MLB Breakdown #3

I believe it's now time we turn our attention to the NL East.

The NL East may be the second best division in all of baseball this year, with the obvious best being the AL East. Think about it though, you have the Mets, the Braves, the Marlins and the defending champs in Philly. Then you have the lowly Washington Nationals but things aren't all bad for them, I'll discuss later in this segment.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (95-67) - It's hard to pick against the defending World Champs, especially when they didn't get any worse. Injuries would be bad news for this team, speaking of which stud pitcher Cole Hamels is going to miss his start Opening Night on April 5th against Atlanta. They aren't a deep team but they are talented. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard make up one of the most powerful right sides of the infield in all of baseball. And the speed of Shane Victorino ahead of them and you have the plate setter for them. For fun, keep an eye on Brett Myers who in the past years has provided us with "Boom... outta here," he also beat his wife mid-day in the streets of Boston before a game and was sent down to the Minors last year. Let's see if he has anything in store for us this year.

2. New York Mets (91-71) - Yes, the Mets added JJ Putz and K-Rod to bolster the bullpen which blew 27 games last year. But these are the same Mets who have choked and faded the last two years in September. Can they get productivity from Luis Castillo at second base, Fernando Tatis in left field and their un-named 5th starter? At this point it'll probably be Livan Hernandez. I just don't see the Mets having enough fire power to overthrow the Phils. They should be in the run for the Wild Card if not the leaders.

3. Atlanta Braves (82-80) - I love the Braves but they are still a year or two away from competing for NL East crown again. While I love the additions of Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez to their rotation to go with Jair Jurrjens their bullpen is questionable at beast. Mike Gonzalez is returning from surgery after a shaky 36 games as the closer last year. If Jordan Schaffer doesn't beat out Garret Anderson for the job in left field Atlanta pitching could give up a lot of extra base hits down that area. Injuries will ultimately take its toll on this not so deep Braves team.

4. Florida Marlins (78-84) - The Marlins have some fine talent on the team but how long can they keep. Hanley Ramirez is one of the best young players and shortstops in the game. Cameron Maybin could be the next Ken Griffey Jr. and Ricky Nolasco has the stuff to no hit teams. But how consistant can this talent be. And how will they respond to playing in front of 5 to 10,000 fans per home game? If the Marlins can keep these young guys expect them to challenege in two to three years. Keep an eye on Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Andrew Miller. If those three contribute they could pass Atlanta for third.

5. Washington Nationals (71-91) - Lastings Milledge, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn. The three driving forces behind the lowly Nationals team. Their bullpen is full of unproven guys, while their starting rotation isn't much better. Cristian Guzman was a nice surprise for the Nats last year, let's see if he can set the table for Dunn and Zimmerman this year. Don't expect much as the Nats will push the the Padres for the first pick in the 2010 draft. Bright news for the Nats this year is they have the first pick in 2009.