My NL Preview

Posted in the Whit:

As the Philadelphia Phillies look to repeat as National League champions, they have a tough road in front of them. The Phillies will need to get past the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in a tough NL East. The competition doesn’t stop there, as the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals will battle it out in the Central and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to have a leg up. Here’s an in-depth look at the key teams in the National League.

In the East, the Phillies are still the favorite in the division. They have the best infield in the NL, and probably all of baseball, with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Pedro Feliz. Their outfield is also solid with Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and newly added Raul Ibanez to fill the hole Pat Burrell left after signing with the Rays. The Phillies pitching staff will have to play like it did last season to defend the pennant successfully. Cole Hamels is an elite pitcher in the league, but he may miss opening day with elbow problems. Brett Myers is the second starter, with 46-year old Jamie Moyer taking up the third spot in the rotation. Joe Blanton is someone to keep an eyes on this year after being acquired from the Oakland A’s last season. The Phillies bullpen is strong - being led once again by closer Brad Lidge and set-up man Ryan Madson - and will receive and instant boost once JC Romero is back from his 50-game suspension. Overall, there are very few noticeable holes in this team.

The Mets are trying to avoid another late-season collapse for the third-straight season. They are also sick of blowing saves, so they spent some money to bring in closer Francisco Rodriguez, who broke the single-season major league saves record last year. In the rotation, there is nothing stellar once you get past ace Johan Santana, but Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez are decent pitchers. The Mets do have a solid offense led by David Wright and Jose Reyes. Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado are still both dangerous hitters, but after you get past the first five, their lineup is shallow. However, they should still be able to complete for the wild card.

The Braves bolstered their rotation with the signing of Derek Lowe. He will be supported by Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens. Chipper Jones leads the offense and he is supported by Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Garrett Anderson and Jeff Francoeur. The Braves are young, but always stay in the mix.

The Florida Marlins have some young talent in Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez, but that’s really about it. The Marlin’s picthing is also very weak. The Washington National aren’t any better than last season’s 59-102 record and will not be a factor at all this season.

In the Central, the Chicago Cubs are sticking by the motto, “maybe this year” once again. They certainly have a good team, but always fall very short in the playoffs. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano are the spark plugs of this offense. Kosuke Fukudome came into his own last season and should still be a key to their offense this season. They also sport one of the best young catchers in the league, Geovany Soto. Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija turned into a good reliever last year and should see his role increased in the pen. Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmal are the two leading candidates to be the Cubs closer this season.

Elsewhere in the Central, the Cardinals may very well surprise people this year. Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball and he is healthy. He may be the only superstar on that team, but he is supported by guys who can play. They got Khalil Greene in a trade in the off season and still have the injury-prone Troy Glaus at third. Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina were pleasant surprises last season. The big story for the team is the pitching staff. Adam Wainwright will be the staff’s ace and he will be followed by Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer. The Cardinals had no true closer last season, but expect Ryan Franklin to take the role again.

The rest of the division is very weak once you get past the Milwaukee Brewers, who lost staff ace CC Sabathia to the Yankees. They have offensive talent, but no pitching at all, so don’t expect another second-half surge. The Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros do not pose threats at all and the Pittsburgh Pirates are downright awful.

In the West, the Dodgers seem to have things under control after finally re-signing Manny Ramirez. He was the hottest player in the second half last season and the only Dodger who could figure out the Phillies pitching in the post-season. Andre Ethier, James Loney and Russell Martin will all contribute to the sturdy offense. They lost Derek Lowe and Brad Penny in the pitching staff, but added Randy Wolf. They will look for Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley to step up and take control in the bullpen. The Diamondbacks will have to rely heavily on the arms of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren if they want to compete. The San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies don’t have enough talent to shake up the west.

It is my belief that the Phillies will take the East and will post the best record in the National League. The Cubs will win the Central in a close race and the Dodgers will easily win the West. The Cardinals should take the wild card over the Mets