Winning fourteen division titles in a row isn?t easy. Just ask Bobby Cox and his Atlanta Braves, but be sure not to ask them just right now. The Braves find themselves in second place in the division so far, and it seems fairly good, right? How wrong it is for the Braves at this moment, as they stand pat looking at their record which is very near hitting the fifteen loss mark. Make no mistake about Atlanta and the bullpen they use to support their starting pitchers. It?s in dire search of some remodeling when it comes time to enter the latter innings of ball games. Removing John Smoltz from the closer role to place him back in the rotation brought chaos to the relievers, who were left to fend for themselves. Closer Chris Reitsma and his 6.48 earned run average haven?t helped much, but through seven games he can do better. The Braves will need him to take stress off the rotation as he takes the mound in the ninth. LF Jeff Francoeur?s early struggles have lead him to a .209 OBP, making the Braves? team batting average sink to .245. Francoeur is a core part of the offense, and could very well be a big star for Atlanta in the future. The Philadelphia Phillies this season haven?t been much better. With their meek offense, they shouldn?t have problems scoring runs, but the pitching lacks durability. The horrendous start for Jon Lieber has left the pitching staff looking numb, while the rest of the starters could use some work on their ERA?s. In their offense, the young prodigy Ryan Howard is showing us exactly why he was voted NL Rookie of the Year last season. Howard?s batting average of .321 along with five homers, makes Philadelphia fans forget about the departure of Jim Thome. With Howard on the team, the Phillies have a bright young first baseman that will only get better, and a threat to any pitcher having to face him. The Nationals? offense can compete in the NL East, mainly due to the addition of Alfonso Soriano, which complements Jose Guillen, and the quick starter of the season, Nick Johnson. They too though, are quickly battling to not slip too far in the division early. The Nats? are four losses away from obtaining their 20th of the year. This was an obvious plan Frank Robinson and his staff had not designed, but inconsistent pitching can do that to a team. The supposed ace of the rotation, Livan Hernandez, has not been impressive, with his ERA nearly avoiding six. Ramon Ortiz and Zach Day are equally terrible. Combined, both have started seven games, and only one win has been posted. To sum it up, Washington?s best starter is Tony Armas, whose earned run average is decent, just below three. New York?s other team appears to be running away with the division so brief in the season. The Mets? 3-6 sluggers in the lineup have the offensive power to post at least 30 hr. or more. Carlos Beltran is slowly but surely finding his way onto the good side of New York fans. Carlos Delgado is playing his type of ball as he already has nine home runs, and a high .311 batting average to give the lineup a reliable clean-up batter. Paul Lo Duca at the top makes him and Jose Reyes a respectable one-two punch. The third baseman that seems to have come out of nowhere in David Wright, is probably bound for a place on the roster at the Mid-Summer Classic. They have the best pitching staff in division, along with the perfect Pedro Martinez, who appears to not have the word loss in his vocabulary. Tom Glavine and Martinez will need to be the pair that keeps the Mets stable the remainder of the year if they want to win this division. Now, when Joe Girardi was named manager of Florida back in October, he knew the team he?d be managing when the season started would be full of youth. But was Girardi prepared for the way his team would be playing when we?re not even at the All Star break yet? The Marlins are currently nine games back of first place and haven?t won even eight games. They have the lowest winning percentage in the division at a depressing .286. The majority of Major League hitters are hitting better than that, and the future of the season doesn?t look good for Florida. The key individuals of the team are Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, but unfortunately they can?t stop the bleeding of the ?Fish. Last place is a predicted finish for this club, however the question will be what the future holds for both players when the deadline draws near. Counting out the Braves of winning the division is too premature and with Bobby Cox in charge, anything is possible. The Mets have a long ways to go, and their offense will be what guides them to a division title if it is in their sights.