Well, so much for the Philadelphia Phillies running away with the National League East before the all-star break. At the time of the mid-summer classic, the Phillies were 4.5 games behind the surprising Braves, who continue to be one of the nicest stories of the year in manager Bobby Cox’s last season. Let’s take a look at how the division stacks up at the all-star break.

Atlanta Braves:
What in the world is going on in Atlanta? Many predicted that the year would be little more than a farewell tour for Bobby Cox. Instead, the Braves have been one of the best teams in the league for most of the season and continue to improve. Troy Glaus is having a huge comeback season and Jason Heyward will be in the running for Rookie of the Year in addition to helping sell plenty of MLB tickets. Omar Infante and Martin Prado have also been steady contributors at key positions and Tim Hudson has been simply unbelievable coming off of injury.

What they need to do in the second half:
The first thing they need to do is get Heyward’s ailing thumb healthy. The Phillies won’t stay dormant all season long (right?) so the Braves will have to continue to produce offensively if they are going to win. Jair Jurrjens also needs to come back strong from the DL and Tommy Hanson needs to start putting together more consistent quality starts. I still am not sure whether or not they can win, but clearly they aren’t intimidated by the Phillies.

New York Mets:
Led by David Wright and Mike Pelfrey, the Mets are playing pretty good baseball and enter the all-star break a surprising eight games above .500. With Carlos Beltran coming back at the beginning of the second half, the Mets are dangerous.

What they need to do in the second half:
The most important pieces for the Mets right now are Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran. Jose Reyes and David Wright are back on track but Bay has had a very lackluster first half while Beltran’s injury has lingered longer than anticipated. Beltran is supposedly healthy and both need to contribute in the second half to have a chance at topping the Phillies and Braves.

Philadelphia Phillies:
The good news is that the Phillies are finally playing a bit better and are not that far behind the Braves. After putting together a few dramatic home wins, the Phillies head into the all-star break on a high note, though baseball analysts are still shaking their heads.

What they need to do in the second half:
They need to get and stay healthy. Jimmy Rollins is a catalyst at the top of the lineup and he needs to stay off the DL for them to have a chance. Chase Utley also needs to get back onto the field very soon as they are simply nowhere near as scary without him in the lineup. It’s nice to see Ryan Howard hitting the ball again but that still hasn’t translated to much run support for Roy Halladay, who has had an excellent season but has seven losses to show for his efforts. Some consistency out of Cole Hamels also wouldn’t hurt.

Florida Marlins:
Despite three good teams in their division, the Marlins have remained competitive even with a very small payroll. Certainly a lot of this has to do with Josh Johnson, who has emerged as a superstar caliber starting pitcher. Hanley Ramirez is having another very good year (.301 average, 13 homers, 53 RBIs, 18 steals) but they need to get some more production outside of the heart of the order.

What they need to do in the second half:
Bringing in another strong pitching prospect before the trade deadline would be a very good sign as they head into the future. Their lineup is already pretty strong but they could also use some more speed.

Washington Nationals:
The Nationals still don’t have the talent to compete with the better teams in the National League but they do have a bright future. Stephen Strasburg has single-handedly made the Nationals relevant and they’re hanging in there in the arduous National League East.

What they need to do in the second half:
Have Strasburg start the rest of the regular season games.

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