NL's Best and Worst

NL East
Ups: As much as I hate to say it, being an Atlanta Braves fan, the ups in this division have to go to the Mets. Despite not scoring any runs for Santana, an injured Carlos Delgado, and a questionable back-end rotation and middle relief, the Metropolitans have managed to stay atop arguably the toughest division in the NL. I'm scared to think what this team will do when a "slumping" David Wright get's hot, if they land another starter, because I can't see them collapsing for a third straight year, as much as I'd like to see it.
Downs: Florida Marlins. Every analyst in baseball, as well as myself, was stunned at the Fish's hot start. However, now I feel like their true colors are coming out. Despire one of the best young rotations in the game, Florida has a rather flat bullpen and not a very strong core surrounding Uggla and Hanley. I think in a few years, this team will run away with a World Series, but as all clubs, they are experiencing some growing pains and, despite the good start, have completely fallen off the table.

NL Central
Ups: Milwaukee Brewers. As if the loss of Sabathia and an injured Ben Sheets weren't enough, the Brew-Crew have stayed atop the central, and are competing with, I feel, the favorites in the Cardinals. Prince Fielder and JJ Hardy can lay some lumber, and OF Corey Hart is one of the most underrated in the game. Moreso, 2B Rickie Weeks is on the shelf for a year, and if Milwaukee can keep on winning, I think it will be one of the best season successes in a while.
Downs: Chicago Cubs. Now, I thought this team would be where Milwaukee is, but with the loss of Aramis Ramirez for a while, this Cubs lineup doesn't look as formitable. Inconsistent pitching and hitting has led to a mediocre start for the Cubbies. Do I feel this team will get hot? Yes. But Derrek Lee needs to start hitting, Zambrano needs to stop throwing fits and Piniella needs to-well-keep being Sweet Lou.

NL West: LA Dodgers. What can you say? No Manny, and still comfortably atop the West. Granted, it's the probably the worst excuse for a division in the MLB, but with Andre Ethier and James Loney in the middle of your order and running away with a division is still impressive. SP Chad Billingsly has been a present surprise, and Joe Torre, of any manager, knows how to deal with a situation like Manny. Once Manny starts bein' Manny again and comes back, the Dodgers are my pick to win the NL penant and go to the series.
Downs: Colorado Rockies. One of the worst disappointments in a previous World Series contender, the Rockies seem lost. No starting pitching, an order seemingly made-up of Todd Helton alone, and a stadium I could hit a home-run in. The Rockies seem like one of those one-hit wonders of two years ago in which they got hot, ran under the radar, then got a huge dose of reality in the series in the form of the Boston Red Sox. They are a low in a division full of lows, and I see no going up for the Rocky Mountain boys.