As promised here are my National League picks.
National League East
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Atlanta Braves*
- Florida Marlins
- New York Mets
- Washington Nationals
National League Central
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Cincinnati Reds**
- Chicago Cubs
- Houston Astros
- Pittsburgh Pirates
National League West
- San Francisco Giants
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Colorado Rockies
- San Diego Padres
- Arizona Diamondbacks
I’m taking the Philadelphia Phillies based solely on their starting pitching. Lee, Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels and Blanton to be exact. With the loss of Jayson Werth to free agency and an ailing Chase Utley the Phils might struggle at times to score but may only need a couple runs a night to get the W. I’ve got the Atlanta Braves finishing second and also taking the Wild Card spot in the playoffs (I think). I really like the addition of Dan Uggla to the middle of the lineup to go along with Jason Heyward. They’ve got a solid rotation and ‘if’ Chipper Jones can stay healthy the Braves will be in the mix all season.
Yes, I know the Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright. Yes, I’m a Cardinals fan and yes this is a Cardinals blog. I’ll hopefully have a more detailed take on the Central Division coming up before Opening Day talking more about the happenings this off-season within the Division and looking forward to the upcoming season.
The Giants have too much pitching to go along with an upcoming full season of Buster Posey to be overtaken, but I do think the division will be closer than some think. The Dodgers will be improved from a season ago and of course you never know when the Rockies will make a September run to the playoffs. I believe you can even throw the Padres in the mix to stay close in what should be a fairly competitive race. Sorry D’Backs. In the end though I’d put my money on the Giants.
On a side note I’m going to attempt to live tweet the Cardinals Opening Day festivities from Busch complete with pictures. You can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/DJ_McClure
