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NL East Preview

The NL East...it's home to the reigning world (US) champion Philadelphia Phillies. Which in turn is home to the Liberty Bell, cheese steak, cheese steak, cheese steak...heck it's like a Baby New York!

Philadelphia Phillies
The reigning champs made very little in the way of changes heading into 2009. The offense was reshuffled a bit as Pat Burrell left town in favor of Raul Ibanez. The only thing that really gets effected by the move is that the boo birds will have to focus their negative energy elsewhere when the team scuffles (that's right I'm looking at you Brett Myers). The offense should be tops in the NL with the core of Rollins, Howard and Utley. I'd look for Pedro Feliz to bounce back from what was a sub par year even in his terms, with a career low 14 HR. The true crux of this team is their pitching. The bullpen should again be a strength, but to expect perfection is ludicrous, so if the starters don't bring their A game (if Jamie Moyer still has an A game) they could find themselves in trouble. The goat or hero of this bunch will be Brett Myers. He has the "stuff" and the Fanatics won't have the patience for his excuses after tasting victory. The Philly landscape has hardened this team, and they won't be resting on their laurels. I fully expect Cole Hamels to extend his playoff dominance into this season and carry the Phillies to another division title.
Rotation: Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton, Park
Key Relievers: Lidge, Madson, Durbin
Lineup: Rollins, SS; Victorino, CF; Utley, 2B; Howard, 1B; Werth, RF; Ibanez, LF; Feliz, 3B; Ruiz, C

New York Mets
The Mets are moving into a new stadium, but I fear it's going to be the same old results. They just don't have enough pitching depth. How did they address that problem? By signing two relievers. Granted Putz and K-Rod are great additions to any bullpen, but they weren't the answer. I mean they lost Wagner, so they had to sign K-Rod just to fill that void, and with the losses of Sanchez and Martinez the recovering arm of Putz just isn't going to provide enough innings. This puts them in almost the same boat as Philly with a standout Ace and a strong back end in the bullpen, but I believe the offense was exposed last year when Church couldn't play full time and a rejuvenated Delgado had to carry them the entire second half. They have a great core in Reyes (who is probably a better fantasy player than a real life player), Wright, and Beltran, but there is a steep fall off from there. I have to believe Manny would be ringing in the season as a Met if Bernie hadn't made off with all their cash. They will compete and could easily notch a wild card birth or even the division if "Big Game" Maine and "Just Dusted off the Shelf" Pelfrey can be a stabilizing force.
Rotation: Santana, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, Livan Hernandez (who just won’t go away!)
Key Relievers: K-Rod, Putz, Feliciano, Green
Lineup: Reyes, SS; Murphy, LF; Beltran, CF; Wright, 3B; Delgado, 1B; Church, RF; Schneider, C; Castillo, 2B

Atlanta Braves
These aren't your Big brothers Braves anymore. The youngsters on the team affectionately refer to Chipper as a member of the team from the "streak". Se la Vis Atlanta. I do admire Atlanta's attempt to remain relevant every year. They could easily have blown everything up and started over, but for some reason still go out and sign guys like a Mike Hampton last year or a Garret Anderson this year. The pitching is mediocre, and while it has probably the best depth in the NL East they have no true Ace. That means the offense is going to have to step it up. The one thing it lacks is power, and the guys who need to supply it are Kotchman and Francoeur. Besides the unlikelihood of that, they still need perennially injured contributors like Chipper Jones and Mike Gonzalez to stay healthy and do what they're capable of. Basically if this team can catch lightning in a bottle they have a chance at the NL East.
Rotation: Lowe, Vazquez, Jurrjens, Kawakami, Glavine
Key Relievers: Gonzalez, Acosta, Boyer
Lineup: Blanco/Schafer CF; Escobar, SS; Jones, 3B; McCann C; Kotchman, 1B; Francoeur, RF; Anderson, LF; Johnson, 2B

Florida Marlins
I love the fishes because the fishes so delicious. This team looks primed to compete this year. The pitching is easily stronger than the division favorites, and the hitting is anchored by fantasy MVP Hanley Ramirez. If a player like Hermida could have a Carlos Quentin like breakout/living up to expectations type season they could be very dangerous. The one thing that will likely derail their glimmer of hope this season is an injury to that young and very fragile pitching rotation. They coined the lamo phrase "stud or dud" for Josh Johnson. They're in all likelihood a year away from being a major threat in the division, and could use better left handed pitching, but these fish will certainly make a splash.
Rotation: Nolasco, Johnson, Volstad, Sanchez, Miller
Key Relievers: Lindstrom, Calero
Lineup: Bonifacio, 3B; Hermida, RF; Ramirez, SS; Cantu, 1B; Uggla, 2B; Ross, LF; Baker, C; Maybin, CF

Washington Nationals
At first glance I could buy into what the Nats are selling. Dunn...oh yeah. Ryan Zimmerman...cool. Dukes...nice. Milledge...I like it. Willingham...has potential. That's when you're like, "Hmm five solid contributors to a lineup that's pretty good." Then you look at the pitching and you raise your upper lip, crinkle your nose, and furrow the eyebrows as if you were stuck on an elevator and Rosie O’Donnell was having an Irritable Bowel Syndrome attack. And that is when you stop buying into what the Nats are selling. In all fairness the Nats present was mortgaged for one last hurrah for the Expos and then they were being run by a schmuck who ranks up there with the AIG execs on the shadiness meter. Tough it out DC fans...(you're all displaced politicians anyway)...you'll have a decent squad in a decade or two.
Rotation: Lannan, Olsen, Cabrera, Zimmermann, Martis
Key Relievers: Hanrahan, Beimel, Julian Tavarez
Lineup: Guzman, SS; Johnson, 1B; Zimmerman, 3B; Dunn, LF; Dukes, RF; Milledge, CF; Hernandez, 2B; Flores, C