NL East Predictions

Now that we have that other league out of the way, it's time to start breaking down the real baseball. You know, the baseball where the pitchers aren't afraid to bat.

Because the NL is the league with the real men, it warrants a more in depth analysis. So over the next three days, I'm going to be giving my predictions and opinions on how I believe each of the three divisions in the National League will play out in 2009.

Today I'm going to start by covering the NL East. The NL East could go a bunch of different ways, but here's how I see it going.


1 - New York Mets

I know this may surprise some to pick the Mets over the world champion Phils. Since winning 97 games and the division in 2006, the Mets have collapsed late in both of the past two seasons. They blew a 7 game lead with 17 games to play in 2007 and a 3.5 game lead with 17 to go in 2008.

But that's all in the past now. The front office spent the offseason suring up the Mets greatest liability: the bullpen. Something I wish the Cards would have tried doing... With the addition of not one, but two established closers in K-Rod and Putz, opponents will be seeing lots of zeros in the eighth and ninth innings. Now, those leads that they kept blowing down the stretch over the past couple of years leading to their collapses, will be preserved.

2 - Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies will not win the division this year, but they will finish a close second. And just like I picked their World Series counterpart, the Rays, to take the wild card in the AL, I also think that the Phils will take the wild card in the NL. With strong pitching again this year from Hamels and Lidge, great hitting from Utley and Rollins, and home runs from Howard, this team will still be a force to be reckoned with in the NL East.

3 - Florida Marlins

The Marlins took third in the division in 2008 and will repeat in 2009. Hanley Ramirez leads a talent pool of solid young talent. The fish will be able to put together another decent season, but still aren't quite up to the level of either Philadelphia or New York.

4 - Atlanta Braves

The Braves simply had too much to fix after a disappointing 90 loss season in 2008. They had problems with their pitching, so they went out and got Derek Lowe, Javier Vasquez, and Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami. However, with all the attention spent on pitching, the neglected their also struggling offense. The team will play about the same level as they did last year.

5 - Washington Nationals

And rounding out the division, we have the Washington Nationals... I don't know if this prediction really warrants an explanation. I doubt there are too many disagreeing with this pick. They are the Nationals...'nuff said.



And with that, my NL East predictions are complete. Agree? Disagree? Comment below.

Go Cards.