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NL EAST
1) Philadelphia Phillies
Slam dunk choice here, best team in the NL. They can slug with the AL giants and they have Roy Halladay. Placido Polanco was a nice pickup at 3rd. They could use a closer as who the fuck knows what to expect from Brad Lidge. The bullpen is the only weakness.
Offense: 9
Starting Pitching: 9
Bullpen: 7
Defense: 8
Overall: 8.25
2) Atlanta Braves
They needed a bat and they're taking a gamble with Troy Glaus who could pay dividends. They had too many pitchers so they traded Vazquez, their ace, and still have a very solid rotation. If they were able to keep Vazquez they might have the best pitching in baseball. Billy Wagner should excel as a closer again and the Braves get draft picks once he peaces too. I think Melk Man will continue to improve and should be a nice surprise for the Braves. They could use another bat as their big guns spend a lot of time on the DL.
Offense: 7
Starting Pitching: 8
Bullpen: 7
Defense: 8
Overall: 7.5
3) Florida Marlins
I forgot how good these guys were last year. They're only going to be better this year and I would not be surprised if they finished ahead of Atlanta. They don't excel at anything really but they're just solid all around. I like the starting rotation a lot. Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are nasty and Anibal Sanchez may bounce back. He's already pitched a no-hitter. The bullpen was a real strength last year as well. They lack a true closer but Leo Nunez was solid last year and is a hard-thrower so he might pan out.
Offense: 7
Starting Pitching: 7
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 7
Overall: 7.25
4) The New York Mess
The easiest team in the world to shit on from the front office to the medical staff to it's boneheaded and lazy ass players. IN ALL HONESTY though, they have arguably the best starting pitcher, centerfielder, third baseman, short stop and closer in baseball on their team and they can't manage to build a halfway decent team around that. It's not like any of those are important positions. There's way too many "if's" to rank this team any higher than 4th. The pitching is just horrible. I don't know how the Mets didn't add anyone. Jason Bay is a nice hitter but a horrible defender and he's only going to get worse as the years go by, especially in spacious Citi Field. He should have signed with an AL team. I admire the Mets strategy of signing every backup catcher available, robbing other teams of valuable depth. God. The pitching. It's just so bad. Luis Castillo and Jeff Francour are both potentially black holes and I'm just not sold on Daniel Murphy. Beltran is going to miss time and who knows how motivated he'll be when he returns? David Wright should figure out Citi Field next year and hopefully Jose Reyes shows up. They could finish as high as second but I really doubt it with that rotation and bullpen. Gary Matthews Jr lollllllllll
Offense: 8
Starting Pitching: 4
Bullpen: 5
Defense: 7
Overall: 6
5) Washington Nationals
Ivan Rodriguez yeahhhhhhhh ok. Everyone knows these guys suck but they're not as bad as they used to be. At least Adam Dunn mashes while being the worst defensive player in all of baseball and Ryan Zimmerman has come around. Matt Capps and Brian Bruney should benefit from a change of scenery. The outfield has potential I guess.
Offense: 5
Starting Pitching: 5
Bullpen: 5
Defense: 5
Overall: 5
NL Central
1) St. Louis Cardinals
Phat Albert, Holliday Styles and the duo of Carpenter and Wainwright are pretty much the whole team. It's good enough to be probably the second best team in the NL. The rotation is paper-thin behind the aforementioned Cy candidates with Kyle Loeshe and Brad Penny filling out the back end, however Dave Duncan has been known to turn rags to riches. The bullpen is solid, we'll see if Ryan Franklin can repeat.
Offense: 8
Starting Pitching: 7
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 8
Overall: 7.75
2) Chicago Cubs
This used to be a really exciting team and now they're pretty meh all around. Down years from Soto, A-Ram, Soriano and the presence of Milton Bradley definitely hurt them, but these guys are an 85 win team tops. The pitching staff is really good. If everyone is on, this team could win the division, but I don't see them topping St. Louis. Too many question marks. This is the year Carlos Marmol breaks out.
Offense: 7
Starting Pitching: 8
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 6
Overall: 7.25
3) Cincinatti Reds
These guys are only going to get better and better. They nabbed one of the most exciting prospects in the past decade in Chapman, who might start the year in the rotation. Lots of youth on this team and lots of potential. Votto, Bruce and Brandon Phillips all should have big years. Johnny Gomes will bring nice pop in left. Orlando Cabrera and Scott Rolen are both old and Rolen will definitely spend time on the DL but they are solid defensively and not bad with the bat. Their starting pitching is full of questions marks. Harang, Arroyo and Cueto are all coming off bad years, Homer Bailey is running out of chances and the 5th spot may be Chapman's, and who the fuck knows what he's going to do? Francisco Cordero anchors an underrated bullpen that's a team strength. They'll be a threat in 2011 if the pitching pans out. A starting 5 of Harang, Chapman, Cueto, Volquez and Arroyo or Bailey is scary if they're all on.
Offense: 7
Starting Pitching: 6
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 7
Overall: 7
4) Milwaukee Brewers
My favorite NL team... a team on the decline. The Principal and Ryan Braun forms one of the most formidable one two punches in baseball. Beyond that it's pretty ugly. Corey Hart stumbled after emerging as a solid 20/20 bat. Carlos Gomez takes over in center with nice range, but no bat. Casey McGehee was a nice surprise last year but he's pretty old for a rook. Alcides Escobar might be something special and Rickie Weeks will probably get hurt. Yovanni Gallardo is one of the best pitchers in the NL but after Randy Wolf it's a bunch of fringe starters. The bullpen is old and tempermental and one has to wonder how much Trevor Hoffman has left.
Offense: 7
Starting Pitching: 6.5
Bullpen: 6
Defense: 7
Overall: 6.625
5) Houston Astros
Alright guys it's time to give it up. They refuse to become sellers but this team is falling apart. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee aer a year older. Hunter Pence took a step back last year. JR Towles hasn't proven a damn thing yet. Michael Bourn can't hit for shit but swipes a lot of bags. The middle infield is horrible. Roy Oswalt is declining a bit each year. Wandy Rodriguez had a career year last year and I wouldn't expect a repeat. After that we have a wife-beater and more fringe starters. The bullpen is absolutely terrible.
Offense: 6
Starting Pitching: 6
Bullpen: 5
Defense: 6
Overall: 5.75
6) Pittsburgh Pirates
They're so bad they're the only 6th place team in baseball. Easily the worst franchise in the sport right now. The outfield is full of potential should Lastings Milledge figure things out and if Garrett Jones proves he's not a fluke. Andrew McCutchen is the only reason to watch these guys. Aki Iwamura is solid I guess. The rotation is fulled with underachieving number 3 types and Scranton-Wilkes Barre castoffs.
Offense: 3
Starting Pitching: 3
Bullpen: 3
Defense: 7
Overall: 4
NL West
1) Colorado Rockies
This will be my surprise pick, I guess. This is the toughest division to call. The Dodgers could easily take this division but I like the Rockies better. They're strong at every position and they're young and improving. I expect Chris Ianetta to bounce back. Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe are solid, if not unspectacular, Tulo could put up an MVP calibur season and they have some nice young speed guys in Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez. Ubaldo Jimenez could be a top 10 pitcher this year, Aaron cook should be solid, Jorge De La Rosa seems to have finally figured things out and the back end is solid with Hammel and Francis. Huston Street should repeat and the rest of the pen has hard throwers like Betancourt and Corpas. Solid all around.
Offense: 8
Starting Pitching: 7
Bullpen: 7
Defense: 8
Overall: 7.5
2) Los Angeles Dodgers*
The reason I prefer Colorado to these guys is Colorado's pitching. Not that the Rox have great pitching by any stretch of the imagination, it's just the Dodgers have too many question marks. Kershaw should be awesome. Billingsley had a great first half last year but then fell apart. Kuroda is mediocre and Padilla is hot garbage. They have one of the best closers in baseball and the pen isn't bad. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and James Loney should all have great years. Manny might finally be slowing down. Ronnie Belliard was a nice scoop. I'm not sure what Furcal or Russell Martin will do this year. They could win it but I prefer Colorado.
Offense: 8.5
Starting Pitching: 6.5
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 7
Overall: 7.5
3) San Francisco Giants
One of the best pitching staffs, if not the best, in baseball. One of the worst offenses, if not the worst, in baseball. Pablo Sandoval is fun to watch but after that it's ugly. Aubrey Huff was garbage last year. Freddy Sanchez is probably the second best hitter on this team. Mark Derosa is overrated, Aaron Rowand continues to decline and Edgar Renteria should probably retire. Bullpen is decent.
Offense: 4
Starting Pitching: 9.5
Bullpen: 8
Defense: 7
Overall: 7.125
4) Arizona Diamondbacks
Justin Upton is god. Mark Reynolds and Justin Verlander's strikeout totals were pretty close last year. Chris Young has been disapointing. Connor Jackson should bounce back in left. The rest of the team is meh, actually, Miguel Montero is pretty good I guess. If Brandon Webb was healthy they'd have one of the best rotations in baseball. Edwin Jackson is good but he's a downgrade from Scherzer. Ian Kennedy should be good as he always pitches well in Triple A which is essentially what the National League is.
Offense: 6
Starting Pitching: 7
Bullpen: 6
Defense: 7
Overall: 6.5
5) San Diego Padres
The Fathers suck. I wonder how many homers Adrian Gonzalez would hit in a normal ballpark. Hopefully that ballpark isn't Fenway, mid-season. There's nothing good to say about this team beyond Gonzo. Oh, Heath Bell is awesome. Evereth Cabrera is a ncie prospect:
Offense: 2
Starting Pitching: 3
Bullpen: 5
Defense: 6
Overall: 4
Playoffs
ALDS
NYY def. CHA
BOS def. SEA
NLDS:
STL def. COL
PHI def. LAD
ALCS
NYY def. BOS
NLCS
PHI def. STL
WS
NYY def PHI
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
AL ROY: Neftali Feliz
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
NL ROY: Jason Heyward
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