less than perfect with his 6-0 record and 1.98 ERA. At the plate, the Diamondbacks have scored the most runs as well. Even though it is April, it looks like third baseman Mark Reynolds is going to have one of those breakout years. So far this season Reynolds is hitting .253 with 7 home runs and 22 home runs.  Look for the D-backs to be leading the NL in wins all season long if they can keep firing on all cylinders.

Honestly, the rest of the division is so underachieving that it is almost unnecessary to even mention them in this week’s edition. The Giants might be the only team that is playing ahead of the expectations put on them despite the horrific yet comical pitching of Barry Zito. The Giants could be better if they find a way to score and have Zito’s arm fall off so they can reasonably replace him. Moving on to the Rockies, this year’s team is not even close in comparison to last year’s team. The Dodgers and Padres have shown glimpses of playing up to their potential, but just when you think that they are going to start playing like they should, they go ahead and get swept by the Giants or Braves. Other than Jake Peavy and Brad Penny, neither team has anything to brag about.