National League Preview

With the spring season almost upon us, there is a smell of leather and pitch in the air. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the smell of baseball. As a lover of numbers and statistics, baseball has long been one of my favorite sports. The sabermetric field if one that I am trying to embrace, even though my brain can’t even comprehend some of the equations that are tossed around. However, despite my intellectual inefficiencies, baseball always brings a sense of excitement with it. There are so many games to watch, so many players to be interested in, and so many stats to stare at for hours.

The plan for this column is to take a brief (insufficient) look at each team, listed by league and  division in the order of how I think they will finish. I am going to look at the National League first, and the American League next week.

NL East (Best division in the National League

Philadelphia Phillies

            As long as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels pitch for this team, they are going to be a top contender on the National League. All three should be mentioned in the Cy Young debate this year, and the Phillies should once again come close to 100 wins. This team’s only weakness is the lack of power bats in the lineup. Ryan Howard is healing from an ACL injury, and Rollins and Utley don’t inspire the same fear in pitchers that they used to. But, with a bit of health, the Phillies will remain the class of the National League.

Atlanta Braves

            The Braves are hoping that this is the year that some health and good fortune are on their side. If so, they will be a World Series contender. Mciahel Bourne, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla make up the heart of what could be a very explosive lineup. The tinkering that he has done with his swing could allow Jayson Heyward to return to a homerun-smashing outfielder. As has been the case the last few years, the Braves have an absolute stable full of pitchers at their disposal in the major leagues and in the minors if injury threatens.

Washington Nationals

            In a recent statement, the National’s GM said that he should be fired if his team doesn’t make the playoffs this year. With the new, 2 wild card playoff format, he may just get to keep his job another year. The Nationals should absolutely be the most improved team in the league. A healthy Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzales and Edwin Jackson will anchor the rotation, and a bounceback season in the batter’s box for Jason Werth should be enough to help this team ascend to heights it has not seen in the 21^st century.

Miami Marlins

            If the Nationals aren’t the most improved team in the National League, The Mariners should take that honor. Their lineup should score a TON of runs. Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Mike Stanton, Gabey Sanchez, Logan Morrison…there is an absolute crapton of hitters in this brand new Miami ballpark. The two big questions for this team are: Can they defend, and can their pitchers keep up with the hitters? Should be really interesting

New York Mets

            Yuck. I always know that the Mets will be on Fox on Saturdays, and I always know that they will be horrible to watch. There are a few bright spots with this team, and Johan Santana makes another try at a healthy season and Jason Bay tries to recover his slugging form from 2010, but the Mets ownership, as everyone knows, is totally devastated financially, and there is little future for this team in the farm system at this point. Keep Chugging boys.

NL Central

Cincinnati Reds

            The Reds sent a bucket full of prospects to the San Diego Padres to get RHP Mat Latos. They are hoping that the young pitcher can bring a stabilizing presence to the pitching staff, and join with Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, and Homer Bailey to take the Reds to the Playoffs. 100 million dollar man, Joey Votto now has some contract expectations to live up to.

St. Louis Cardinals

            The return of Adam Wainright cannot displace the loss of the greatest offensive force in baseball, El Hombre (but not in LA). The Cardinals are hoping that David Freese can build on his playoff’s breakout from 2011 and be an impact player at the hot corner.

Milwaukee Brewers

            Man, strange things happen to famous people a lot. After Ryan Braun won his appeal of a 50 game drug suspension, players everywhere were pretty upset, since they think Braun cheated the system. I expect to see the reigning NL MVP get pitched waaaaay inside this season, but I also expect him to continue to be one of the best players in baseball. Yovani Gallardo should be on the short list of NL Cy Young candidates this year, after finishing 2011 on a huge hot streak.

Pittsburgh Pirates

            Is it sad that AJ Burnett will miss 8-10 weeks with eye socket surgery, or is it just another pitiable example of the poor luck and bad management that has helped the Pirates be one of the worst teams in football? I personally think that Pirates will have a chance of contending in the NL Central in 3-4 years, but it is not this year. They have a bunch of great pitching prospects in the minor leagues, including 2011 #1 pick Gerrit Cole. However, all good things take time, and the Pirates will probably lose 80+ games this year.

Chicago Cubs

            If the addition of Theo Epstein were an instant magical formula to improve the Cubs by 20 or 30 games, I would be excited about this team. Other than that remote possibility, (which I suppose could be true) I see the Cubs being awful to watch again this year. Sorry, Chicago peoples.

Houston Astros

            I have nothing constructive to say about this team, except that they are doing a smart thing by restructuring the ownership and management. Sorry Astro fans, but your team will have the #1 pick in the first year player draft in 2012.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

            I think this is the year that Justin Upton wins an MVP award, and I also think that the Diamondbacks have enough quality pitching to win this division. I wouldn’t depend on the extra wild car if I were them, as the NL East probably has dibs on the best record thing. But, the D-backs are young and exciting, and could take a big step forward this year.

San Francisco Giants

            Despite having one of the top 3 pitching staffs in the National League, the Giants will need to see some huge production from some young players if they expect to contend on offense. Tim Lincecum saw less than 2.8 runs per game from his offense in games that he started last year. So, even though he had a 2.74 ERA, he only won 13 games.

Colorado Rockies

            The Rockies have become very serious about surrounding their young, talented starts with veteran role players. Michael Cuddyer is just the type of player who can help this team maintain focus and win important ball games. Tulowitski and Car-Go should continue to be one of the best hitting duos in baseball, but we must simply wait and see if the pitching staff will be up to snuff. (snuff….sounds very Scarlet Pimpernel)

Los Angeles Dodgers

            If more people than just Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw can have career years, and if the LA Dodgers can finally get sold to a decent owner, there could be some excitement in Dodger-town (wherever that is). However, it is totally possible that Kemp and Kershaw continue to put up huge numbers and the team still misses the playoffs by 10 or more games.

San Diego Padres

            So, if you trade away talent, don’t spend money on new talent, and have an unfortunate draft record, what do you get? Your 2012 San Diego Padres. They may have some talent in the pipeline somewhere, but it’s not going to be a lot of help this year.

 Well, that was the National League. American League to follow at some point after the weekend. Give me your thoughts on your home-team. How will they fare?