MLB First Impressions - American League

I've decided to take the baseball previews in a new direction this year.  More brevity, less rambling.  I'm just going to take a look at each team's depth chart on MLB.com and ESPN.com and jot down some first impressions.  Yankees fans, I hope you enjoy this, because we won't be enjoying anything else for the next six months.

Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa finally did what they should have done three years ago and turned a couple of their pitchers into an impact bat.  Wil Myers is a hitting savant, Rays fans (all 22 of them) will love his work.  I do think Tampa will miss B.J. Upton.  I know he's awful most of the time, but he also has those two week runs where he can just carry a team.  They'll miss that.  But the Rays still have excellent pitching and perfectly adequate offense.  Tampa is still the best team in this division as far as I'm concerned.

Boston Red Sox
This Boston team has "wait, how are they good?" written all over them.  You know who the best manager in the world is?  Anyone who isn't Bobby Valentine.  If Ellsbury and Lester and Buchholz can all stay healthy and be productive, I like Boston for a wild card.  On the other hand, this is my last year of patience with Jon Lester.  If he can't get it together this year, then next year's baseball preview starts with "what the hell happened to Jon Lester?"

Baltimore Orioles
I read an article on ESPN.com that told me Baltimore could field two starting rotations with all the pitching they have.  That may be true, but I'm not convinced either one of those rotations would be any good.  Plus, this is supposed to be the year that Buck Showalter leaves and then some fraud comes in and takes all the credit for what he set up (cough, cough...Joe Torre...cough, cough).  With Buck staying, I have no idea what's supposed to happen now, but I'm not convinced Baltimore can make the playoffs two years in a row. 

New York Yankees
This is all so depressing, but honestly, it isn't all the injuries to the offense that have me down.  I think this team can still hit.  It's the pitching.  You can say the bullpen looks good with Rivera back, but how good are they going to look when the starters are giving them 2 innings every night.  I couldn't possibly hate this rotation more.  Why is Andy Pettitte still here?  Go away Andy Pettitte!  Please!  Ugh.  I may skip the extra innings package this season just so I don't have to watch this.

Toronto Blue Jays
What am I missing here?  Toronto won 73 games last year.  In the off-season they added a guy coming off a steroid suspension (which means he'll either go back to sucking like he used to or he'll get suspended again and they'll lose him for 100 games), a 72 year old knuckleballer and the core of a 69 win Marlins team.  I'm having trouble understanding why people think this all adds up to awesome.  I still don't trust Toronto's pitching, and I'll never trust Jose Bautista. 

Detroit Tigers
Remember the first year after Lebron went to Miami?  The Heat spent the season trying to figure out how to play together, then they went to the finals and lost to a pretty mediocre Dallas team.  The second season for Miami was championship or bust.  Same in Detroit this year.  I've stopped waiting for Justin Verlander's shoulder to explode, I guess he's just a freak.  Detroit still has some bullpen issues, but they should be good to go for a division title.

Kansas City Royals
Wild card for the Royals!  You heard me.  The Royals finally have a rotation, with fastballs and breaking pitches and everything.  Just like a real team!  Solid bullpen, and this team can hit son.  I'm telling you, if they weren't the Royals, I wouldn't be the only one putting them in the playoffs.  Then again, they are the Royals, so I guess we'll see.

Cleveland Indians
I had the Indians in the wild card spot until I looked at their depth chart and saw Scott Kazmir in their rotation.  You can't go to the playoffs with Scott Kazmir.  You just can't.  Having said that, this team can also hit.  If Ubaldo Jimenez can get himself together, Cleveland could be really good.  That's a big if though.  In a related story, Indians fans turned out to be the losers of the Who Gets to Watch 600 Nick Swisher At-bats This Season sweepstakes.  Get ready to hate life.

Chicago White Sox
Every year one team just screams 81-81 at me.  It's usually the Braves, but this year it's the White Sox.  Paul Konerko can't keep this up forever.  And how bad does Gordon Beckham have to be before we all give up on him?  He's a .245 career hitter, and last year he hit .234 (that's called trending in the wrong direction buddy).  I like Jake Peavy and Addison Reed, and I hate pretty much everything else.

Minnesota Twins
I can't even talk about the Twins.  Two different websites have Vance Worley as their number 1 starter.  I really can't talk about them.  So I'm going to take this space to bash the Mets a little.  What happened to Mike Pelfrey?  How did they screw that up?  Everything about young Mike Pelfrey said "this guy's gonna be an ace".  Everything about current Mike Pelfrey says "I wish I had played for anyone other than the Mets". 

Los Angeles Angels
I'm a little worried about Albert Pujols, he's 33 and clearly starting to regress.  And I'm a little worried about Josh Hamilton in Los Angeles.  I heard they have cocaine there.  Having said that, I love Tommy Hanson for this team, and Mike Trout is Mike Trout, so I think they win the division. 

Texas Rangers
It was pretty hard for me to find a second place team in this division.  Texas was my natural inclination, then I looked at their rotation.  Then I looked at Oakland's roster.  Then back to Texas.  I'm going with the Rangers because I think they can still hit and Joe Nathan looks all the way back, but I don't see a wild card coming out of this division (which is sad, because they all get to play Houston a bunch of times).

Oakland A's
Oakland's done it with young pitching and a bunch of nobodys before, but that doesn't mean it works every time.  And this time they have to do it without Brad Pitt.  Also, the one thing people always forget to mention about Moneyball is that Oakland never actually won a championship, or even the American League.  I'm not saying Oakland can't be good, but there's a ceiling.

Seattle Mariners
To believe Seattle can contend, you have to believe King Felix can carry them, because the rest of that rotation is a mess.  And I'm not so sure I believe anymore.  Five straight seasons over 200 innings, and ERAs above 3 the last two seasons.  I'm not saying he'll be bad, but 2009/2010 Felix is gone, and I don't think he's coming back.

Houston Astros
Love the uniform upgrade, hate everything else.

AL MVP: Robinson Cano.  I know I said the Yankees will be terrible, and they will, but I think this is one of those years when nobody from a contender really stands out and someone from a losing team puts up huge numbers and gets the MVP.

AL Cy Young: David Price.  I can't just pick Justin Verlander, and I refuse to pick a Weaver.  Plus, if Tampa is actually going to win the AL East, they'll probably need Price to put up Cy Young numbers.

AL Champs:  I like Tampa, I really do.  I know Detroit is probably a safer pick, but I like Tampa.

My Bigger Fatter Baseball Preview - NL West

The 13 feet of snow lingering outside your window may serve as a cold reminder that it's still winter, but pitchers and catchers reported this week, which means it's almost time for baseball. This year, I'm starting with the NL West, because that's where the champs live. Also, it's the division I care about the least.

Colorado Rockies
Opening Thought: IF YA SMEEELLLLLLL....WHAT THE ROCKIES...ARE COOKIN'!

Did you know the Rockies finished tied for 13th in baseball in runs allowed last year? Is it possible that all the Coors Field hysteria we heard in this team's early years had less to do with the mile high air and more to do with the combination of awful pitching and steroid monsters that defined late 90's baseball?

Off-season: Colorado signed Jason Giambi to a minor league contract. Did they lose a bet? Are they thinking of him as a mascot? I guess anytime you can sign a guy who had 6 homeruns and 47 strike-outs for you in 176 at-bats last year, you have to do it. I'm not wild about the Jorge De La Rosa contract either. Over $10 million a year is a lot for a guy who's 29 and pretty much is what he is now. At least it's only for 2 years. Jose Lopez is an interesting pick-up, we'll talk more about him later.

Questions: How dominant can Ubaldo Jimenez be? I don't like the rest of Colorado's rotation that much, I think he'll need to carry them. How good can Carlos Gonzalez be? This line-up has nice pieces all over the field, but they need Gonzalez to be that big-time number three hitter who powers the offense.

Answers: Very dominant and extremely good. I'm all-in on Jimenez and CarGo. Ubaldo is right in the middle of what should be his prime. He slowed down after a fast start last year and I'm hoping he learned something about pacing himself. Gonzalez is 25 and hit .336 last year. If he can just learn to take a few more walks and strike-out a little less, he'll be a legit MVP candidate for the next seven years.

My Favorite Thing: I like Colorado's depth a lot. Ryan Spilborghs is a nice fourth outfielder who can hit lefties. Ty Wigginton brings some power and crazy versatility, as well as insurance at both corner infield spots if Ian Stewart can't get it together or if Todd Helton doesn't have another good year in him.

My Most Unfavorite Thing: Bullpen. Huston Street spent plenty of time on the DL last year, and when he was healthy he wasn't that great (3.61 ERA, 5 blown saves in 25 opportunities). Only one of those blown saves came after August 20th and he finished strong, but I'm not convinced. Matt Lindstrom is an interesting plan B at closer, but he's 31 now and doesn't look to have much left. They could have some minor league help on the way, but for now this is a concern.

Closing Thought: Back to Jose Lopez. He had an awful 2010, but so did everyone in Seattle. In the two seasons before that, Lopez looked like a promising young second baseman (2008 - age 24, .297, 17HR, 89RBI; 2009 - age 25, .272, 25HR, 96RBI). At age 27, he moves into a better line-up and a better park for hitting. Either he has a big year or he's pretty much done.

Prediction: First place, probably not enough pitching to advance in the playoffs.

San Francisco Giants
Opening Thought: "There's two kinds of people in this world. Those who get stomped on and those who do the stomping...that famous guy said it. What's his name? Uh, oh yeah, Jesus!"

I could not have been happier for Giants' fans last fall when they won. The Giants always seemed like one of the quietly tortured franchises in sports. The rival Dodgers have a surprisingly high five world series titles since the move to LA (seriously, I know a lot about baseball and I wouldn't have guessed more than 3), while the Giants hadn't one won since 1954. Felt to me a lot like Yankees/Red Sox pre-2004, only without the unyielding hype. Anyway, good for them.

Off-season: I didn't like the Aubrey Huff signing last year, and even though I was wrong about that, I still don't like the re-signing this year, especially for a two-year deal when they've got Brandon Belt on the way up. I really don't like the Tejada deal, even for one year. Tejada is 36 (at least) and his .269 batting average last year was his worst since 2001. He's pretty much all downside. They've got a couple of promising young shortstops in their system, so maybe they just wanted a one-year stopgap guy, but still, the only way Tejada is worth $6.5 million this year is if he digs up $5 million while searching for buried treasure beneath McCovey Cove.

Questions: Can this team's pitching get its offense, which still looks awful, back to the post-season for a run at a repeat? Will there be a championship hangover? What happened to Pablo Sandoval?

Answers: Maybe, probably and I have no idea. If Pablo bounces back to form, I think he and Buster Posey can bring enough offense to carry this team to just enough wins, but Pablo was benched for most of the 2010 post-season, that's not great. I don't know where he goes from here.

My Favorite Thing: Obviously, that would be starting pitching. Don't expect another hot start from Barry Zito, but do expect a big year from Madison Bumgarner. Tim Lincecum's mid-year doldrums in 2010 should make Giants' fans a little nervous, but on paper, this rotation should be able to compete with anyone. The bullpen isn't bad either.

My Most Unfavorite Thing: It's a tie between offense and age. San Francisco's line-up has a weird mix of really young talent and really old guys who were never all that good to begin with. When you add the injury risk of "veteran" (old) guys to the relative lack of depth the Giants have, you get a formula for some interesting (and not in a good way) starting line-ups over the course of the season. That's especially true when their best hitter is a catcher who needs rest from time to time.

Closing Thought: As I look at this roster, I'm having a hard time figuring out how they won a world series with this team. I couldn't hate San Francisco's offense more. I'm all about the power of good pitching, but you have to score sometimes.

Prediction: Second place and probably no wild card. I just don't see it, but I didn't really see it last year either and they won it all, so there's that.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Opening Thought: "sometimes you think you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a goddamn magic show ready to double team your girlfriend."

In yet another example of why nobody should ever get married, divorce has ruined the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ownership situation in LA has been a catastrophe for what feels like forever now. The problem is, a big market team like LA can't just skip off-seasons like this. They missed out on Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, John Lackey last year, etc etc. I'm not saying they should have signed all of those guys, I'm not even saying they would have landed any of them, but a team like the Dodgers should be in on the top free agents, and when they aren't, it's a problem.

Off-season: Juan Uribe is super-versatile, and the power he brings at second base fits in nicely with a team that doesn't get enough power from first base or right field. I like Tony Gwynn Jr. as a fourth outfielder and a pinch-hitter/pinch-runner. On the other hand, $12 million for 36 year old Hideki Kuroda seems a bit steep when you consider Kuroda went 11-13 last year. More importantly, Manny Ramirez is gone and they didn't bother replacing him, or more accurately, replacing what he was supposed to be, which was one of their big bats. Sure, he didn't actually do that last year, but they didn't go anywhere last year either. If this team wants to make the play-offs, they need somebody to be what they wanted Manny to be.

Questions: What is Matt Kemp and can he carry this team? Who winds up playing left field?

Answers: Matt Kemp is the next Carlos Beltran, which means no, he cannot carry a team all by himself. My money for left field would be on Marcus Thames, who hits whenever teams let him play, and even though he is an awful defensive outfielder, I think the Dodgers will need his power.

My Favorite Thing: Ummm...Dodger dogs? There's nothing that really jumps out at me about the Dodgers. I don't hate the whole team, but there's nothing I really love either. Kershaw and Billingsley are a nice top of the rotation, but I wouldn't say they stand out.

My Most Unfavorite Thing: I'd have to say the back and of the rotation. I've never been a huge fan of Ted Lilly, and Jon Garland is one of those "innings-eaters", which is basically a nice way of saying he doesn't win much but he doesn't mind staying out there and getting pounded so you don't have to use your bullpen.

Closing Thought: I'm interested to see if Don Mattingly inherits Joe Torre's penchant for destroying relief pitchers. I'm sure Jonathan Broxton is interested too.

Prediction: Third place. This team should actually have some upside, but after a few pretty disappointing years, I need to see it before I'll believe it.

San Diego Padres
Opening Thought: "discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego which, of course, in German means a whale's vagina."

I believe my take on the Padres at the beginning of last season was "Boooooooooo!". That was immediately followed by San Diego spending basically the whole season in first place. I wouldn't say I was wrong about the Padres as much as I would say I underestimated how bad the rest of the National League was.

Off-season: Brad Hawpe, Orlando Hudson and Aaron Harang aren't exactly the west coast version of the big three, ya know? Jason Bartlett looks like a nice addition, but he's 31 now and 2009 was really his only good year. I'm concerned Jorge Cantu may be finished, and the spacious Petco Park won't help him prove me wrong.

I've send this before, but I'll say it again now. When the highlight of your off-season is trading away your best player, that's not great. It's even more not great when none of the guys you got back seem ready to be huge factors this season. I'm not saying I hate the package they got from Boston, but I'm not saying I love it either (take a look at Casey Kelly's stats at double-A Portland last year, ouch!)

Questions: Can the Padres get close to 90 wins again? How will they replace Adrian Gonzalez and his production? Can Mat Latos start 150 games?

Answers: I don't see how, they won't and probably not but it may be worth a try. The toughest part about pitching to the Padres this year will be figuring out who to walk now that Gonzalez is gone. Maybe Ryan Ludwick.

My Favorite Thing: Has to be youth. Youth is only good if it develops into actual major league talent at some point (for example, Wil Venable is 28 now, it's possible he's just not going to happen), but it's still fun to watch and talk about what the team could be in a few years. Cameron Maybin is still only 23, and we ought to start seeing something from him this year. Guys like that will make this team watchable.

My Most Unfavorite Thing: Pretty much everyone who isn't Mat Latos or Cameron Maybin. Personally, I don't see a ton of promise in San Diego's young guys other than Latos and Maybin, and it's not like they have a long history of developing their young talent into great players. Bullpen strength really carried this team last year, and relief pitching is a real variable from year to year.

Closing Thought: "...and I'm Ron Burgundy, go f*ck yourself, San Diego."

Prediction: Fourth place. I could very well be wrong about this team again, you can see my opinion of this division isn't exactly through the roof, but I have a hard time seeing the same team massively overachieving for a second straight year after trading their best player.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Opening Thought: "No milk will ever be our milk."

I'm done with Arizona. DONE! Every year I pick them to win, or at least be good, every year they suck. They're like a baseball version of every M. Night Shyamalan movie since sixth sense. Well I won't get twisted again!

Off-season: I've always liked Xavier Nady, but I always liked Claudell Washington for some reason too, that didn't make him good. I have to admit to not being sold on a 33 year old J.J. Putz as the new closer, but last year's numbers say maybe I should be (65 K's in 54 IP). Of course, if you're not winning, picking up a potentially strong closer isn't all that helpful. Juan Miranda seems to be the new first baseman after a trade with the Yankees, I hope D'Backs' fans enjoy strike-outs.

Questions: Can getting out of Pittsburgh breathe some life into Zach Duke? Will last year's almost perfect game be the highlight of Armando Galarraga's career? Did you know Melvin Mora was still alive?

Answers: Probably not if he's just going to another crappy team, almost definitely and yes, I did know that. Truthfully, I do wonder if a change of scenery will do anything for the 27 year old Duke, who's never pitched a full season to an ERA below 4. I'm starting to think he was just never all that good.

My Favorite Thing: Juston Upton. Upton is still only 23 and if he can manage to actually play a healthy season, he should be a top 10 player. I can't wait for him to be a Yankee, Brian Cashman should starting putting together the sampler platter of crappy prospects now, just so it's ready whenever Arizona comes calling.

My Most Unfavorite Thing: Lots to choose from, but I'll have to go with starting pitching. ESPN has Ian Kennedy as this team's number 1 starter. Just last year this team was looking at Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson and a possibly returning Brandon Webb. Now? Ian Kennedy, the guy some people in New York were calling the next Mike Mussina, right up until they saw him pitch against big league hitters.

Closing Thought: You can't spell Diamondbacks without "I am bad". Seriously, you can't, all those letters are right in there.

Prediction: Last place. I don't see a lot of hope for this team unless the pitching turns out to be way better than it looks. They might score some runs on days when Chris Young isn't striking out four times, but they don't have one starting pitcher I'd want on my team. That's bad times.

My Big Fat Baseball Preview - NL East

My original plan was to do two baseball previews, one for each league. I started thinking about how long those would get and I decided I had a better idea. So, we're doing a division a week from now until the start of the season (one week gets two divisions, so we'll find the two least interesting divisions and lump them together, I'm looking at you AL Central). We're leading off this week with the NL East.

Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are the undisputed king of this division. Fans of other teams in this division may want to seriously consider ignoring this season. Sure, you can compete for the wild card, but you still have to watch your team get bashed by the Phillies 19 times. And even if you survive that, make the playoffs and win your first round series, there's just another bashing waiting for you courtesy of the Phillies. Really not a lot of upside.

Off-season: The NL champs actually got slightly better over the winter. Placido Polanco and Roy Halladay are, at least, marginal upgrades over Cliff Lee and Pedro Feliz. I don't like overstating expectations for guys, but Roy Halladay in the National League? Is it possible for a pitcher to have a negative ERA? Actually, the part of the Phillies' off-season that should scare other teams the most isn't anyone they picked up. We'll get to that in a minute.

Line-Up: Even if Werth and Ibanez both take steps back this year, which is certainly possible, especially for Ibanez, this is still a very deep line-up for the NL. Great speed at the top and great power in the middle. They're lacking power at third base, but that weakness is really cancelled out by the above average power at second base. You also have to like their depth. Mayberry and Francisco could probably start for a lot of teams, one of those guys won't even be the fourth outfielder for the Phillies.

Pitching: I don't love the back end of the Phillies' rotation, I think Jamie Moyer is just about done (of course, I would have told you that five years ago, so who knows). I also think J.A. Happ takes a step back to reality this year. On the other hand, you already know about Halladay and I think Hamels is ready for a big season. They've also got some young arms that may be ready to step in and compete for that 5th starter role. The back end of the bullpen could be a problem. Brad Lidge may be the most fragile guy in sports, but look at it this way. There's no way Lidge could be anymore of a mess than he was last year, and they still got to the world series.

Final Thought: Remember what I said about the scariest part of the Phillies' off-season? Here it is. They managed to get Roy Halladay without giving up Dominic Brown or Kyle Drabek. So, if they have an injury or just struggle a bit early, and they need another bat or another arm in July, they have better top end trading chips than almost any other team.

Prediction: First place, maybe 100 wins and another world series appearance. Three years in a row is tough, but I don't see a team in the NL that can hang with Philadelphia.

Florida Marlins
It's easy to get excited about a team like Florida. Lots of brand name young talent, and young talent suggests endless possibilities. But here's some reality. This wasn't a playoff team last year, and most people thought the Marlins overachieved in 2009. I'm not saying they can't contend, especially for the wild card, but I am wondering what happens if Josh Johnson gets hurt, or Hanley Ramirez.

Off-season: It's tough being a Marlins fan in the winter. I mean, sure, it's sunny, and warm, and you had the superbowl this year and you can still go to the beach in December. But who cares about all of that? They don't sign anyone, if they make a big trade, it's usually to give away a top player. Where's the fun in that? They did sign Josh Johnson to a long term deal, so that's another young pitcher the Yankees can't have until he's not young anymore.

Line-Up: I don't hate this line-up, but I don't love it either. If Gaby Sanchez steps up and has a big year, then they could surprise me, but if he doesn't, I can't see Jorge Cantu having another 100 RBI season and Dan Uggla hit .243 last year. I don't know why anyone would throw a strike to Hanley Ramirez. And if Hanley gets hurt...this team doesn't have a big margin for error.

Pitching: I love the Marlins' starting pitching, probably even a little more than the Phillies'. Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are both aces in my book (that's Sean's Big Book of Aces, pick it up wherever imaginary books are sold), and Anibal Sanchez has ace stuff too (if he can stay healthy, which is a lot like when I said Gilbert Arenas could have a big year if he avoided doing something crazy). The bullpen is a different story. The bullpen always suffers on low budget teams, it's the last place most teams put any real money. On the plus side, Hayden Penn and Dan Meyer were both serious prospects at one point, so they've got some potential back there, but I'm not sold on Leo Nunez. The question becomes, if this bullpen can't hold leads, how long can the starters hold up going 8 or 9 innings every start?

Final Thought: The Marlins are always interesting around the trading deadline as a dark horse candidate to pick up someone big. They always have good prospects, but they're rarely willing to take on salary. Let's say Florida is five games back in late July. Could you see Manny Ramirez spending two months in Miami and leading them on an improbable playoff run? Me too.

Prediction: Second place. I think a lot of people will pick the Marlins for the wild card, not me. I think they're a bat short and they've got too many injury risks in the rotation.

Atlanta Braves
I'm not a big Bobby Cox guy. A homeless guy from outside Fulton County Stadium could have led Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz to 5 or 6 division titles in the 90's. I'm not saying he's a bad manager, I'm just saying he's not that much better than anyone else.

Off-season: The Braves added Troy Glaus, Melky Cabrera, Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner. If you're thinking "I don't really see any good ideas in there", you're not alone. Put me down for June 1st in the Billy Wagner season ending surgery pool, and he might be the best addition out of those four.

Line-Up: I like Nate McLouth, and I like Yunel Escobar, and that's pretty much it. "What about Brian McCann?", you ask. Well, Brian's OPS was .834 last year. Is that really what you want from the guy who's supposed to be your best hitter? Probably not. The Braves can score some runs, but not enough.

Pitching: This is a completely different team if Tim Hudson wins 20 games. Assuming that doesn't happen, I don't mind the Braves' pitching, but it doesn't blow me away. Derek Lowe can dominate the league for two months if he gets on a roll, but he can also be awful for a month. That's not great from your ace. Jair Jurrjens pitched to a 2.60 ERA last year, but only averaged just over 6 innings a start and only won 14 games with that ERA. There's a guy who can win 20 with a strong bullpen, but the Braves don't have one. Also, Tommy Hanson will be a stud someday, but I'm not wild about him this year.

Final Thought: I'm wondering if Lowe and/or a rejuvenated Hudson become available around the trading deadline. That could be the most interesting thing the Braves do all year.

Prediction: Text book mediocre team, 81-81, third place. It's ridiculous to pick exact records in baseball, but this makes so much sense for Atlanta. It'll be like they weren't even there.

New York Mets
I really don't know what I'd do if I were a Mets fan. If Mets fans were children, and the Mets were their parents, the state would have taken the children away by now. Somebody should kill Mr. Met so he can roll over in his grave.

Off-season: Jason Bay was a solid start, and then...well...Gary Matthews Jr., Rod Barajas, Josh Fogg, etc. Kelvim Escobar is already like one step away from being out for the year. I don't know what happened to Omar Minaya, but we need to keep it away from the Bronx.

Line-up: With all the bad things I have to say about the Mets, I actually don't mind their line-up. If everyone else is still standing when Beltran gets back, this team should actually score some runs. I wish they had a lefty other than Murphy, but Beltran's switch hitting will help with that too. Mets fans should keep an eye out for Ike Davis. No one screws up prospects quite as efficiently as the Mets, but this guy might be can't miss. If Murphy struggles, and I think he will, you might see Davis sooner than later.

Pitching: Here's the thing about the Mets' pitching. I like everyone they have individually, but I hate them all on the same team. I'm not sold on Johan Santana's long term health. Every time I see John Maine pitch I really like his stuff, but he can't get through a season healthy. Oliver Perez is talented, but he also has health concerns on top of conditioning problems and general sanity issues. And the bullpen is just a mess. I don't have a problem with K-Rod, but how do they plan to get to him?

Final Thought: One of the Mets' biggest problems in the total lack of organizational depth. Even if they had been willing to pay him, they couldn't get in on the Halladay sweepstakes because they didn't really have anything Toronto wanted. They don't really have much anybody wants. So even if they can start fast and stay close, they can't add an impact player at the deadline. On the bright side, they're apparently five deep at catcher, so there's that.

Prediction: Fourth place. The Mets actually have enough talent to be better than this, but there's also a lot of risk here. If the Mets start slow and get hurt again, this could turn into a total disaster.

Washington Nationals
This is the fun part about baseball. Are the Nationals an atrocious team? Of course they are. Will they spend the season getting pounded by the rest of the NL? Hell yes. We know this because, well, this is what always happens to the Nationals, and it was happening to the Expos for years before that. Having said all that, take a look at the Nationals' roster, especially the line-up. Tell me I couldn't talk you into 85 wins for this team. I bet I could.

Off-season: Some interesting pick-ups for Washington. Jason Marquis, Pudge, Brian Bruney, Adam Kennedy, Matt Capps. The Nationals added veterans in a way that suggests they think they can contend. This team was terrible last year, so you'd have to think any set of off-season moves would have made them better, but I'm genuinely intrigued here.

Line-up: This is the part I really like about this team. Even if you assume that Elijah Dukes is too crazy to play a full season, which he almost certainly is, you still have Zimmerman, Dunn, the very underrated Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan (you heard me, Morgan hit .351 last year after he got traded to Washington). I honestly like this line-up as much as any line-up in the division other than Philadelphia. This team can score runs.

Pitching: Unfortunately, here's where disaster strikes for the Nats. They made some upgrades here, this is the first time in a while Washington has an opening day starter I've heard of, so that's a good start. Still, this team will give up a ton of runs. Fans sitting in the first few rows of the outfield seats should bring gloves, or helmets.

Final Thought: When are we going to see Stephen Strasburg? I'm still betting on opening day. Nothing draws fans like a must see starter going out there every five days. On top of that, Strasburg is, right now, the best pitcher in the Washington organization, at least from a pure stuff standpoint. I don't see a lot of upside in holding him back.

Prediction: The smart money still has Washington in last place. But you can definitely add some wins to last year's total and maybe, just maybe, they can get out of the basement (OK, probably not. Hey, can I get some Expos throwback uniforms this season? How hard is that?).