NL Predictions
Baseball season is finally upon us. Let's look at the NL East first. Winning the division has recently been a tradition for the Braves, and this year that will change. The Florida Marlins will win the division this year. The Marlins added 1B Carlos Delgado in the off season. With Delgado added to the potent lineup of OF Juan Pierre, 2B Luis Castillo, OF Juan Encarnacion, OF Miguel Cabrera, 3B Mike Lowell, and C Paul LoDuca there isn't an easy out. Their pitching staff will be healthy for the first time in 2 seasons. The pitching staff will feature Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Al Leiter, Dontrelle Willis, and closer Guillermo Mota.
The Sleeper Team in the NL East is the Atlanta Braves. I know the Braves are the favorite to win the division for a lot of people, but they are depending on oft injured players to produce. OF Raul Mondesi, and OF Brian Jordan used to be big time run producers, but injuries, age, and sometimes attitude have prevented them from being major superstars. P Mike Hampton, and P John Thomson usually miss a few starts and have occasional bad stretches. If all of those issues are addressed P Tim Hudson and P John Smoltz are bound to have great years. Closer Denny Kolb is a decent closer with good placement instead of overpowering stuff.
In the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals look good. The defending NL Champions have a chance to be healthy for the whole season. OF Larry Walker will be playing a full season with the club, which will prove very beneficial for them. Along with OF's Jim Edmonds, and Reggie Sanders, 3B Scott Rolen, and 1B Albert Pujols, the Cardinals have a great lineup. If their pitchers can stay healthy their rotation is good. P Mark Mulder, P Chris Carpenter, P Matt Morris, P Jason Marquis, and P Jeff Suppan are an improvement over last year's staff.
The Sleeper Team in the NL Central is the Chicago Cubs. The expectations for them are different this year. P Kerry Wood, and P Mark Prior won't miss as many starts as last year, eventhough Prior does begin the season on the 15 day DL. P Greg Maddux and P Carlos Zambrano proved they're more than able to produce wins. Their closer Joe Borowski starts the season on the 15 day DL. P LaTroy Hawkins will assume the closer duties, but he hasn't been able to close games in the past. The Cubs can look forward to a healthy SS Nomar Garciaparra, 3B Aramis Ramirez, 1B Derrek Lee, 2B Todd Walker, and no Sammy Sosa as well. OF Jeromy Burnitz assumes his old place in left field this season.
In the NL West the winner will be the San Francisco Giants. Even without Bonds the Giants look like the best team in the division. They were busy in the offseason upgrading their defense. They acquired SS Omar Vizquel, OF Moises Alou, and C Mike Matheny. OF Pedro Feliz has the chance to get substantial playing time until Bonds comes back from knee surgery. Their pitching staff will appreciate the upgrades on defense. The Giants have fallen victim to bad defense that has cost them important games over the last few years. The Giants have a good pitching staff featuring Jason Schmidt, Noah Lowry, Jerome Williams. They also acquired closer Armando Benitez.
The Sleeper Team in the NL West is the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are the only other team that dropped a lot of cash this summer in guaranteed contracts, despite reports of their imminent financial problems. The only real problem they have is at closer. They now start an offense that features 3B Troy Glaus, OF Shawn Green, OF Jose Cruz, OF Luis Gonzalez, SS Royce Clayton, and 2B Craig Counsell. Their pitching staff changed the most, now featuring Javier Vazquez, Russ Ortiz, Brandon Webb, and Shawn Estes. They have the potential to surprise many in the NL this season.
All in all the NL looks to be very competitive this year. The NL Wildcard will be a three team race between the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and the Atlanta Braves. The NL will be a lot closer at the top this year. The competition for the wild card will be fierce. The wildcard playoff slot has been the World Series winner the last 3 seasons.
The Sleeper Team in the NL East is the Atlanta Braves. I know the Braves are the favorite to win the division for a lot of people, but they are depending on oft injured players to produce. OF Raul Mondesi, and OF Brian Jordan used to be big time run producers, but injuries, age, and sometimes attitude have prevented them from being major superstars. P Mike Hampton, and P John Thomson usually miss a few starts and have occasional bad stretches. If all of those issues are addressed P Tim Hudson and P John Smoltz are bound to have great years. Closer Denny Kolb is a decent closer with good placement instead of overpowering stuff.
In the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals look good. The defending NL Champions have a chance to be healthy for the whole season. OF Larry Walker will be playing a full season with the club, which will prove very beneficial for them. Along with OF's Jim Edmonds, and Reggie Sanders, 3B Scott Rolen, and 1B Albert Pujols, the Cardinals have a great lineup. If their pitchers can stay healthy their rotation is good. P Mark Mulder, P Chris Carpenter, P Matt Morris, P Jason Marquis, and P Jeff Suppan are an improvement over last year's staff.
The Sleeper Team in the NL Central is the Chicago Cubs. The expectations for them are different this year. P Kerry Wood, and P Mark Prior won't miss as many starts as last year, eventhough Prior does begin the season on the 15 day DL. P Greg Maddux and P Carlos Zambrano proved they're more than able to produce wins. Their closer Joe Borowski starts the season on the 15 day DL. P LaTroy Hawkins will assume the closer duties, but he hasn't been able to close games in the past. The Cubs can look forward to a healthy SS Nomar Garciaparra, 3B Aramis Ramirez, 1B Derrek Lee, 2B Todd Walker, and no Sammy Sosa as well. OF Jeromy Burnitz assumes his old place in left field this season.
In the NL West the winner will be the San Francisco Giants. Even without Bonds the Giants look like the best team in the division. They were busy in the offseason upgrading their defense. They acquired SS Omar Vizquel, OF Moises Alou, and C Mike Matheny. OF Pedro Feliz has the chance to get substantial playing time until Bonds comes back from knee surgery. Their pitching staff will appreciate the upgrades on defense. The Giants have fallen victim to bad defense that has cost them important games over the last few years. The Giants have a good pitching staff featuring Jason Schmidt, Noah Lowry, Jerome Williams. They also acquired closer Armando Benitez.
The Sleeper Team in the NL West is the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are the only other team that dropped a lot of cash this summer in guaranteed contracts, despite reports of their imminent financial problems. The only real problem they have is at closer. They now start an offense that features 3B Troy Glaus, OF Shawn Green, OF Jose Cruz, OF Luis Gonzalez, SS Royce Clayton, and 2B Craig Counsell. Their pitching staff changed the most, now featuring Javier Vazquez, Russ Ortiz, Brandon Webb, and Shawn Estes. They have the potential to surprise many in the NL this season.
All in all the NL looks to be very competitive this year. The NL Wildcard will be a three team race between the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and the Atlanta Braves. The NL will be a lot closer at the top this year. The competition for the wild card will be fierce. The wildcard playoff slot has been the World Series winner the last 3 seasons.
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