NL preview

[Louie]

National League East Division

1. Mets
I predict the boys from Queens will put a stop to Atlanta's streak of consecutive division titles.

I like the way the Mets team looks on paper. Offensively I expect Mo Vaughn, Alomar, and Burnitz to all snap out of last season's embarrassing performance at the plate.

All three of these guys are former All Stars. I think they tried too hard in their first season in New York. New manager Art Howe will get this team back on track. Howe managed an Oakland team that other than Jason Giambi didn't have the talent this Mets team does, and yet Oakland was always in contention.

The Mets also added a great left fielder and offensive player in Cliff Floyd. As far as pitching goes they now have Tom Glavine. He will give them another dominating lefty to go along with Al Leiter.

Astascio pitched well last year and had a nice ERA. If Trachsel can hold his own and if David Cone can give them anything remotely close to his old self, the Mets pitching staff will be tough.

Their bullpen looks solid with the overpowering Benitez as their closer and the great addition of Mike Stanton from the Yankees. The Mets roster reads like an All Star team. Now all they have to do is play like one.

2. Philadelphia
Keep an eye on the Phillies. I like them a lot. They have three very good pitchers in Millwood, Padilla, and Wolf.

If their No. 4 and 5 pitchers can give them anything, they will be hard to beat.

My only concern is their bullpen. Jose Mesa is spotty at times, not what you want from your closer. Hopefully their hitters can spot the bullpen a big enough lead.

Philly should definitely score some runs this year with the addition of Jim Thome. Add in Burrell, Abreu, and Rollins and that lineup looks really good.

3. Atlanta
No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. I have the Braves finishing third in the NL East this season.

Why? Because Atlanta has some very big question marks with their pitching staff. They lost Kevin Millwood and Tom Glavine from their starting rotation and their bullpen took a hit losing great middle relief guys Remingler, Hammond, Lightenberg, and young prospect Spoonybauer.

Whoa! I don't care if you're the New York Yankees, when you lose that kind of talent from your pitching staff, it is hard not to notice it.

Granted the Braves added Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, and Paul Byrd to their starting rotation, but those guys aren't givens. Mike Hampton pitched like garbage in Colorado. Was it just pitching in Colorado or has he lost his stuff?

Byrd has been in the AL for many years now. Can he adjust to the NL hitters and if so, how long will it take? Ortiz is a good pitcher, but what about Jason Marquis? He was spotty last season.

Greg Maddux will need some help. The Braves still have Smoltz in the bullpen as their closer, but their middle relief guys leave a lot of unanswered questions.

Offensively, I expect Furcal will be solid again leading off and the 3-5 spots are great with the Jones boys and Sheffield, but who else in this lineup will produce some runs?

Many questions for the Braves this season. I have them finishing third in the division because I feel the Mets and Philly have better starting pitching and hitting this year. We'll see.

4. Florida
The Marlins have good young pitchers who will only continue to get better with Burnett, Beckett, Penny, and Olsen. Having Pudge Rodriguez as their catcher will only help the pitching staff.

However, their bullpen leaves something to be desired, as does their offense, which lacks power. A few good names in their lineup like Rodriguez, Hollandsworth and Lowell but they are still missing a slugger or two.

5. Pittsburgh
Like Florida, Pittsburgh has good young pitchers in Benson, Fogg, Wells and Tavarez. They are just ok on offense. Giles and Kendall are good but they need more power hitters. Started out great this season, time will tell the story.

6. Montreal
Other than Vladi Guerrero, none of the other hitters on the Expos are nearly consistent enough.

The top three guys in their pitching rotation are good with Vazquez, Armas and the newly acquired Hernandez from the Yankees. Hernandez will first have to adjust to pitching in the NL. The 4-5 pitchers and their bullpen aren’t impressive.

I don't expect much from the Expos.


National League Central Division

1. Houston
I can't find another team that looks more loaded on offense than the Houston Astros. With the addition of Jeff Kent in the off-season, it is hard to find a weak link in their lineup.

The 1-6 spots in their lineup reads Biggio, Lugo, Bagwell, Berkman, Kent, and Hidalgo - wow! They have solid pitching in Oswalt, Miller, and Reynolds and if the young gun from last year, Hernandez can have another good season, this team could go all the way.
Good bullpen with Dotel and Wagner. My only concern would be how Biggio adjusts to playing center field after spending his career playing second base. Still, the Astros look mighty fine on paper.

St. Louis
The Cards will compete tooth and nail with Houston. The Cards return a loaded pitching staff with Morris, Williams, and Simontacchi.

I still have my doubts about Garrett Stephenson and Dustin Hermanson but otherwise I like their staff. Good bullpen once again with Isringhausen and Kline.

They will miss Timlin and Vere, though. On offense they are stocked with Edmonds, Pujolis, and Rolen. Not too shabby.

3. Chicago Cubs
If the Cubs had another hitter to go along with Alou and Sosa I would be even more high on them.

Adding manager Dusty Baker was a great addition and I actually like the Cubs pitching. Kerry Wood, Clement, Estes, Prior, and Benes make for a very interesting rotation.

Their bullpen looks good to with the addition of former Braves pitcher Mike Remingler and also Farnsworth and Alfonseca. The Cubbies are one more power hitter away from making a run at the post season. They should still provide some value this season when wagering.

4. Cincinnati
Barring another injury-shortened season I expect Ken Griffy Jr. to bounce back in a big way and put up 40+ home runs, 100+ RBI's this season.

The Reds offense looks descent enough but I am not sold on their starting pitching.

5. Milwaukee
As usual, not much positive to say about the Brewers. They should finish last in the division and have one of the worst records in baseball, yet again.


National League West Division:

1. Arizona
The D-Backs already had a great pitching staff just by having Johnson and Schilling, but they added in Dessens to their rotation to help the 3-5 spots in their pitching.

I expect Batista to build upon last season’s success and their bullpen will get back Matt Manti, who will probably set up Kim. Good solid pitching here with the D-Backs.

On offense they should hold their own with Spivery, a healthy Gonzalez, and hopefully Finley can have a better season than last year. Still with Arizona, it begins with their pitching and that is where they are strongest.

2. San Francisco
The question is how will they do without Dusty Baker managing the team and how will Bonds do without having Jeff Kent protect him in the lineup?

The Giants did make a good pick-up in obtaining right fielder Jose Cruz from the Bluejays. Additionally they added Edgardo Alfonzo, Durham, and Grissom.

Their starting pitching still looks solid, as does their bullpen. Adding young starting pitcher, Damien Moss from the Braves was a good pick-up too.

3. Los Angeles
The questions for LA are will ace pitcher Kevin Brown find his form again after having surgery last season?

Can Nomo & Ishii pitch consistently? Can Dreifort bounce back after being out almost a year and a half? Can Perez duplicate last season's success?

Many questions with the Dodgers starting pitching. Their bullpen looks solid though with Gagne, Quantrill, and Shuey. On offense, LA has Lo Duca, Green, and Jordan who should all produce some runs. If aging Fred McGriff can chip in, who knows what the Dodgers might accomplish.

That's assuming their starting pitching will be effective.

4. Colorado
I'm not really impressed with the Rockies. On offense Larry Walker will put up more monster numbers at Coors field and Todd Helton is consistent, but otherwise their offense is lacking a few more hitters.

As far as their pitching goes, Denny Neagle is having a good spring training but who else will step up during the season? Playing in Colorado kills good pitchers, just ask Mike Hampton.

5. San Diego
The Padres have good, young players who will be even better in a few years.

However, losing veteran Phil Nevin for the season is a huge blow to this ballclub. He generated offense. Same thing with their pitchers, good, young staff with potential but other than Brian Lawrence, not enough experience or dependability.

The Padres did acquire Charles Nagy from Cleveland. He is experienced but hasn't pitched much since having surgery. I'm not sure how effective he is anymore. Also, losing dominating closer Trevor Hoffman until at least the All Star break doesn't help matters.