Baseball Update: AL East

Recently this division has been slumping. Besides the Braves, every other team has a losing streak.

Florida has lost three straight games but they are still four games ahead of the second-place Braves. That alone tells you how much this division has been slumping the last week.

We Were Swept by the Pirates: Yes the Florida Marlins were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not only were they swept by they only managed to score six runs for the entire series why allowing 18 runs.

Most disturbing though is their young hitters have been struggling. Only one Marlins hitter is hitting above .300 for the season. This is a tall tell sign that the Marlins might not have the makeup this year to compete for the title.

Championship Hangover?: Yes that was an actual excuse Cole Hammels made the other day. Then he was promptly hurt by a line drive. The Phillies are only 6-8 but their slow start is troubling.

Hammels is still their best pitcher, but the rest of the staff has been having a mediocre year so far. Brett Myers, who pitches today, has an ERA at 5.03. Here's the problem, his ERA is the best on the team for starting pitchers. Joe Blanton's ERA is 7.31 and Jamie Moyer's is 6.35. The Phillies already pitch in a bandbox and their ERA isn't helping.

While I still believe the Phillies will win the division, right now they are struggling.

Worst week ever: The Mets haven't exactly had the best week. Not only have they lost four straight, including a sweep by the Cardinals, no one is showing up at their new ballpark.

Things though only got worse in St. Louis. Their pitching staff combined to give up 23 runs to the Cardinals in that series, while the hitters combined for 14 runs. Like the Phillies, their hitters are doing the job but the pitching staff has been struggling. Johan Santana has been pitching like Johan Santana but the rest of the starters all have ERAs in the sevens.

But that will happen when you have Livan Hernandez and Oliver Perez as starting pitchers.

While the AL East has been what you have expected, this division has been slumping. The two teams that were suppose to compete with each other, Phillies and Mets, have been struggling from the start. And the two team expected to be middle-of-the-pack have been competing for the top spot, Marlins and Braves. But as expected the Nationals have been what we have expected.