A top-heavy division, with the Mets and Phils primed to fight it our again this year.
1. Philadelphia Phillies- The current World Champs are primed for another run, if the injuries don't pile up too quickly. Ace Cole Hamels and Chase Utley are both in rough shape right now, but should be back soon enough (esp. Hamels). The lineup is solid, top to bottom, and Ibanez is an upgrade over departed Pat Burrell. As long as centurion Jamie Moyer doesn't realize how old he is, and Cahn Ho park doesn't realize he's Chan Ho Park, the Phils should be division winners again.
2. New York Mets- Big moves were made to upgrade the horrible Mets' bullpen. K-Rod and JJ Putz will take care of the last 2 innings for the Mets, which will help a rotation that, with the exception of Johan Santana, can barely make it 6 innings. And besides Reyes and Wright, this lineup is old, and not that impressive.
3. Atlanta Braves- Derek Lowe is an underrated acquisition, and will lead the rotation. Brian McCann and Jordan Schafer lead the young players, while Chipper and Garrett try to have one more good year. Mike Gonzalez is a serviceable closer.
4. Florida Marlins- Who knows what the Fish will do from year to year? Having Hanley Ramirez is not a bad start, and Cantu and Uggla will provide good protection for him. The bullpen is mostly unproven, which is usually not a good thing. And the rotation is much of the same.
5. Washington Nationals- Shouldn't be as painful as last year, but not much better. The lineup is not bad, with Dunn and Zimmerman leading the charge. But the rotation is so full of question marks- John Lannan will be the ace, in his 2nd full year. Former P-Nats Martis and Jordan Zimmermann (above) will show if they're ready for primetime.
4 comments:
worst division ever... Top heavy is an understatement, the bottom four pull this NL East way down. I don't care how good the Phils are and how good the Mets think they are.
There are two Zimmermans on the Nats now? That is going to be very confusing. Our poor Nats. There is no hope of them getting better any time soon.
Maybe if we get enough of them we can change the team name. how would Zimmermans look on a jersey?
I like your idea Paul! And baby, Jordan's last name is spelled with two "n"s- just to make it even more complicated!
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