What’s happened to the National League preseason division favorites?

May 21, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Denard Span (2) celebrates with Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) after Span hit solo leadoff home run in the bottom of 1st inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals

A reason many thought the Nationals would be the team to beat in the NL East was partially due to the acquisition of Doug Fister. I shouldn’t say acquisition as many thought the deal was more of a theft. But Fister didn’t see any real game action until May 9. He was beat around in his first outing (4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER). SInce then, he’s been teh Fister we saw in Detroit.

Even bringing this to light isn’t the Nats issue. The pitching has performed fairly well.

The bats are, well, kind of “ordinary”. When looking at how they have performed compared to the league average, the Nationals are average across the board.

A stat I almost always look up is RISP and RISP with 2 outs. I know the term “clutch” gets thrown around a lot, and there are those that have dispelled a belief that “clutch” even exists. Still, these two stats tell me how a team performs when an opportunity to score is present.

And in those two stats, the Nationals don’t instill much fear into opponents. They hit .213 with runners in scoring position. If there have ducks on the pond and there are two outs, they can only manage a .175 average.

Something else that can help is getting production from the leadoff spot. Sometimes this can be overblown, but I do put a little stock into this because having a guy start the game on a positive note can get the ball rolling. The Nationals leadoff hitters own a batting average of .259 and an on-base percentage of .305. The average ranks the 13th in the NL, and the OBP finds them 10th.

When leading off a game, those numbers are .255 and .283. The NL averages are .273 and .321. When leading off an inning: .266 and .329 compared to league average of .254 and .308. Not too great starting a game, but netter than the norm when leading off an inning.

And this. That Nationals are 6-11 in one-run games. Switch that around and Washington leads the division.

Prior to today’s action, the Nats owned a 26-27 record, two and a half games behind division-leading Atlanta. But the Braves aren’t that team performing with their head above water. In the NL East, that belings to the MIami Marlins who sit at

May 29, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jon Jay (19) reacts after getting tagged out at second base by San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (35) during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
St. Louis Cardinals

We always like to look at pitching. The Cardinals have it even starting the season without closer Jason Motte and starter Jaime Garcia. Both are now back with the team.

One area in which the Cardinals were all world last season was hitting with runners in scoring position (RISP). Last season, St. Louis hit .330 under those game conditions. That led the NL by a whopping 59 points over second place Colorado (.271). This season, the Cards bats haven’t been as “clutch” in this situation, hitting a cool .240 (9th in the NL). That’s 90 points!

Having two outs and runners in scoring position was even more impressive. Try .305, a 58 point separation from second place Los Angeles (.247). As is the case for RISP, the Cards have fallen off to .227 (7th in NL). Between last year and this year, that’s a 78 point drop.

And when you think of these two stats, you have to think Allen Craig. Here’s the numbers:

2013: RISP – .454; RISP w/2 outs – .448
2014: RISP – .283; RISP w/2 outs – .250

Neither of the numbers for this season are particularly bad, but it’s hard not to identify the guy that led the planet last season. He’s still above team average in both. Look at the inspirational leader, Yadier Molina.

2013: RISP – .373; RISP w/2 outs – .309
2014: RSIP – .268; RISP w/2 outs – .154

Scoring runs was the calling card for the Cards last season and it seemed any time they had a runner in scoring position, runs were a plenty. They led the NL last season with 783, averaging 4.83 runs per game. They’ve scored 216 runs this season, or 3.93 per game, 10th in the NL. That’s almost one full run less.

And these: 9-10 in one-run games, 5-8 v LHP, 8-9 v teams over .500, the bullpen has the worst strand rate in the NL (69.2%).

And the start the Milwaukee Brewers had didn’t help matters either.

Heading into today’s game against The Cards were 29-26, but four games behind Milwaukee for the division’s top spot.

May 28, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers

No one expected the Dodgers to “struggle” this season as they did last season. Recall that last season was far worse than this season. There were rumblings that manager Don Mattingly could be replaced. Still, no one thought the Dodgers would hold a 29-27 record and yet be seven and a half games behind the hated rival San Francisco Giants.

The offense has been above league average. They score 4.2 runs a game and are 5th in batting average (.255) and OBP (322), and 4th in SLG (.411), and 3rd and OPS+ (105). They fare above average in RISP and RISP w/2 out situations as well.

So it has to be the pitching, right? Well, sort of.

That starting staff has held up fairly well considering Clayton Kershaw missed some time. But I still don’t believe Kershaw is all the way back. And Hyun-jin Ryu missed a few days as well. Even with missing those two for a period of time, Dodgers starters are 3rd in the NL in ERA (3.21).

The bullpen has been a bit of a weak link. Combined, the ‘pen owns a 4.03 ERA, 13th in the NL. No bullpen has issued more walks (92), but hey have recorded the second most whiffs (187). The overall bullpen whip is 1.40. Only the Marlins (1.46) and the Reds (1.47) are worse in that stat. And their tied with the Mets with that 1.40.

Having three position starters on the disabled list never helps matters. A.J. Ellis (ankle), Carl Crawford (ankle), and Juan Uribe (hamstring) are out of the lineup.

But I hear ya. All teams deal with injuries.

If LA can get on a roll like the 50-game stretch they had last season (and that cannot and should not be expected), then Los Angeles should lay claim to the division once more. They could still if those Giants would just slow down some.