Here are links to the other National League divisions.
Philadelphia Phillies (13th highest payroll, just over $95 million)
Last Season: Must we really? Fine. The Phils finally put everything together and were the 2008 World Series Champs, led by Cole Hamels' brilliant pitching, a return-to-lights-out Brad Lidge, big Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins among others. They looked impressive. They still do. Just promise not to mention that to anyone from Philly.
Key Moves: The Phils did a great job of keeping their winning core intact.
- Except for losing OF Pat Burrell, who was a big part of their Championship run. He will be missed. But he is not irreplaceable
- Because the added OF Raul Ibanez, who will fit in nicely for the Phils. He played every game last year, had a career high in hits (186), a career 2nd best batting average (.293), and hit over 20 longballs for the fifth time in his career and fourth year in a row. So he has some pop and is consistent. Pretty much what Pat Burrell was. He should provide padding in the line up.
- P Chan Ho Park is a crafty vet who has been limited the past two seasons, but seems in good form this spring. Should be a solid 5 starter till the young J.A. Happ is ready. Then he can provide depth in the bull pen.
Possible Impacts: Lefty OFs Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs could find a roster spot, or be traded for someone who might.
Training Camp: SP Chan Ho Park looks like he is back to form. Jenkins, Stairs, and Miguel Cairo are all fighting for the last two spots, unless the Phils decide to take 11 (rather than the traditional 12) pitchers into opening day. Lefty SP J.A. Happ will bounce from minors to bigs at some point(s) this season.
Keys to Success: This should be easy: do what was done last year. They have one of the best 1B (Howard), 2B (Utley), aces (Hamels) and closers (Lidge) around. They are solid at SS (Rollins), in the OF (Victorino, Werth, Ibanez), and rotation (Myers, Blanton, Moyer).
Projection: This will be the Phils division to lose. Barring any massively tragic injury, they take it with 91 wins blindfolded. But please, please! Don't ever tell anyone from Philly that. Please!
New York Mets (2nd highest payroll, just over $137 million)
Last Season: For the second year in a row, the Mets simply imploded in September. They lost the division on the last again (their September 07 was the biggest collapse in MLB history) despite their depth and talent. One more season like that, and these guys may go down as the worst choke artists of all time. Could you image what torture that would be?
Key Losses: None of the Mets core bolted, which remains to be seen whether or not its a good thing.
- SP Pedro Martinez left for free agency, but he has not been important to a team since the '04 Red Sox
- Newly acquired SP Tim Redding will start the year on the DL
- CL Billy Wagner will have to wait another season before he sees MLB action. Again.
Key Additions: The deep and talented Mets got deeper.
- Concerns about the bullpen's inability to hold a lead, the Mets went out and over-paid RP Francisco Rodriguez. However, it will all be worth it if they can pay him to throw a pitch in the playoffs.
- Former closer J.J. Putz will be setting up K-Rod, and should be a big boost.
- OF Gary Sheffield, SS Alex Cora, SP Freddy Garcia, OF Rob Mackowiak and SP Livan Hernandez all signed minor league contracts as cushions for this already deep team. Expect half these guys to get worked in some way or another.
Training Camp: The only youngster (I should say fresh face) to crack the line-up opening day will be Daniel Murphy in LF. The rest of the line-up will strongly resemble last year's. As for position battles, Hernandez and Garcia will fight for the last spot on the rotation. Look for the Mets to keep their starters fresh throughout the year by working in guys from their solid supporting cast.
Keys to Success: It would seem easy for the likes of 3B David Wright (.302, 33 HR, 124 RBI last year), CF Carlos Beltran (.284-27-112), 1B Carlos Delgado (.271-38-115) and SS Jose Reyes (.297, 116 R, 56 SB) to simply tee off on the opposition. The supporting cast, of course, should get to see some pretty good pitches as well. Then add a rotation with Cy Young winner Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Ollie Perez, John Maine (as a fourth!) and Hernandez/Garcia (each have spent a season as a staff ace), and a bullpen with J.J. Putz and KRod, you would expect at least 100 wins. They just have to show up in September.
Projections: The Phillies aren't sneaking up on anyone this year, and will be the second hurdle the Metropolitans must clear. The first will be themselves. Their best bet is to hope 89 wins (which is precisely what they will win) will get them the wild card. But with their luck, they'll need 90.
Atlanta Braves (10th Highest payroll; just over $102 million)
Last Season: The Braves found themselves ravaged by injury and off-field issues that derailed their season early. It never got back on track, and they finished fourth in the NL East. They could only muster 72 wins. But with arms healed and minds focused and rejuvenated, the Braves will almost certainly improve enough to scrap with the Phils and Mets for the division. At least they will be good enough to keep teams honest.
Key Moves: The Braves weren't as active as some, but still did well for themselves this off-season.
Key Moves: The Braves weren't as active as some, but still did well for themselves this off-season.
- Losing SP John Smoltz to Boston got all the headlines, but it should not be that significant considering his age and the Braves other moves.
- SP Javier Vazquez is acquired in a trade with the White Sox. He is an innings-eating machine who no longer has dominant stuff, but will get strike outs and provide ballast to the rotation
- SP Derek Lowe, a groundball pitcher, should enjoy having one of the more solid in-fields in the League behind him when he takes the mound opening day (for the injured Tim Hudson)
- LF Garrett Anderson will provide a boost in the out-field and in the lineup.
Training Camp: SP Kenshin Kawakami looks solid so far. A healthy Chipper Jones might not be realistic, but he just won the NL batting title and has shown no signs of slowing down. OF Jeff Francoeur looks good, too.
- Battle for 2B: Scouts say Martin Prado is good enough to play every day, but isn't quite good enough to unseat Kelly Johnson. Look for him to find time at some point
- Battle for CF appears to be over, with Jordan Schafer the victor as Josh Anderson is traded to Detroit
Keys to Success: Although Chipper hasn't played over 130 games in any of the past four seasons, this team can still do damage with their lineup. McCann should be solid at C, and Francouer, Anderson, Johnson, and 1B Casey Kotchman will not need to go above and beyond to be effective. They rotation will survive Hudson's absence with the likes of Lowe, Vazquez, Kawakami, Glavine, and Jurrjens. They are actively looking for bullpen help, and that is a concern now but should be addressed soon enough.
Projections: If they can stay reasonably healthy, this team should win 85 games. But that won't be enough to top the Phils or the Mets. They finish third in what should be one of the tightest division races in baseball.
Florida Marlins (Lowest payroll, just over $22.6 million)
Last season: To put things in perspective, ARod made more than the whole team combined, and Jeter made just 2.6 million less. That said, no one expected much from the Fish. Their small success was a pleasant surprise, especially after shipping off Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrerra and still finishing 7 games above .500. Youngsters Hanley Ramierez (.301 BA, 33 HR with 35 SB) and Dan Uggla stepped right into the spotlight. Ricky Nolasco showed flashes of things to come while racking up 15 wins.
Key Moves: The always cheap Marlins let several starters go, opting for cheaper, less proven players and youth.
- OF Luis Gonzalez is the epitome of veteran poise and leadership, although his best days with the bat are well behind him, he is a loss in the line up and in the field.
- OF Josh Willingham doesn't have the stats to be considered a 'Key' anything, but the production he gave for the price he was paid will make him missed.
- Although RP Kevin Gregg was the closer for lack of a better option, he still recorded 29 saves in 38 chances. The Fish will go with an unproven closer in 09 with his departure.
- RP Arthur Rhodes doesn't seem to age, and now the Marlins are without his veteran savvy.
- The Fish signed RP Scott Proctor to fill some of the gap in the bull pen. Then he promptly got hurt and will miss the start of the season.
- SP Josh Johnson will provide a solid #2 option behind Nolasco. He may be worth watching.
Training Camp: Considering the number of holes in the roster and the amount of young, unproven talent, anything could happen. Many guys will be given a chance to see some time this season, as the Fish continue their endless quest to develop youngsters for the rest of the league. The battle for the corners is especially heated. Chris Volstad, Cameron Maybin, Gaby Sanchez, Jorge Cantu, and Emilio Bonifacio are all fighting for time. As of right now, Cantu and Sanchez have 3rd and 1st, respectively, with Maybin and Bonifacio making strong pushes for either spot.
Keys to Success: The Marlins have tons of potential.....again. They are too cheap to keep it, so they are constantly 'developing.' No wonder they never come close to selling out 42,000+ seat Dolphin Stadium. Their pitching staff is deep, and should be solid. Outside of Uggla and Rameirez, the line up is thin. However, if the Fish can get a couple of their young bats to emerge and come into their own, they could certainly throw Florida into the mix.
Projection: The team is still too young to contend. I can't see many more wins than 82 in their 09 future, although it will probably be closer to 80. But rest assured, you'll see plenty of Florida Marlins talent on other teams for years to come!
Washington Nationals (23rd highest payroll; just under $73 million)
Last Season: After the Lerner family essentially forced the District to foot the bill for their new state-of-the-art stadium, the return on the investment was far from desireable. The Nats owned the worst record in baseball last year. With a slew of injuries to an already thin team, give credit to Manny Acta for only losing 102 games. Thats right, this team was that bad.
Key Moves: GM Jim Bowden, the only one the team has known, resigned amid allegations of skimming the signing bonuses of young latin players. Good start!
- SP Odalis Perez is released after failing to report to spring training on time...he was 7-12 with 4.38 ERA last year. Normally, one would say"who cares?" and move on. But Perez ate up 159+ innings and was able to keep the Nats in a few games last year, often dueling the likes of Johan Santana and Brandon Webb. Who else will do that for the Nats???
- P Jesus Colome is released; he appeared in 61 games
- SP Tim Redding (the opening day starter) was not resigned. He started a career high 33 games with 182 innings pitched last year
- LF/1B Adam Dunn signs 2yr deal, providing much needed protection in the lineup for all-star 3B Ryan Zimmerman
- SP Daniel Cabrera signs as free agent
Possible Impacts (Minor league contracts that could see Major time): CF Corey Patterson, SS Alex Cintron, P Josh Towers
Key Resignings: 3B Ryan Zimmerman, LF Willie Harris (who may have had the play of the year for the Nats, making a spectacular leaping grab deep at the left field wall, then gunning down Jose Reyes at first for an unassisted double play. I would not have believed it happened had I not seen it myself).
Training Camp: Jordan Zimmermann, SP, is lighting it up from the mound. Interim GM Mike Rizzo has been praised for his work. OF Elijah Dukes is finally showing signs he is committed to improving his game.
- Key Battle for 2B currently has young Dominican speedster Anderson Hernandez with the edge over cagey vet Ronnie Belliard
Keys to Success: Honestly, this team is several years away from this section being relevant. The farm system is in much better shape than in recent years...probably since the Lerners bought the team in Montreal. But as for this season, career years from their best bats (Zim, Dunn plus Dukes, Milledge and Kearns) still won't overcome the extremely weak rotation (projected as of 3/10: Lannan, Olsen, Cabrera, Hill, Zimmermann).
Projections: I hate to say it, but this team will struggle to win 70 games.....there's no way out of the NL East basement for these guys.
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