2005 National League Season Preview

AL East

1. Atlanta Braves (93-69)
2. Florida Marlins (92-70)
3. New York Mets (89-73)
4. Philadelphia Phillies (82-80)
5. Washington Nationals (75-87)

Do I think the Braves are the best team in this division? Not really, but you just can't pick against them. The Marlins still have great pitching, and improved their offense, and I have changed my initial reaction to the Mets and am now convinced they will be a force in the division.

The Phillies are fading fast and had a very short window of opportunity. Last year. If they finish as poorly, or worse than I predicted, they may move Jim Thome. He has a big contact and Ryan Howard is major league ready at AAA.

The Nationals have good pitching, but a questionable offense. Vinny Castilla is getting older, Nick Johnson has never lived up to his hype and Jose Guillen will get in a fight with Frank Robinson before the month is over. Other than that, they got some potential.

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs (92-70)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (81-81)
4. Cincinnati Reds (80-82)
5. Houston Astro (77-85)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (73-89)

When it all comes down to it, the Cubs have too much pitching to lose this division. I know Wood and Prior have already had some scares, but I don't think it will be anything to worry about. The offense is going to be fine, and will not miss Sammy Sosa or Moises Alou for one minute. Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee, Corey Patterson and Jeromy Burnitz will provide enough offense to make up for the loss, and Nomar will have an MVP type season.

I like the Cardinals offseason moves, mainly adding Mulder, but I think they had a charmed season last year. Rolen finally clicked offensively and it seemed like every guy they threw out there made an impact. Those seasons come around once in a while, and you usually don't see them twice. Last year was thier chance and they blew it.

Yes I picked the Brewers to finish .500, and in third, and it wasn't just because I've been a Brewer fan since the age of 10. I've had the opportunity to closely follow this team for the last two years, and have seen huge strides taken. This team has far more talent than you would expect for a $40 million payroll and are coached extremely well. Ned Yost does a great job of motivating the guys and keeping the atmosphere lose, and Mike Maddux and Davey Nelson are argualby the two best coaches at their postion. The offense looks good, but the bullpen is a question.

A lot of people have the Reds as a darkhorse in this division, but I don't see it. Griffey won't stay healthy, Rich Aruilla's best days are behind him, same with Joe Randa, and they still don't have good enough pitching. Don't tell me Eric Milton, he can't carry a staff.

Wow, what happened to the Astros. Berkman is hurt, Kent and Beltran are gone, and Biggio and Bagwell are in the twilight of thier careers. Roger Clemens will wonder why he came back. Before the All-Star break.

The Pirates are builing a good club, just like the Brewers with a lot of young guys. Unlike the Brewers, they're doing it with pitching. Oliver Perez was best pitcher I got the chance to see last year, his stuff is just nasty and he keeps gettin better. They will be good, but not yet. Until then, expect Llyod McClendon to get tossed from a lot of games.

NL West

1. San Diego Padres (88-74)
2. San Francisco Giants (84-78)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (82-80)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (74-88)
5. Colorado Rockies (70-92)

The Padres win this division by default. They are a good team, but not good enough to win a division, not even good enough to win a wild card. They still have a good bullpen and rotation and now add a dimension of speed with Dave Roberts. Was Brian Giles really worth Jason Bay and Oliver Perez?

The Giants should win this division, but they're too old and we don't know how many games Bonds will play in this year, if he even plays at all. This is the last season you will see this Giants team, its time to rebuild.

Arizona could sneek up on some people. I love Brandon Webb, he is a guy who's been victimized by Ben Sheets' disease throughout his career. He pitches great, but gets no run support. Toss in Javier Vazquez, Russ Ortiz and Shawn Estes and you have yourself a good rotation. The offense has some bopers, but Craig Counsell and Royce Clayton are your first two hitters in your lineup? Looks like a lot of solo home runs.

The Dodgers...What is Paul DePodesta doing? Can we stop this whole "Moneyball" Thing. The A's are winning because they have good players, not some formula. I read the book, I heard the lunacies, but the bottom line is Eric Chavez, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, Durazo, Damon, Giambi, those guys were all good players. The things the Dodgers are doing here, and I know what it is, eliminating speed and steals for on base percentage and big hitters, it's just dumb. They went from a great defensive team to a bad one, and even worse they brought in sinker ball pitchers. So you want pitchers who will get ground balls when you have a bad defense?

The Rockies are bad. Just bad. Here's a thought, trade Todd Helton for some young pitching. You won't get sucess out of any free agent pitchers, because pitching in Coors is a mental thing now. You need a youngster who doesn't know anybetter and can be tought to use off speed pitches. Plus, you haven't won with Helton, so you might as well lose without him.

Wildcard: Florida Marlins

Playoffs: Marlins over Braves
Cubs over Padres

NLCS: Marlins over Cubs

World Series: Yankees over Marlins

MVP: Nomar Garciaparra
Cy Young: Ben Sheets
ROY: JJ Hardy (would have picked Garret Atkins but he's already starting the season on the DL)

First palyer traded: Willy Mo Pena
First Manager Fired: Jim Tracy

Don't be surprised if: The people in Florida remember they have a baseball team.