NL East

What is going on with the Braves lately? They have been dropping like flies.

First Yunel Escobar went down, then Jason Heyward left Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Nationals with a sore groin, and now they have placed RHP Jair Jurrjens on the 15-day DL. Surprisingly, Chipper Jones is not on this list, but I guess it is just a matter of time before he gets there.

The Braves placed Jurrjens on the DL because of a strained left hamstring. The move is retroactive to April 30th.

Willie Harris's bottom of the ninth walk-off single wasn't one of the most exciting moments of the Nationals 3-2 victory last night. No, that came from the Nationals starting pitcher, Scott Olsen.

Olsen's previous two starts had been an indicator that perhaps the 26-year-old starting pitcher was bound for a strong comeback this season. But no one expected what happened last night.

The Nationals left-hander who had been left off the opening day roster took the mound in the top of the eighth after having struck out eight Braves batters.

The Washington Nationals' nominal ace, John Lannan, will miss at least one start with soreness in his left forearm and elbow.

Lannan first recognized the pain in his April 21 start against the Colorado Rockies, a game in which he threw 107 pitches and surrendered four runs on 11 hits in six innings of work. The opening day starter has struggled so far this season, going 1-2 with a 6.34 ERA in six starts. He is expected to return on May 13 at Coors Field against those same Rockies.

After the Philadelphia Phillies fell just short of repeating as World Series Champions, GM Ruben Amaro spent the offseason actively reshaping the club. 

Of course, the biggest news involved the tandem trades of Cy Young hurlers Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Beyond that, Amaro used the free agent talent pool to land a new regular third baseman and essentially perform a makeover on both his bullpen and bench. 

Ivan Rodriguez continues to defy the odds. 

At the age of 38, few thought he would be a productive everyday player in the majors in 2010. However, out of the gates, Rodriguez is leading the majors in hitting and despite speculation of an upcoming fall to reality, he has kept on hitting.

Entering Friday's game he is batting .405/.432/.514. While that kind of production is likely unsustainable, the Nationals need to try and take more advantage of it while it's here.

What Rodriguez has done 2010 to help spark his resurgence is create a new approach at the plate.

When Cole Hamels won the World Series MVP award at the tender age of 24, few doubted that he had a very promising career ahead of him. 

He was the toast of Philadelphia, the unquestioned staff ace, and the heir to Steve "Lefty" Carlton. 

The only problem was that reality intervened, and the last two years have been riddled with speed bumps for the young Hamels.

It only took five starts for Washington Nationals’ RHP Stephen Strasburg to get his first promotion as a professional baseball player.

After going 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 27 K’s in 22 IP against Double A batters, the Nationals have promoted Strasburg to Triple A Syracuse. My guess is that if Strasburg impresses at the Triple A level, the Nationals will promote him to the big club by June.

NATS' HISTORIC APRIL

With no game Monday evening, the Washington Nationals (13-12) can look ahead to their upcoming series with the Atlanta Braves (11-14).

While just one game above .500 now, the Nationals went 13-10 in April, posting a winning record in the month for the first time since the franchise moved to Washington.

With star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman returning after missing eight games so far, optimism abounds at Nationals Park.

EAST UP, A-TOWN DOWN

As we do each Monday throughout the season,  today we look at Accuscore's playoff forecaster to see how the previous week's games effected the NL playoff race.

Whatever way you want to slice and dice the Mets Sunday-night defeat in Philadelphia, there's no getting away from the fact that Johan Santana struggled.

Struggled is probably the nicest word to describe his shortcomings in Citizens Bank Park. It's like saying that Stalin struggled to understand the merits of democracy or that C.C. Sabathia struggled to fit into a pair or Chinos with a 36-inch waist.