Clearing The Bases

Time for our predictions about the National League.  Have to be honest, I’m not really sure about anything in the NL.  Philadelphia and San Francisco have outstanding pitching staffs but their offensive deficiencies bring them back to the pack.  Milwaukee and St. Louis were hit hard in free agency, perhaps the Reds take the Central.  The Dodgers are still a year away from contention as the new owners should add some sizzle to that team next off-season.  About the only thing I’m positive about is that the Mets, Astros, and Padres will finish last in each of their respective divisions.

National League

East

1. Philadelphia:    I’m certainly not confident in this prediction.  Ryan Howard is out until at least mid-May, probably longer.  No one has any idea when Chase Utley will return.  It’s not like this team had a great offense as it was, and now they’re missing their two biggest run producers.  Good thing they have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Vance Worley in the rotation.  They are going to have to keep the opposing teams to three runs or less in most games.  The reason I’m picking Philly to represent the NL, Howard and Utley will hopefully be healthy by the second half of the season.
2. Atlanta:  First let me say that the baseball and the Braves will miss Chipper Jones when he retires at the end of the season.  The first ballot Hall of Famer has had a fantastic career.  That being said we know he would like to go out with another trip to the World Series.  First they have to make the playoffs which won’t be easy in this division.  Outside of the Mets, everyone else could be in contention.  Biggest key for the Braves, can Jason Heyward rediscover his stroke, and can Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson be effective starting pitchers once again.
3. Miami:  Finally we won’t have to worry about a rain delay every time the Marlins play a home game as they move into their new stadium this season.  The Marlins added Jose Reyes in the off-season forcing Hanley Ramirez to move to third base.   HRam seems to be handling the move with grace, but if he has troubles in the field one has to wonder if he will bring those trouble to the plate and then become a distraction once again.  Be nice if Reyes could stay healthy for an entire season as well.  Speaking of health, if Josh Johnson can once again be one of the best pitchers in baseball, the Marlins could challenge for the crown, and no matter how the new ballpark plays, Giancarlo (formerly Mike) Stanton is going to hit 40+ home runs this season.
4. Washington:  Don’t let the fourth place prediction fool you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win 86+ games this season.  The pitching is there.  Stephen Strasburg will be on an innings limit this season, but will be must see baseball when he is on the mound.  Jordan Zimmerman is ready to show the world how good he can be, and the addition of Gio Gonzalez gives them a threesome that can just about matchup with anyone.  The problem is the offense.  Michael Morse and Adam Laroche are banged up and may not be able to begin the season with the team.  Ryan Zimmerman is always a DL trip waiting to happen, and Jayson Werth is certainly not worth the contract he signed.  They have work to do, but they are on the right path.
5. New York:  What can we say about the Mets?  Nothing good.  The lost Jose Reyes to free agency, added on one in free agency, and still can’t stay healthy.  Can’t see how this team wins more than 75 games.  They did bring the fences in at Citi Field so that should help the power output of David Wright, Lucas Duda, Ike Davis, and maybe even Jason Bay, but it will certainly hurt the pitching staff, which outside of a post surgery Johan Santana, is nothing to be proud of.  Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey can’t arrive soon enough.  When do they trade Wright?

Central

1. Cincinnati:  This division is certainly top heavy as only the top three have a realistic shot at the title.  The Reds added what could be a top starter in Mat Latos, but it also cost them top prospect Yonder Alonso.  Not a big deal though as Alonso was blocked by Joey Votto.  Speaking of prospects, Zach Cozart takes over at shortstop, and while he’s not a superstar in the making, he should give the team their best offensive performance out of that position since Barry Larkin.  The reason I picked the Reds to finish on top, they added pieces in Latos and Ryan Madson, while the Brewers and Cardinals lost huge pieces.
2. Milwaukee:  Let’s not forget that Milwaukee won this division last season, not St. Louis.  Losing Fielder is a huge blow, but Matt Gamel and Aramis Ramirez should be able to replace his production.   If nothing else the Brewers will finally find out if Gamel can be a productive major leaguer.  The strength of this team is the starting rotation.  Zach Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, and Randy Wolf are the best foursome in the division if Chris Carpenter is out long term with his neck injury.
3. St. Louis:  This team somehow won the World Series last season even though they lost Adam Wainwright in spring training to Tommy John surgery.  Well, Wainwright is back, and looks good, but Chris Carpenter is having injury concerns and is likely to begin the season on the DL.  Not to mention you might have heard they lost someone named Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, wow.  The good news, Lance Berkman can move back to first base which should help his legs, World Series hero David Freese could have a big season if he can finally stay healthy, and the addition of Carlos Beltran can only help the offense.
4. Pittsburgh:  Now we get to the three teams that can’t win the division.  Pittsburgh is improving but has a long way to go.  Can Pedro Alvarez figure out what went wrong last season?  Can Jose Tabata and Alex Presley produce at the corner outfield spots?  Can anyone in that starting rotation prove to resemble an ace?  Not sure if the answer to any of these questions will be yes.  At least they signed Andrew McCutchen to a long term deal.
5. Chicago:  When Theo Epstein took over, he as much as admitted that he was going to overhaul the team.  It’s going to take 2-3 seasons before Theo is able to change the makeup of this roster.  He did trade for Anthony Rizzo (a player he apparently loves), but Bryan LaHair is still expected to man first base at the outset of the season.  The club does have Starlin Castro, a superstar in the making, watch out if this kid can develop some power and take a few walks.  Offense would certainly be helped if Ian Stewart could finally realize his potential and Geovany Soto rediscovers his power stroke.  The starting staff is awfully thin after Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster, and Carlos Marmol is an implosion waiting to happen at closer.  This will not be the year that the curse is broken.
6. Houston:  Not sure what to say about this team, 100+ losses here we come.  Anything not nailed down should be on the trade market.  This means you Carlos Lee, Wandy Rodriguez, and Brett Myers, and as if things aren’t bad enough, they move to the American League next season, yippee.

West

1. Arizona:  There is no perfect team in this division, the DBacks just seem to have less holes than the Giants.  The Giants have a better starting staff but the DBacks have much better hitters and it’s not like their staff is terrible.  Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson proved last season that it’s much easier to pitch in the NL than it is in the AL, not that this is news, but it should let you know how good Trevor Cahill could be this season.  Justin Upton may be the best player in baseball that you don’t know.  Paul Goldschmidt give the team a legitimate power threat at first and the addition of Jason Kubel gives the team depth in the outfield.  Biggest question marks are on the left side of the infield.  When will Stephen Drew return from last year’s broken ankle and was Ryan Roberts nothing more than a one year wonder?
2. San Francisco:  The Giants traded for Melky Cabrera to help their offense, hmmmm, when did Melky become Barry Bonds?  Hard to believe the Giants are still toying with the idea of not playing Brandon Belt everyday because they still want to get Aubrey Huff into the lineup.  Playing Huff over Belt just makes no sense.  The good news for the offense is the return of Buster Posey.  His bat alone should help although he’s not the second coming of Johnny Bench.  This team will still need to be carried by the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Ryan Vogelsong, and they should certainly be up to the job.
3. Colorado:  The Rockies made a boatload of additions to their team since last season ended.  Marco Scutaro will play second base, Casey Blake is slated to play third, Michael Cuddyer in right, and  Ramon Hernandez at catcher.  Cuddyer is a nice addition, but will any of these other moves help the Rockies win games?  Jhoulys Chacin is back to anchor the rotation.  How he and Drew Pomeranz perform will determine if this team has a chance to compete.
4. Los Angeles:  Dodger fans should really be looking forward to next season.  With a new owner and a new television contract, they should be major players in free agency.  Imagine Matt Cain or Cole Hamels paired up with Clayton Kershaw.  Josh Hamilton could be signed to give Matt Kemp adequate protection.  They could weaken a division foe by signing Miguel Montero.  As for this season, well, you’re not going to finish last.
5. San Diego:  Stop me if you have heard this before, the Padres are rebuilding.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have some interesting pieces.  They acquired Yonder Alonso and Edinson Volquez from the Reds in the Mat Latos deal.  Alonso won’t hit for major power at Petco, but should be able to use the gaps to his advantage.  Volquez may not be happy about going from a contender to a pretender, but at least he no longer has to worry about pop flies leaving the ballpark.  The addition of Carlos Quentin is off to a rough start as he will miss the first couple of weeks with a knee injury.  The Pads need all the offense they can get as the rest of the team is far from a juggernaut.

Wildcard Teams

Atlanta and San Francisco

World Series Representative

Philadelphia