Major League Baseball Preview: National League

To continue my Major League preview, here are my visions for the National League.

NL East:

The Mets are going to win the East. As an American League fan, I fear Johan Santana. The National League should be shaking in their cleats. Sure, Johan had a poor second half of last season, but I’m willing to give him a pass for a few reasons: 1. He was playing on a dead-end team 2. The Central was probably the toughest division last year and 3. He was ready to get out of Minnesota. Yes, he tanked (Ok that’s too bold. But I’m not deleting it). Now rejuvenated in the weaker-hitting division I expect Johan to dominate. This leaves John Maine and Oliver Perez in the two and three spots. I think you’d be a little ridiculous to expect Pedro to a. last a full season and b. make hitters look like children ever again. However, Pedro’s got some extra motivation this year with everyone saying he’s done and also a legitimate chance to win a championship. I expect better numbers from him this year (but that’s not asking too much). Their lineup is still solid. Jose Reyes sets the table for Carlos Beltran and David Wright to knock in. If Delgado would quit moping around the dugout I’d say they have one of the most complete teams in baseball. I don’t know what’s going on in that clubhouse but it’s a little smelly. The cure? Wins. And they’ll come this year.

Finishing second, an answer that may surprise many: the Atlanta Braves. Yep, the Phillies are going to be disappointed this season. I really like the Braves for a few reasons. The first is that they will have Mark Teixeira for a full season. They haven’t had much power out of first base in awhile and that will pay dividends. Second, they also got rid of Andruw Jones and his .220 average. That guy was the anti-rally. The Braves also shored up that pitching staff. Last year, the Braves pitching rotation was described as: Smoltz, Hudson and pray for rain. This year, that will be different. Glavine and Hampton will make their rotation much stronger. If Hampton can stay healthy he will be the best number four starter in the NL. Who really wants to go to Atlanta to face Smoltz, Hudson and Glavine? The answer is no one. Why don’t I like the Phillies? Well, I think their pitching staff is weak and their hitters are too inconsistent. Jimmy Rollins was outstanding last year but I don’t think he can repeat that performance. I do like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard though. Those kids will become a force in the league – just not this season. Besides those three, the Phils really have no one that vaguely intimidates me and Cole Hamels is their only great pitcher. Throw Brett Myers at me any day…just so long as he’s not in a fighting mood.

NL Central:

I am so unimpressed with the NL Central I nearly considered skipping it. Really, I don’t think there is a legitimate title contender coming out of this division. The winner will be the Cubs. But don’t give me that “100 year break the curse” “next year is this year” blah blah blah. It’s garbage. Show me a good pitching rotation and I’ll agree with you. Zambrano is a genius. Besides him I kind of shrug my shoulders. Rich Hill shows flashes of brilliance. Ted Lilly? Jon Leiber? Can you spell average? I will say their lineup is pretty deadly, possibly the best in the National League. It’ll be interesting to see if Kosuke Fukudome (no pronunciation key, sorry) translates to all the hype. Even is he turns out to be the next Kaz Matsui, I still like the rest of the bunch: Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and perennial triple-crown candidate Derrick Lee. Let’s not forget Kerry Wood. That guy can mash and I’m only half kidding. So yes, I see the Cubs taking the Central but not much else. They don’t have the pitching to advance in the playoffs. Sorry, maybe next year.

I’m not really sure what’ll happen with the rest of the division. The Brewers are a young team that will be dangerous, soon. They just have a massive collapse last year and they really didn’t do anything to ensure that won’t happen again. They also lost Francisco Cordero and replaced him with Eric Gagne. Did the Brewers see Gagne in a Red Sox jersey? I’m guessing not.

NL West:

This division excites me. You may have been able to tell that I am a fan of good pitching. Well, this division is the jackpot. I love the Arizona Diamondbacks coming out of the West. I’m scared of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren and they don’t even play the Yankees! Throw in Randy Johnson as the number three and you’ve got quite the rotation. Yes, I know he’s 82 years old. But this is the NL West: There is no hitter that scares anyone. (Let’s put it this way: The Dodgers added Andruw Jones and GOT BETTER.) I’m also a huge Jake Peavy fan. That guy is electric. Throw in Chris Young and Greg Maddux and I think we’ll have quite the battle. The reason I’m going with the D’Backs is because they’ve proven they can do it before and the Padres lineup is worse than Arizona’s. I won’t call Arizona’s lineup good just yet.

The other contender coming out of here is the Dodgers. Unfortunately, they just don’t have any pitchers than can go against any of the previous pitchers I mentioned. I see them finishing third. The Giants are an absolute joke.

To recap:

NL East: New York Mets

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks

Wild Card: Atlanta Braves

Playoff edition coming soon.