NL Preview

I know the season has begun but I would like to get it done before all the games start on Monday. Also at the end of this, I will give my overall prediction on what will happen when playoffs roll around in October.

NL East
1. Philadelphia Phillies- The World Champions are looking to make a repeat this year and they very well could. I loved the addition of Raul Ibanez and their pitching staff is very good. Dont be surprised if Cole Hamels is the NL Cy Young. The big question will be does Brad Lidge come down to earth or does he continue his dominance?

2. New York Mets (Wildcard) When I was thinking about the preview, I felt like the Mets were the bonafide number two and the wildcard team now I am unsure about all of this. Reason being is their starting pitching sucks, I mean Johan Santana is great but Mike Pelfery as a number two? Thats not going to get it done but if they make a deal to get someone it changes alot of things. I doubt they have bullpen problems though. Except the Mets to be challenged for the Wildcard and that two spot.

3. Florida Marlins- One of my personal favorite teams outside of Milwaukee with Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez as the best hitting middle infield. They do need better defensive play if they expect to win games. I feel they have one of the better pitching staffs with Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, and Chris Volstad. They could easily grab the wildcard this year

4. Atlanta Braves- The Braves are trying to recapture the magic of the previous years and they have a couple strong points in Brian McCann and Chipper Jones. Plus if Jeff Francouer could get going that would be huge for them. Their pitching staff isnt bad but they are a bunch of 3-4 guys, no true ace.

5. Washington Nationals- Wow do they suck. There are no other words that really should be wasted for this hopeless team. They do have a couple great young players in Lastings Milledge and Ellijah Dukes.

NL Central
1. Milwaukee Brewers- SEE HERE AND HERE

2. Chicago Cubs- Some of you reading this believe that is biased but heres the deal, Carlos Zambrano's numbers have been down for the last three years in ERA, IP, and Ks so I dont think he will be very successful this year. I also feel Milton Bradley will cause way more problems for Chicago. This team will be only as good as how healthy they are.

3. Cincinnati Reds- The next two teams I think will be 3-4 interchangeable. I think Edinson Volquez or Johnny Cueto will have injury problems this year because simply Dusty Baker cannot manage pitching. Joey Votto/Jay Bruce should also be very good for the offense.

4. St. Louis Cardinals- If there was one team that will live/die by injuries is the Cardinals. They have a pretty delepeted pitching staff with Adam Wainwright as the Opening Day starter and their lineup is a pretty young one who are very unproven. This could be an ugly year for the Cards.

5. Houston Astros- I dont know what it is about teams in Texas but they do not have any pitching to save their souls. The Stros do have Roy Oswalt and Jose Valverde which helps although after that its a significant drop off. They do have a ton of guys who can pound the shit out of the ball.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates- They have some up and coming prospects although I dont think any of us should expect them to be higher than five in this division. It will be interesting to see if Nate McClouth has the same sort of year that he did last year or it was just an one-year wonder.

NL WEST
1. Los Angeles Dodgers- The NL West is the definitely the ugly girl at the party when it comes to division. They are just awful but the Dodgers have a chance to get it done with a pretty solid pitching staff then add Manny Ramirez to the mix. I think they still need one more hitter to protect Manny.

2. San Francisco Giants- This is probably the best pitching staff in the big leagues with Tim Linecum, Matt Cain, and the Big Unit Randy Johnson. They might make a push to get into the playoffs but if they do not have an offense, they will be in big trouble. Pablo Sandoval could win Rookie of the Year, he is a big threat at third base.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks- They could be a team that also competes in the NL West because they have a good one-two punch in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren and include Mark Reynolds/Stephan Drew, they could be impressive. I would worry about Chad Qualls closing games though.

4. Colorado Rockies- I think Troy Tulowitzki will have a bounce back year but the Rockies really dont have much else. It will be intriguing to see if Aaron Cook has a good year again and if Todd Helton recovers.

5. San Diego Padres- Another team who is waste of typing but they have probably the hottest trade option in Jake Peavy who will be sought after all year by all sorts of teams. Chase Headley could have a big year for the Padres as well.

AL:
Boston beats Minnesota 3-1
New York beats Los Angeles 3-2
New York beats Boston 4-2

NL
Philadelphia beats Los Angeles 3-1
Milwaukee beats New York 3-1
Philadelphia beats Milwaukee 4-2

World Series: Philadelphia beats New York 4-3- It might because I think the American League is much more open than it has been in the last couple of years so there could be alot of teams that make it out of the American League while on the other hand, the Phillies are the best overall team.