2009 MLB Preview: National League

NL-

East:

y- New York Mets: 93-69
w- Philadelphia Phillies: 91-71
Florida Marlins: 85-77
Atlanta Braves: 81-81
Washington Nationals: 66-96

The Mets took care of their glaring weakness, the bullpen, and should be in position to win the East. The Phillies still have the core of their team together but have some injury concerns (i.e. Chase Utley coming off of hip surgery and Cole Hamels having some elbow issues during spring training). As long as those two are healthy, though, the Phillies will have a strong enough record to take the Wild Card. The Braves made some quality offseason additions to their starting rotation and should be back around .500 (Bobby Cox always gets the most out of his players.)

Central:

y- Chicago Cubs: 92-70
St. Louis Cardinals: 81-81
Milwaukee Brewers: 80-82
Houston Astros: 78-84
Cincinnati Reds: 76-86
Pittsburgh Pirates: 68-94

Although I don’t think they will win 97 games again, the Cubs are clearly still the best team in the Central. The Brewers will struggle to play .500 baseball after losing their two horses C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets, and the rest of the teams in the division are mediocre at best. The Reds, with Dominicans Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto, have two young studs but will always have their difficulties pitching at Great American Ball Park. The NL Central is the biggest lock in the majors.

West:

y- Los Angeles Dodgers: 89-73
Arizona Diamondbacks: 82-80
San Francisco Giants: 79-83
Colorado Rockies: 71-91
San Diego Padres: 68-94

The Dodgers will win the West for the second year in a row. Although Manny Ramirez killed the Red Sox team chemistry, he was on his best behavior in L.A. and nearly led them to a World Series. Re-signing Man-Ram was a necessity for the Dodgers, and two years for $45 million is a pretty fair deal. Keeping Rafael Furcal and signing Orlando Hudson were also good moves. The Diamondbacks are going to have a good team, mostly because of their starting pitching, but may not have enough offensive consistency. The same goes for the San Francisco Giants.

There you have it: my projections for the American League and National League.

AL East: Boston Red Sox (96-66)
AL Central: Minnesota Twins (85-77)
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (89-73)
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees (92-70)

NL East: New York Mets (93-69)
NL Central: Chicago Cubs (92-70)
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (89-73)
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)

As a generality, while many of the game’s best teams are still holding their ground, the league’s worst teams have made improvements (there are two 95 loss club in my projections, compared to four last year).

I will begin posting my playoff predictions tomorrow.