Ryan Howard hopes to lead the Phillies back to the World Series (courtesy of Flickr.com)
by Joseph Landini
Now with the American League out of the way, the focus turns to the National League. The NL features competition in every division, along with the best pitchers in baseball in Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Johan Santana.
NL East
Every team in the National League East improved their ball club this season. The defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, added the best pitcher in the game today in Roy Halladay, not to mention adding Placido Polanco to an already stacked lineup. The Florida Marlins young guns will continue to develop into stars, as Hanley Ramirez and company will attempt to dethrone the champs. The only question mark is who will close for the Marlins team. The Atlanta Braves will rely on starting pitching, just like the days when they used to dominate with Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, with help of veterens Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson, will attempt to bring Atlanta atop of the division they used to own. Coming off of a year when it seemed like every position player got injured; the New York Mets go into this season still hurt. Carlos Beltran will miss the first two months, and new setup man Kelvim Escobar does not seem ready. With a majority of the starters ready to go though, and a major addition in Jason Bay, the Mets seem ready for major improvement. Just when you think that the Washington Nationals could only get worse, they actually got better. The Nationals might have done the most work out of any team in the division to get better. Adding Jason Marquis, Chien Ming Wang, Matt Capps, and Brian Bruney to a pitching staff which was in the hole will only help them. The major question for Washington… When will we see the debut of Stephen Strasburg?
Predicted Division Standings
1- Philadelphia Phillies
2- New York Mets
3- Atlanta Braves
4- Florida Marlins
5- Washington Nationals
NL Central
In one of the bigger divisions in baseball it seems like it will come down to one question. Can anyone beat the Cardinals? My prediction is no. The St. Louis Cardinals feature two of the game’s best hitters (Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday), to go along with an amazing pitching staff. The Chicago Cubs did nothing significant in the offseason, but hope they can compete. The Milwaukee Brewers hope that a solid staff, and the young players they have will be the combination for the division title. The Cincinnati Reds, like the Nationals are awaiting the debut of their stud pitcher, Aroldis Chapman. The Reds hope Chapman will be good enough to revive a struggling organization. The Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates are going to two different directions. The Astros only are getting older, and have started the decline, while the Pirates are full of young raw talent. The Pirates hope to hold on to some of these players unlike the past years.
Predicted Division Standings
1- St. Louis Cardinals
2- Milwaukee Brewers
3- Chicago Cubs
4- Cincinnati Reds
5- Pittsburgh Pirates
6- Houston Astros
NL West
This time last year the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up Manny Ramirez, which ended up being part of the reason why they were so dominate. This year the Dodgers have made no significant move that can put them over the top. The competitive Colorado Rockies hope that the exciting play of Dexter Fowler and the consistency of their core will bring them to new levels. The San Francisco Giants might have had the busiest offseason of all the NL West teams. They added utility player Mark DeRosa, not to mention the fact that the young pitching staff is only going to get better. The Giants might have one of their better teams since the Barry Bonds days. The Arizona Diamondbacks are getting back former Cy Young pitcher Brandon Webb, which only adds to a solid rotation. The San Diego Padres only upside is youth, and the top tier talent of Adrian Gonzalez.
Predicted Division Standings
1- San Francisco Giants
2- Los Angeles Dodgers
3- Colorado Rockies
4- Arizona Diamondbacks
5- San Diego Padres