Predicting the Divisions - National League

NL East - Phillies, Mets, Marlins, Braves & Nationals

Sound familiar? Same order as last year.  The Phillies aren't clearly the best team but they have the fewest questions to answer.  If they get basic, run-of-the-mill production out of the back end of their rotation they should win the division pretty easy.

The Mets could take 1st place, if Pelfry, Perez & Maine live up to potential.  The offense is solid and bullpen solved (on paper) so they'll stay close.

The Marlins will be an 85 win team, but the offense won't be able support the solid pitching.

The Braves & Nationals are going to have to rely on too many young players to compete. The Nationals could improve by 12 games this year and still lose 90 games.  If they could combine the rosters they might be able to finish ahead of the Marlins.

NL Central - Cubs, Reds, Brewers, Reds, Cardinals & Pirates

The Cubs are clearly the favorite.

I think the Reds surprise, they'll need Cueto to get better & Harang to have a flashback to a few years ago.  Their young players are much better than the Braves & Nationals and should help the offense, especially at home.

The Brewers lost too much pitching to do much better than .500; the last three could finish in any order, the Pirates probably aren't ready to make the leap out of last yet but they're getting closer.

NL West - Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies & Padres

Like the Cubs, the Dodgers are the clear favorite, even with the questionable pitching.

If Garland can keep his ERA in the 4.50 range the D-backs could be close for a while, they need to find some offense somewhere.  They could lead the league in strikeouts...both as a pitching staff and in offense.

The Giants have no offense to go with the pitching.  Maybe Johnson can help Zito like Ryan helped Johnson years ago.  I know, I know, not gonna happen.  Maybe next off-season the Giants will address the offense a little bit.

The Rockies are lucky the Padres are in this division; it won't keep them from losing 90 games, but it will keep them out of last.

Has there ever been a worse Major League team than this version of the Padres? If Peavy sticks around all year they might not lose 110 games.