National League Projections

Since 2007 The National League East has been owned by The
Philadephia Phillies. They have earned two trips to The World Series
while winning it once. Last season saw The Phillies win 102 regular
season games only to be upset in The Divisional Series by The Cardinals. The Phillies are a year older with a big question mark at
first base. Ryan Howard ruptured his achilles tendon on the last play in
the series versus St. Louis and most likely will not be ready for
opening day. Philadelphia turned back the clock by signing Jim Thome.
Thome has not consistently played first base since his first stint with Philadelphia ended in 2005. At 41-years of age you have to wonder if
Thome can play first base every day until Howard returns.

Pitching was a key for Philadelphia in 2011 and it will be the
same this season. The trio of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels
are back once again and looking to dominate opponents. Last season the
trio combined for 50 wins. The Phillies also added Johnathan Papelbon as
the team’s closer which should sure up the bullpen as far as finishing
ballgames.

The Atlanta Braves had a strong hold on The National League’s
Wild Card berth until the final day of the season when they lost out to
The Cardinals. Manager Fredi Gonzalez’s crew was unable to get
the clutch hits down the stretch or close out games the way they had
done all year. Going forward The Braves will need a bounce back year
from outfielder Jason Heyward. Heyward only hit .227 last year and The
Braves will rely on a better output from him in 2012. This might be the
swan song for third baseman Chipper Jones. The future Hall of Famer has
been a lifetime Brave and he will look to make another push towards the
postseason.

The Miami Marlins have won the off-season award for the biggest
splashes. They are no longer The Florida Marlins and they have new
uniforms that are eye sores. The team has a new baseball only stadium on the former site of
The Orange Bowl. The Marlins now have a brash manager in Ozzie Guillen.
Guillen was the former manager of The Chicago White Sox who led them to
a World Series in 2005. The Marlins signed a trio of All-Stars in
shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle, and closer Heath
Bell.

The Marlins can no longer cry poverty to Major League Baseball as they
now must spend money which made signing these players important. It will
be interesting to see if The Marlins are able to develop team chemistry.
The Marlins already have an All-Star shortstop in Hanley Ramirez. The
Marlins brought in Reyes to be the team’s new shortstop and Ramirez had reservations of switching positions. Ramirez has had a reputation of
being a “diva” and Guillen is a no-nonsense manager who will speak his
mind and call out his team publicly. A slow start would really hurt this
team in the eyes of their fan base.

The Washington Nationals are making strides to becoming contenders
in The NL East. The team is finally starting to secure talent. Phenom
pitcher Stephen Strausburg is back from his Tommy John injury and he
should give National League batters a ton of sleepless nights. The
Nationals acquired starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez from The Oakland
Athletics. Gonzalez went 16-12 with a 3.12 earned run average for The
A’s last season. The Nats are hoping that he can improve on those number
in the lighter hitting National League. The Nationals also signed
starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Jackson has been a player who puts up
decent numbers, but in his young career he always seems to be the odd
man out in a rotation. It will only be a matter of time before
outfielder Bryce Harper is in the big leagues for Washington. Harper has
been lights out in the minors. If Harper does not make the make the
squad out of spring training I would truly be surprised.

The New York Mets are team in disarray. The Mets showed flashes of
brilliance in 2011, but they still finished with a sub .500 record.
All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes is now a member of The Marlins. Reyes was a
fan favorite and the team’s dynamic leadoff hitter, but he was also a
symbol of Met futility as he was constantly injured during his tenure in
Flushing. The franchise is also in a huge financial downfall. Met
owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon are tied up with ongoing saga  involving
ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and we don’t know how much The Wilpons or
The Mets have lost.

On the field, The Mets are rebuilding and looking towards the
future. The Mets do have some young players with upside in the form of
infielders Ike Davis and Justin Turner. Davis has proven to be one Met
that does not have a problem in hitting home runs out of the cavernous
Citi Field.

The Mets have adjusted the outfield walls at Citi Field to make the
park more hitter friendly as well. Hopefully this will help hitters such
as third baseman David Wright and outfielder Jason Bay who have seen a
tremendous drop in production since they started playing at Citi Field. 


Central              W                L                 GB

St. Louis          87                75                 —
Milwaukee       85               77                  2
Cincinnati        85                77                  2
Pittsburgh       74                88                 13
Chicago           72                90                 15
Houston           61              101                26

2012
will be a year of transition for The National League Central. The
Houston Astros will move to The American League in 2013. The Chicago
Cubs are beginning The Theo Espstein era while The St. Louis Cardinals
and Milwaukee Brewers have both bid farewell to power-hitting first
basemen.

The Cardinals enter the season as defending World Series Champions,
but they also have a lot of questions. Manager Tony La Russa retired and
in steps former Cardinal catcher Mike Matheny. Pitching coach Dave
Duncan has taken a leave of absence to attend to his wife during her
battle with cancer. First baseman Albert Pujols is now a member of The
Los Angeles Angels. For The Cardinals and their fans it appeared to look
bleak.

The Cardinals will have a different look in 2012, but they still are
contenders. General Manager John Mozeliak has been smart in using his
resources. Mozeliak lost out on Pujols and became crafty. All-Star Lance
Berkman is moving from right field to first base. The Cardinals signed
Carlos Beltran to play right field and he still has the ability to hit
20 home runs this season. With Berkman, Beltran, and shortstop Rafael
Furcal, Matheny will have the luxury of putting three switch hitters in
his lineup. St. Louis is also backing of on outfielder Allen Craig and
third baseman David Freese building on their postseason magic from a
year ago. Left fielder Matt Holliday has averaged 29 home runs per
season in his eight-year career and St. Louis will count on him more
than ever now that Pujols has departed.

The pitching rotation will get a huge boost as Adam Wainwright
returns after sitting the entire 2011 season out after having Tommy John
surgery. Wainwright will team with Chris Carpenter to give The Cards
one of the best one-two punches in The National League.

2011 was a banner year for The Milwaukee Brewers. They won a
franchise best 96 games which enabled them to win their first NL Central
Division Title. It was Milwaukee’s first division crown since they won
The American League East in 1982. The Brewers dream season ended in a
nightmare as they were denied a trip to The World Series by the rival Cardinals in The NLCS.

The Brewers will come into this season with a new identity. Prince
Fielder became an unrestricted free agent and decided to take his
talents to Motown. Left fielder Ryan Braun won The NL Most Valuable
Player Award last season but is facing the possibility of a 50-game suspension for alledgedly using
performance enhancing drugs. The Brewers signed former Chicago Cubs
third baseman Aramis Ramirez to fill some of the void left by Fielder’s
departure, but they don’t have the remedy to overcome Braun’s absence.

I never thought that I would see the day that Milwaukee would have
to rely on pitching to get them through a season and that will be the
case in 2012. The season will hinge on the arms of starting pitchers
Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Yovanni Gallardo. The trio combined for
46 wins last year and they will have to take it up a notch this year in
order for The Brewers to have a chance at repeating as division champs.

The bullpen is in order as Milwaukee re-signed Francisco Rodriguez
to be the setup man for closer John Axford who had 46 saves in 2011.

The
Cincinnati Reds rode a wave of momentum in 2010 to a Central Division
Title but were unable to rekindle the magic in 2011. The Reds only won
79 games last season and manager Dusty Baker is trying to avoid another
setback. The Reds acquired pitcher Mat Latos from The San Diego Padres
to improve the starting rotation. In three seasons, Latos has yet to
crack the 200 inning plateau. It will also be interesting to see how
Latos will fare in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark. Latos
has a 3.37 career earned run average which is a testament to him
pitching the majority of his games at Petco Park in San Diego which is a
pitcher-friendly park. Latos will also have to deal with the cold
weather of Ohio for the first month of the season.

For Cincy it is still all about the long ball. All-Stars Jay Bruce,
Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips combined for 79 round trippers last
season and for The Reds to contend this year that total will need to be
closer to 90.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were in the thick of things in The Central
last year until the wheels fell off following an extra inning loss to
The Atlanta Braves in July. The Pirates stumbled to the finish line with
72 wins. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has given the fans hope, but this
team is still a year or two away from contending for The Central Title.

One of the bright spots for The Pirates is center fielder Andrew
McCuthen. McCuthen had his best power season last year when he hit 23
home runs and had 89 runs batted in. Hopefully for Pirate fans, McCuthen
is not traded in the near future and the team actually will build
around him.

This season will be a year of transition for The Chicago Cubs. Theo
Epstein left The Red Sox to become The Cubs President of Baseball
Operations and it will take him a few seasons to put his stamp on this
team. The Cubs are trying to get from under some bad contracts. Starting
pitcher Carlos Zambrano was traded to The Marlins and it will be
interesting to see if Chicago will be able to trade outfileder Alfonso
Soriano as well.

Dale Sveum is in his first season as manager and despite the low
expectations for this team, fans will still flock to Wrigley Field to
see their beloved Cubs.

In 1962, The Houston Astros entered The
National League as a bad team and they are leaving that same way.The
Astros went through a change in owners which saw Jim Crane purchase the
team to the financially hobbled Drayton McLane. Per his agreement,
Crane’s team would move to The American League in 2013. For fans of The
Astros, hopefully the season won’t take that long and they can look
forward to seeing The Houston Texans.

West                W                  L                 GB

San Francisco 90                 72                —
Arizona           88                 74                 2
Los Angeles    87                 75                 3
Colorado         82                 80                10
San Diego       69                 93                21

In 2010, The San Francisco Giants rode the arms of Tim Lincecum,
Matt Cain, and Brian Wilson to a World Series Championship. Last season
the team went to the well one too many times and missed out on the
postseason. Wilson suffered arm problems in the second half of the
season and the closer with the electric fastball and the lumberjack
beard was put on the shelf.

The Giants were not able to give Cain and Lincecum run support last
season. Both pitchers had ERA’s under three, but they only combined for
25 wins. The Giants suffered a major setback last season when catcher
Buster Posey suffered a broken fibula during a home plate collision with
Scott Cousins of The Marlins. Posey earned 2010 NL Rookie of The Year
honors and was expected to be San Francisco’s cleanup hitter.

General Manager Brian Sabean saw the need to increase the team’s
speed in the lineup. First, Sabean traded starting pitcher Johnathan
Sanchez to The Kansas City Royals for outfielder Melky Cabrera. Cabrera
is coming off of his finest season as a pro. In 2011, Cabrera had a .305
batting average to go along with 18 home runs, 87 runs batted in, and
20 stolen bases. Cabrera also had 5 triples last season and that number
could increase with the quirky dimensions at AT&T Park in San
Francisco.

The Giants also acquired outfielder Angel Pagan in a trade with The
Mets. Over the last two seasons, Pagan has 69 stolen bases which will be
vital for manager Bruce Bochy’s “small ball” approach with The Giants.

Last season The Arizona Diamondbacks were on of the biggest surprises in
baseball. Arizona went from winning 65 games in 2010 to becoming
Western Division Champions last year. The D’Backs took on the mindset of
their manager Kirk Gibson who was a tough scrappy player during his
Major League career. Gibson got the most out of his team as he earned
National League Manager of The Year honors. Going forward will The
Diamondbacks be able to catch lightning in a bottle once again?

Hopefully for The Diamondbacks, starting pitcher Ian Kennedy can have
another season like he did last year. Kennedy was a surprise opening day
starter for Arizona, but he went 21-4 last season with an earned run
average of 2.88.

Despite all of the off-field troubles for The Los Angeles Dodgers, they
will still be a team to be reckoned with in The NL West. The messy
divorce proceedings involving owner Frank McCourt will force him to sell
the iconic franchise. Fans of The Dodgers are happy because they feel
that he was holding the team back from greatness. On the field The
Dodgers have the right man to lead this team in manager Don Mattingly.
Mattingly finished his first season as skipper in L.A. and he is looking
for an improved team in 2012.

Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw enters this campaign as the reigning NL
Cy Young Award. The young Texan struck out 248 batters last year and he
will once again lead the rotation. Behind Kershaw, The Dodgers will
look to Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Aaron Harang, and Chris Capuano to
keep them in contention.

Center fielder Matt Kemp showed everyone the level that he can play at
when he is focused. Kemp came into 2011 ready to play baseball. Kemp led
The National League in homeruns (39), and runs batted in (126). Kemp’s
.324 batting average was good for third. Kemp didn’t win The National
League MVP which was one of the biggest robberies in the history of
sports.

It will be important for manager Don Mattingly to keep his team focused
on baseball with all of the rumors around the franchise regarding the
potential owner for the franchise.

The Colorado Rockies will have the offense to keep them in ballgames,
the big question mark in The Rocky Mountains will be around the starting
pitching. Last season, general manager Dan O’Dowd trading the ace of
the staff Ubaldo Jimenez to The Cleveland Indians for Drew Pomeranz,
Matt McBride, Alex White, and Joe Gardner. The Rockies staff finished
15th in The National League with an earned run average of 4.43. The
Rockies did not have one pitcher reach the 200 inning mark last season.
Colorado also traded closer Huston Street to The San Diego Padres.

More than ever manager Jim Tracy will have to rely on his lineup to keep
The Rockies in the race out West. All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is
a consistent 30 home run player when healthy. Tulowitzki will have
plenty of protection in the lineup in the form of outfielders Carlos
Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler, along with “the ageless one” at first base
Todd Helton. The Rockies finished fifth in The NL last season in home
runs with a mark of 163. The bats should keep The Rockies interesting
for most of the summer, but hitting alone cannot win a division title.

The good news for the fans of The San Diego Padres is that when The
Padres are out of the race in August, they can look forward to seeing
The San Diego Chargers. The Padres are in a serious rebuilding mode.
All-Star closer Heath Bell is now a Marlin. Starting pitcher Mat Latos
was traded to Cincinnati while starting pitcher Aaron Harang signed with
The Dodgers. San Diego did make a trade with The White Sox acquiring
power-hitting right fielder Carlos Quentin. In four seasons with
Chicago, Quentin hit 96 long balls as he will look to give The Padres
some of the pop in the lineup that they lost when Adrian Gonzalez went
to The Boston Red Sox in 2011. You wonder if San Diego only picked up
Quentin to use him as a trading chip or will he be apart of the team’s
long term plans. Either way manager Bud Black has a long haul ahead of
him in The NL West.