Much has been made of pitching in baseball over the past few seasons. The game has seen a shift from more dominant power-hitters to more shutdown pitchers since the “steroid era” “ended.”

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Here is my fourth installment and this time I’m taking my talents to the National League, breaking down each team’s potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (we know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but we’re doing it anyway…): This time, the spotlight is on the NL East…

With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels, the Phillies have amassed the best starting rotation in the NL East. By http://www.flickr.com/photos/mel_rowling/ [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

1. Stephen Strasburg (15-6, 3.16 ERA, 197 Strikeouts)
2. Gio Gonzalez (21-8, 2.89 ERA, 207 Strikeouts)
3. Dan Haren (12-13, 4.33 ERA, 142 Strikeouts)
4. Jordan Zimmerman (12-8, 2.94 ERA, 153 Strikeouts)
5. Ross Detwiler (10-8, 3.40 ERA, 105 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.34

Atlanta Braves:

1. Tim Hudson (16-7, 3.62 ERA, 102 Strikeouts)
2. Kris Medlin (10-1, 1.57 ERA, 120 Strikeouts)
3. Mike Minor (11-10 4.21 ERA, 145 Strikeouts)
4. Paul Maholm (13-11, 3.67 ERA, 140 Strikeouts)
5. Randall Delgado (4-9, 4.37 ERA, 76 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.49

Philadelphia Phillies:

1. Roy Halladay (11-8, 4.49 ERA, 132 Strikeouts)
2. Cliff Lee (6-9, 3.16 ERA, 207 Strikeouts)
3. Cole Hamels (17-6, 3.05 ERA, 216 Strikeouts)
4. Kyle Kendrick (11-12, 3.90 ERA, 116 Strikeouts)
5. John Lannan (4-1, 4.13 ERA, 17 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 3.75

New York Mets:

1. Johan Santana (6-9, 4.85 ERA, 111 Strikeouts)
2. Jonathon Niese (13-9, 3.40 ERA, 155 Strikeouts)
3. Dillon Gee (6-7, 4.10 ERA, 97 Strikeouts)
4. Matt Harvey (3-5, 2.73 ERA, 70 Strikeouts)
5. Jenrry Mejia (1-2, 5.63 ERA, 8 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.14

Miami Marlins:

1.  Ricky Nolasco (12-13, 4.48 ERA, 125 Strikeouts)
2.  Henderson Alvarez (9-14, 4.85 ERA, 79 Strikeouts)
3.  Wade LeBlanc (2-5, 3.67 ERA, 43 Strikeouts)
4.  Nathan Eovaldi (4-13, 4.30 ERA, 78 Strikeouts)
5.  Jacob Turner (2-5, 4.42 ERA, 36 Strikeouts)

Average Combined ERA: 4.34

The stats above are from the 2012 season and based off of ERA alone, it shows that the Washington Nationals have the best starting pitching staff. Three teams in this division have sub-4.00 ERAs while the Mets and Marlins are both over it and don’t seem to be contending this season again. But in this division, I think that the team that will have the most improved starting rotation in 2013 will be the Philadelphia Phillies.

While many people would look at the starting rotations and say that the Nationals, not the Phillies would be the best rotation, I say that experience beats young talent in this case. I know that the Phillies had a down year last season but that was also because of all the injuries they had and, toward the end of the season, they started to play a lot better to bring their record to .500. The Braves still have a pretty decent staff, but I hesitate to trust 37 year-old Tim Hudson to stay healthy all season as their number 1. As for the Mets, they traded away the CY Young winner which shows they are in rebuilding mode and the Marlins, well they traded away pretty much every good player they had.

I think that this division race will be a good two-team chase between the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves, a capable team, will lose a step after longtime leader and future hall of famer Chipper Jones retired.

With a rejuvenated pitching staff, the Philadelphia Phillies will be the NL East champs, not the Nationals. The Nationals are a very good young team but I think that the Phillies will be back to their normal selves this year and ultimately snatch the division title from them. I’d love to see the Nationals prove me wrong, but I think this is the Phillies’ year.

According to a recent tweet by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports News, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have the piece to lure Cole Hamels away from the Phillies.  

With Victorino headed for free agency, Bourjos likely would intrigue the #Phillies in any Hamels talks.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 5, 2012

A move that makes the speedy 25 year-old Bourjos all the more alluring from a trade standpoint, considering Cole Hamels and starting centerfielder, Shane Victorino’s, looming free agencies. 

Boujos is clearly the Angels’ most movable player right now for a myriad of reasons. He’s young  and cheap — signed through 2014 on a rookie level contract — and has been replaced by the emergence of Mike Trout. Through 63 games Bourjos is hitting just .233 despite an impressive debut last season.  Despite his slow start to the season, he has tremendous offensive upside coupled with a gold glove in the outfield.

The question is whether or not the Angels have the ability to realistically ink Hamels long-term while solidifying  Trout and Mark Trumbo as the franchise faces. Hamels will seek a long-term contract worth at least $20 million per season. While I look forward to the concept of slotting him third of fourth in a rotation abounding with lock-down guys like Jared Weaver, Dan Haren and C.J Wilson, I’m uncertain as to how prudent signing another mega contract would be.

Despite Ervin Santana’s inconsistency in the fourth slot in the rotation, the 29 year-old has historically been a second half pitcher. Last year, he started 1-9 in the first half and finished 10-3 with a low two era and a no hitter in late July.  Signed through 2013 the Halos have another year to assess whether or not Santana is worth another three to five year contract extension at his affordable 11.2 million dollar rate.

I would welcome a move only if the Angels can package Santana and either Maicer Izturis or Alberto Callaspo alongside Bourjos in exchange for Hamels. But all the Hamels talk has been speculation without word from the Halos camp regarding Bourjos’ future in Anaheim.

At the moment, according to this article by Ken Rosenthal, the Angels are unwilling to part with Bourjos because of his future as a major team building block and Garret Richards, who is a solid low-cost option at the bottom of the rotation. Angels’ General Manager Jerry DiPoto is thinking not only about the team now but the team in the near future when big names like Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells and perhaps Santana, come off the books.  Shoring up their long-term ability to retain Trout and Trumbo alongside future hall-of-famer Pujols and a top-five rotation would seem to be the primary goal at this point.

Considering their 37-19 record over their past 56 games, sitting solid in a wild card slot, and scoring more runs than anybody in baseball right now there really isn’t the need there to make a major move. Hamels would make more sense in a Dodger uniform behind the formidable Clayton Kershaw, to help relieve tension in what is becoming a disturbingly odd season of highs and lows for manager Don Mattingly’s team.

The Dodgers before injuries to Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Dee Gordon and Mark Ellis, held the best record in baseball through mid-June. Since then, they have slid into turmoil, slugged by inefficiency at the plate and a rotation plagued by Chad Billingsly’s erratic performances. Currently 1 1/2 games ahead of the surging San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers have a hard road ahead of them if they hope to get themselves into the postseason.

After a deal for first-baseman Carlos Lee fell through early this week, Matt Kemp according to this article remains hopeful. “It’s always good to get people to make your team better,” Kemp said. “I don’t know exactly what people think we need. We did a great job with what we have here. If we get somebody, that’s good. But if we don’t, it keeps going on and we have to keep playing the way we have in the first half.”

But I wonder how Dodger fans must feel. How long will the team sit around and wait for a potato sack at first like James Loney to make a difference? According to Mike Potriello of mikescosciastragicillness.com, fans might be willing to listen to offers for a prospect like right hander Zach Lee, in exchange for a bat like the above average Chase Headley at third.  Which proves just how desperate the Dodger fan base is to get into the postseason now rather than tomorrow.

Both teams have had moody beginnings to the 2012 season, but one is surging and the other is desperately limping just to remain relevent. The Angels are looking for that 4th starter to shore up a small blight while the Dodgers seek a plethora of parts just to keep the engine running. It’s all a matter of how far DiPoto’s team can fly but a desperate matter of how long Colleti’s bunch can keep their heads above water.  And that all goes without saying whether or not Tim Lincecum decides to become Tim Lincecum again.

The Yankees are standing pat on what they currently have, as there hasn’t been a deadline in recent memory where baseball’s top spending franchise has failed to bolster themselves in even the slightest amount.  They were in the Hiroka Kuroda sweepstakes along with the Chicago White Sox, but Kuroda ultimately held the trump card in the form of the no-trade clause built into his contract.

The biggest splash of the deadline had to be the San Francisco Giants acquiring Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets in exchange for the top pitching prospect in their minor league system, Zach Wheeler.  General Manager Brian Sabean was quoted as saying that the team owed the move to their fans, noting that the the Major League Baseball championship-winning window is a small one.

Almost a decade ago, Beltran was traded at the deadline to the Houston Astros from the Kansas City Royals and proceeded to put up the best August and September by a deadline acquisition in recent memory, only rivaled by Manny Ramirez’s late-season clip when he was traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers a few years ago.  While Beltran isn’t that same player he was even five years ago, he does have the offensive ability to help the anemic Giants offense significantly.

The Atlanta Braves are contenders in the NL East as well as front-runners in the wild card standings.  The addition of Michael Bourn will bring much needed outfield speed at the top of the lineup, something Atlanta has severely lacked in recent years due to the ineffectiveness of Nate McLouth and the trading away of Melky Cabrera.

Ubaldo Jimenez will strengthen the Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff, as they actually have a realistic shot at the playoffs.  You would expect nothing less with a move like this from a team that is having a dream season after more than a decade of futility.  Jimenez hasn’t had his usual dominating season thus far, but his veteran presence and Cy Young-potential talent will bring some much needed stability and leadership to a young clubhouse.

The reigning Senior Circuit champions, the Philadelphia Philles, did not sit on their full house – they decided to try and draw to a straight flush.  The addition of Hunter Pence will help balance an attack that is left-handed heavy, and will only improve an already elite offense.  Getting closer Ryan Madson healthy will be the key to the Phillies running away with the East again, as having a stable finisher is something that is key for a team like Philadelphia, who depends on winning a lot of close, low to middle-scoring, station-to-station, National League-style games.

The Milwaukee Brewers bolstered their bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez, a great backup plan if their young closer, John Axford, happens to falter down the stretch. This move is by far better than anything the St. Louis Cardinals ended up doing at the deadline, and with the Brew Crew already holding a 3.5 game lead over the Cards, they have to be the distinct favorite in the Central as the finish line approaches.

The Pittsburgh Pirates added first baseman Derek Lee in an attempt to inject some run-production with runners in scoring position.  You have to admire the Pirates for being proactive, but their brutal schedule down the stretch coupled with their inexperience makes a playoff berth in the tightly-contested National League Central a prospect that looks to be futile at best.

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded away arguably their top outfield prospect in Trayvon Robinson, who has seen limited action at the major league level while bombing 26 home runs thus far this season in Triple-A.  As a Dodgerfan, this move baffles me, due to the fact that they only received two average minor-league arms and a minor league catcher who has only hit 7 homeruns so far this season in return.

The Dodgers franchise is not only selling out its fans, but now they are starting to even sell out their best players.  The sad fact that one of the greatest and most storied franchises in sports continues to get dragged deeper and deeper through the mud and filth is as disgusting as “owner” Frank McCourt’s existence as a region-wide punchline.  Dodgerfans seem to be almost numb to the debacle as it gets worse and worse.  This is a true testament to how low the franchise has sunk.  But, a brighter day is hopefully around the corner.  What brighter day?  The day that the inevitable happens – McCourt buys a one-way ticket on a flying sourdough bowl of chowder and flys his ass back to New England for good.

Having said that, one should digress this time of year no matter how bad your favorite team happens to be navigating the treacherous waters of the vast sea that is the baseball season. Regardless of the gravity of the moves that are made every trade deadline, the underlying fact always remains – some moves end up resulting in pennants and some moves blow up in a general manager’s face.

Who will end up wearing  the egg and who will end up wearing the ring?  Its about to unfold.