- Philadelphia Phillies (94-68) - By far the best lineup in the National League, and easily top 3 in baseball... Utley/Howard/Rollins/Ibanez/Werth... what do you even say? Hamels should bounce back from what everyone is saying, and Roy Halladay will absolutely dominate the NL... Really the only achilles heel is the closer spot (Lidge is awful, and there isn't another real option), which will remain a concern unless Lidge turns back the clock... Also, they have Jamie Moyer penciled in the rotation... he's almost 50 years old... But Philly is the best team in the NL
- Atlanta Braves (89-73) - Deepest and most balanced rotation in the National League... and a bullpen, though with some risk, that is deep and talented with Wagner/Saito/Moylan with closer stuff.... Power is still the issue, but there really isn't an easy out in the lineup now that Heyward is penciled in as the right fielder, and they can platoon Diaz/Melky in left... I really like what Frank Wren has done... and 89 wins gets them the wild card...
- Florida Marlins (80-82) - Most people are higher on them than I am... Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are both exceptional talents, but the rest of the staff falls off a cliff after them... they have a young lineup led by All-world SS Hanley Ramirez, but there are still questions with unproven guys like Maybin, and up-and-down guys like Uggla and Cody Ross... The bullpen is a mess as well, and I can't take them seriously as a threat to Philly and Atlanta just yet
- New York Mets (77-85) - Health, Pitching, and Power.... the 3 issues... Seems major, eh? Reyes and Beltran are giant question marks with health (Reyes is active now, but recent history can't be ignored), After the world-beating Johan Santana, there 2 thru 5 starters are John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, and Jon Niese... done and done... and without Beltran and the departed Carlos Delgado, the lack of power is striking outside of Jason Bay and David Wright (who didn't hit for power last year either)... there's talent... and it wouldn't shock me if they won 80-85 games, but I don't see it
- Washington Nationals (68-94) - The lineup is more potent than in past years... Guys like Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, and Nyjer Morgan are real assets with the bat... but the depth isn't there (they start Willie Harris and the corpse of Pudge Rodriguez), and the pitching is still woeful until you get to a Strasburg call-up in June... They won't be absolutely wretched... but they can't compete...
There you have it... All 6 divisions... Part 7 to come with predictions for awards and playoffs... Almost opening day...
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