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| Cliff Lee |
The NL East is always one of the most competitive divisions and this year should be no different, however, we will see if anybody can hit off the Phillies pitching staff. Philly signed the biggest name on the free agent market this offseason when they inked Cliff Lee. Lee pitched for the Phillies for half of a season but loved the city and decided he would take less money to be in Philadelphia than be in New York with the Yankees. Atlanta will look a little bit different without Bobby Cox in the dugout but Fredi Gonzalez is a nice replacement. Washington is trying to be a player and they threw a lot of money at Jayson Werth but they lost a good power hitter in Adam Dunn. Florida won't be as strong as they have been and the Mets are a lost cause.
1. Philadelphia Phillies
The "Phab Four" as they have been named are going to be scary good (see previous article from December) with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels making a four headed monster on the mound. There are few staffs ever that can compete with this one but maybe we're getting too hyped about the Phils. They still haven't played yet and who knows if they can all four have good years. They should get run support but that's if the Phillies bats can hit. Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard have struggled and Chase Utley may have to sit significant games with a knee injury. Bottom line: The Phillies may not have to score that many runs with their pitching staff.
2. Atlanta Braves
The Jason Heyward Show enters season two and what does the man do for an encore? Well, he can win the Braves a World Series title, something the organization and fans think is very possible. Chipper Jones came back for another year because he believes the Braves can win the Fall Classic and he wants to be a part of it. The signing of Dan Uggla will boost the offense as he is a power hitting second baseman and he will man the middle of the infield with Martin Prado. Prado hit well last year and is good at the top of the lineup. The Braves pitching is underrated because they don't have the big names like the Phillies but they are all solid.
3. Washington Nationals
Maybe it's a risk to pick the Nats this high in the division since they usually have the bottom spot in the division sewn up by July. They have made huge headlines by drafting Bryce Harper but he will start the season in the minors. Stephen Strasburg will be back on the mound and he was impressive in his first season before getting injured. The Nats have signed players who have won with other organizations and hope they can bring that winning attitude to D.C. Jayson Werth will provide much of the power in the middle of the lineup with Ryan Zimmerman. Rick Ankiel can put up power numbers and the Nats should be much improved.
The Marlins have solid players and one promising young player in Mike Stanton but losing Dan Uggla hurts. Hanley Ramirez can be one of the top players in the game but sometimes he doesn't play hard. When he is at the top of his game though he is the best player in the division. Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez are a good 1-2 punch in the rotation. The Marlins will be decent this year but we shouldn't expect more than a .500 record from the Fish.
5. New York Mets
Ah, the Mets...for some reason they can't figure it out. They tried the Yankees strategy of buying the best players such as Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana but that hasn't translated into wins. In fact, they have turned in some of their worst seasons in typical New York Mets fashion. This season they must avoid injuries and get production from their big names. If that doesn't happen then it's going to be a very bad year in Queens.
Best Lineup: Atlanta Braves
Best Pitching Staff: Philadelphia Phillies
Best Pitcher: Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
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