National League
N.L. East
Washington Nationals – The
Nationals, anchored by Stephen Strasburg, are loaded in their starting
rotation. This year, provided they stay healthy, the Nats should have enough
pop in their batting order to give their arms the (relatively minimal) run
support needed to win against most opponents. Last year was a bitter
disappointment resulting from one bad break after another. Expect D.C. to put
the train back on the track in 2014.
Atlanta Braves – What a surprise!
The Braves are expected to contend again. Arguably one of the National League’s
two best run franchises in the past 20 years, the Braves are not rebuilding after
coming up short in the playoffs last year. They’re reloading. And they are loaded
with power in their batting order.
Losing longtime ace starter Tim
Husdon to the San Francisco Giants is going to remove some reliable stability
from the rotation. Still, Atlanta has a lot of youth with a lot of upside in
waiting, starting with new ace Julio Teheran. The Braves also went young in the
bullpen. How that plays out remains to be seen. What is fairly certain is that
if they can get to the 9th inning with a lead, closer Craig Kimbrel
should nail it down 9 times out of 10.
Miami Marlins – To paraphrase
Charles Barkley, they won’t be “turrble”. This team has a ton of young talent
that I expect to demonstrate an exponential degree of development since last
season. Jose Fernandez is on his way to establishing himself as one of the
bright, young, future superstars on the mound. Giancarlo Stanton brings
something the Fish haven’t had since trading Hanley Ramierz: a young
star-potential player with some pop in his bat. Finally, picking up Jared
Saltalamacchia from Boston behind the dish was a good move; the 2 position
won’t be a black hole in the batting order.
Philadelphia Phillies –With this
roster, you may as well hand the N.L. East division title over to them now…five
years ago. They are long in the tooth from top to bottom.
New York Mets – This team’s
opponents would already need to have their maple bats replaced with plastic
whiffle ball bats just to keep the playing field level. Notwithstanding the
crippling loss of ace Matt Harvey for the season (Tommy John surgery), the Mets
have a respectable starting rotation. Their bullpen, however, appears to be an
afterthought, with the big turd in the punch bowl being overweight, washed up
Jose Valverde as the closer.
They have done very little to
offset the anemic hitting that plagued them last season. They did acquire
former All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson. But at age 33, coming off of an ineffective,
injury-riddled season, I’m of the opinion that “♪ The
Grandy Man can’t ♫”!
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| That's the same blur that batters see when facing Strasburg. 1 |
N.L. Central
Pittsburgh Pirates – Losing A.J.
Burnett to the Phillies cost the Bucs some experience, but also with his
departure left some unreliability in big moments for which Burnett was becoming
infamous in recent years. The rotation is reasonably solid. If Endison
Volquez, now age 30, can turn it around – being the strikeout machine he was
with the Cincinnati Reds while limiting the number of critical runs given up –
the Pirates could put some distance between themselves and the rest of the
Central division by the All-Star break. In spite of having reigning MVP
centerfielder Andrew McCuthchen, this team is going to live and die with its
arms.
St. Louis Cardinals – This team is
loaded in the field. Their seasoned and (mostly) accomplished rotation is
intact and healthy this season. Cardinals fans should keep an eye on the
bullpen, however. They are very young with little experience relative to other
bullpens. Still, last postseason showed us that “age ain’t nothing but a number”
with the breakout performances of starting pitcher Michael Wacha and relief
pitcher Carlos Martinez, both age 22.
Cincinnati Reds – This is a Big Red
Pitching Machine. The big equalizer for the Reds is closer Aroldis Chapman, who
will miss a few weeks after being hit in the head recently by a line drive. The
sooner he returns, the sooner Cincy can race at full speed. Their lineup will
be very dependent upon middle-of-the-order sluggers Joey Votto and Jay Bruce to
provide adequate run support, though.
Milwaukee Brewers – The Brewers went from, just a few
years ago, having the best position players in the National League but
underwhelming pitching, to having a good pitching rotation (perhaps “very
good”) but a cast of unknowns playing every day. Former MVP outfielder Ryan
Braun’s return from a PED suspension will give the Brew Crew an offisive lift
over last season.
Chicago Cubs – A collection of
unknowns and has-beens in the field plus some never-will-be’s on the mound
equals another finish in the cellar for the Cubs. I'm not sure where General Manger Theo Epstein is taking the Cubs.
Their mascot outfit is terrible.
Their mascot outfit is terrible.
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| McCutchen is a mega-star, but is he clutch enough to put the entire batting order on his back? 2 |
N.L. West
Los Angeles Dodgers – Let’s see. This team was in last
place at the end of last June. They get some key players back healthy, such as
shortstop Hanley Ramirez, call up a rock star in right fielder Yasiel Puig, and
their pitchers all begin hitting their strides at once. Voila! L.A. runs away
with the division.
I wonder what will happen this year
with those key pieces in place on Opening Day. They have one obvious weakness, at the catcher position. They brought in veteran Drew Butera to call the
signals behind the plate. I don’t know much about his defensive scouting report
but he must be really good: he has hit below the Mendoza line for his career.
Otherwise, this team has no soft
spots on its roster. This is a pennant or bust year for the Dodgers and they
are set up to reach their goal.
Arizona Diamondbacks – All-Star
first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is the real deal. The Snakes also added some
significant power to the order in trading for Mark Trumbo from the Angles.
Otherwise, the rotation is average. The bullpen is average. Their closer is
average, perhaps a notch below average. Expect the result for the D-Backs to be
average.
San Francisco Giants – Picking up
starting pitcher Tim Hudson was a step forward for a team that struggled with
previously accomplished but underachieving pitchers last year. Still, the
Giants did little else to turn their play around on the mound. This is a team
whose pitchers struggled in a pitcher’s park to defend their 2012 World Series
title.
They need run support to compete.
Picking up left fielder Michael Morse was a plus for the power in the batting
order. Still, the roster remained otherwise largely unchanged in terms of
hitting talent. They aren’t built to drive in runs in bunches.
Colorado Rockies – Their hitters
are all studs, but that advantage is hedged off somewhat by playing in the thin
air at Coors Field, where every hitter can get a little better. They brought in
a lot of new pitchers and they are all lousy as a group. That disadvantage is
heightened by playing in the thin air at Coors Field, where every pitcher has
the scales tipped against them when facing power hitters. Their pitcher is
41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins, who is in the twilight of a long, competent, but
unremarkable career.
It’s going to be a long, hot summer
in the Mile High City.
San Diego Padres – Their pitchers
are okay but their lineup looks like they may as well come to the plate with rubber hoses.
If this were the NFL, I would say that this team could be on the clock.
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| There's more of Puig coming in 2014. 3 |
2) Image from www.zimbio.com
3) Image from http://latino.foxnews.com
