NL Central Tumbles to Third-Best Division

The once-mighty NL Central - home to the mauling Cubs, resurgent Cards, surprising Astros, and on-again off-again Brewers, Reds, and Pirates - reached another nosedive milestone last night as the NL East overtook them for 2nd-best division in baseball.

Though the NL Central still outpaces the East in terms of wins and losses (.526 to .519, respectively), the NL East wins in every other category:

Average runs scored per 1 allowed:
NL Central: 1.040 runs scored
NL East: 1.087 runs scored

Projected average record by season's end:
NL Central: 83-79 (.515)
NL East: 86-76 (.528)

Average overall rating (v. strength of schedule):
NL Central: 12.83th place out of 30 teams (57.23th percentile)
NL East: 12.6th place out of 30 teams (58th percentile)

Overall rating by team:
Cubs (#1 overall)
Astros (#9)
Cardinals (#11)
Pirates (#16)
Brewers (#17)
Reds (#23)

Phillies (#5)
Braves (#7)
Mets (#12)
Marlins (#14)
Nationals (#25)

The pure averages of the Central and East's ratings are for comparison only; we use a more complex formula to determine which division is stronger (i.e. rating averages weighted towards the division's middle team(s) as well as results of games played outside the division).