2010 MLB Preview: NL East

This is the first of the 2010 MLB Division Previews! We start with the NL East, which has been the home of the two time NL Champion Philladelphia Phillies. Will Jason Bay save the Mets? Find Out All This and more in the first MLB Preview!

PHILLADELPHIA PHILLIES
If the Phillies, who have appeared in the World Series the past two seasons, needed to get even better, they pulled off the blockbuster of the offseason by Trading away postseason hero Cliff Lee to Seattle for Prosepects, and then trading for Roy Halladay. Halladay, who has been the best pitcher North of the Border for a long while now, heads to a Phillies team that was this close to winning the World Series for the second straight season.
This club really hit the long ball well in 2009, and expect them to do that again this season. The club is led by Ryan Howard, who hit 45 homeruns and 141 RBI's last season. The Club made the right move in signing Raul Ibanez, and he didn't dissapoint, as he hit 34 homeruns and 93 RBIs. Chase Utley continued as the game's best Second Baseman with his 31 homeruns and 93 RBIs. The Club lost a big bat in Pedro Feliz, but brought back former Phillie Placido Polanco to play the hot corner. Polanco won't have the offense that Feliz had, but he's versatile and he can play any position in the infield. Let's not forget about Jimmy Rollins, the man who puts the Phillies in motion. His .250 average may convince some folks that he no longer belongs in the leadoff spot, but he does everything you want in a leadoff man. he works the count, gets on base, and can head from first to third in a heartbeat if the opposing pitcher doesn't check on him. What may be the most scary about Rollins is how scary accurate his predictions can be. He recently said that the 2010 Phillies may be even even better than they were last year, and that's bad news for the rest of the National League.
Rotationwise, this team is solid, starting with the Ace, Roy Halladay. Halladay won 17 games in 2009 in Baseball's Toughest Division. Expect him to get even better now that he has switched leagues. Cole Hamels had an off season in 2009, finishing 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA. Expect him to get more wins, less losses, and to bring that ERA down to around 3.00. J.A. Happ was the game's best Pitchig Prospect and may have been their best pitcher last season, as he was 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA. In The Bullpen, Brad Lidge was 48 for 48 in Save Chances in 2008, but led Baseball with 11 Blown Saves in 2009. Expect him to get Back On track. When he has that slider working, it's almost impossible to hit.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
The Washington Nationals are a team on the rise. They've got a future Hall Of Famer catching for them in Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, and they have a very underrated Pitcher in Jason Marquis who has become the Ace of the Staff. He can hurt you not just while pitching, but with the bat as well, as he is one of the National League's best Bunting Pitchers. Scott Olsen is a former Florida Marlin who is looking to get back on Track.
Their entire offense is Adam Dunn, a guy who hit 38 homeruns and 105 RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman is an underrated Third Baseman, and he hit 33 homeruns and 106 RBIs last season.
The Washington Nationals are obviously waiting in the wings for Stephen Strasburg, the best young pitcher in quite some time. Don't sleep on the Nationals.

FLORIDA MARLINS
The Marlins are led by Josh Johnson, who just flat out dominated, finishing 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA. Hanley Ramirez is the Best player on the Marlins, with a .342 average and a .410 OBP. Dan Uggla hit 31 homeruns and 91 RBIs. The Marlins will be looking to move up in the division this year.

ATLANTA BRAVES
This is Bobby Cox's final Season managing the Braves. The Braves rotation is led now by Tommy Hanson, finishing 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Jair Jurjens, Tim Hudson and Kenshi Kawakami finish out the rotation. They newest slugger and First Baseman is Troy Glaus. Expect him to have a great year now that he is in Atlanta. Right Fielder Jason Heyward could be one of the biggest breakout stars of 2010. The way the ball Jumps off his bat is Scary! Brian McCann is one of the best catchers in baseball. In the bullpen, Billy Wagner is looking to return to the form he had as a member of the Mets, Astros, and Philiies.

NEW YORK METS
Jason Bay may be the Biggest prize the Mets have reeled in since Johan Santana back in 2008. If there's one thing the Mets are wishing for, it is for their key players (Beltran, Santana, Jose Reyes) to be healthy. David Wright lost his swing in 2009, going from 33 homeruns in 2008 to just ten in 2009. He's gonna have to get back into the swing of things if these Mets are to be competetive in the NL East.
Beyond Johan Santana, the Mets are questionmarks in the rotation. Mike Pelfrey, John Maine are capable starters, but Oliver Perez, Jon Niese, and Fernando Nieve aren't going to light the world on Fire. Carlos Delgado is gone, but Daniel Murphy has a lot of potential at first base. Jeff Francoeur will be looking to get back on track.
Francisco Rodriguez is a great closer, and the bullpen is capable. Sean Green, Pedro Feliciano, Bobby Parnell, and Pat Misch are all capale. The Mets signed another Japanese Pitcher, Ryota Igrashi.

2010 Is a Make or Break Season for the Mets. If they don't make the Playoffs, expect Heads To Roll.

My Division Picks
1.PHILLIES
2.METS
3.BRAVES
4.MARLINS
5.NATIONALS

MLB Preview:NL East

Can Johan Santana help Mets Fans forget the pain of Last Season?

The Trading For Johan Santana (and the subsequent bank-breaking extension) sent shockwaves throughout the baseball world. The two epicenters of this deal was both Minnesota and New York.

In This MLB Preview, we will look at how the signing changes the landscape of the NL East Picture.


PHILLADELPHIA PHILLIES
The Phillies in April looked flat. Their team was in Last Place, and their angry manager (Charlie Manuel) was talking to reporters, wanting to fight them. The Phillies picked it up the rest of the way. propelled by National League MVP Jimmy Rollins (who talked the talk and walked the walk) to the 2006 National League Rookie Of the Year Ryan Howard (who walked the walk and produced big in the clutch).

Pitching Wise, Cole Hamels, Jon Lieber (now an injury risk for the Chicago Cubs), Brett Myers (the first guy In a while to start and close in the same season), Jamie Moyer, and Rookie Kyle Kendrick formed the best rotation in the National League East Last Season. Could they be the best rotation in the NL East again? Abselotely. Especially after Johan Santana, the Mets have nothing but questionmarks in their rotation.

Kyle Kendrick will replace Jon Lieber in the rotation. Kendrick shined at Double A, was called up to The Show, and shined there as well.

Defensively, the Phillies lost Aaron Rowand (who may replace #25 in Left Field for the San Francisco Giants) and Tadahito Iguchi, a mid season addition last season, to Free Agency.

NEW YORK METS
Heartbreak and dissapointment came to Mets fans last season, The Mets still had a seven game lead in September, with 17 games to go. The Mets, however, would lose 11 of their next 16, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to tie them with three games left. The Mets lost to the Marlins 8-1 in the final game of the season, while the Phillies went on to win their final game 6-1 against the Nationals and clinch the NL East by one game. The Mets became first team in MLB history to blow a lead of seven or more games with only 17 games to play, and, by one analysis, it was the 2nd worst collapse overall in MLB regular season history. Despite the season ending debacle, Minaya announced that Randolph would remain as manager for the 2008 season.

The Mets has to make changes this offseason and they did. They made the biggest trade of the offseason, as The Mets agreed to trade four minor league prospects, including outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitcher Philip Humber to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Johan Santana, who agreed on a six-year contract extension on February 1 worth $150.75 million, the highest amount ever for a pitcher on a long-term contract. The trade was finalized on February 2nd when Santana passed his physical.

Santana is already the favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award, and he improves their rotation. But what about the rest of their rotation? John Maine and Pedro Martinez fill out the rest of the rotation as of today. Tom Glavine, who helped the Braves win the 1995 World Series, is coming back to the Atlanta Braves for the 2008 Season.

Offensively, The Mets will be back, but they are old. Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado are aging, but the two best young players on this team, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, should carry this team. Ryan Church replaces Shawn Green in Right Field, and Brian Schneider, one of the best defensive catchers in Baseball, replaces Paul Lo Duca behind the plate.

ATLANTA BRAVES
After the Braves won fourteen consecutive division titles, the Braves have had a pair of third place finishes. The Braves are still trying to win. The "Old Men" rotation of John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, and Tom Glavine will have the usual hope of staying healthy all season. On the offensive side, the Braves would be smart to resign First Baseman Mark Texiera to an extension. Omar Infante and Yuniel Escobar will be the table-setters for Texiera and Chipper Jones. Andruw Jones had horrible power number last season, and they will only get worse playing in Chavez Ravine. Mark Kotsay, the former Oakland Athletics Outfielder, will compete for Andruw Jones's old spot in Center Field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
The Washington Nationals are on the way up offendively. They have a Future All Star and Gold Glover in Ryan Zimmerman, and Elijah Dukes could be a major sleeper if he cleans up his act. The Nationals will need to improve their rotation if they want to be competitive.

The Future is now for the Nationals. They have the newest ballpark in Baseball and hope to put together a team to compete with the Mets and Phillies.

FLORIDA MARLINS
The Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1997. They then purged their roster of high priced talent. The Marlins again won the World Series in 2003, they purged their roster in 2006, and in 2008, finished purging their roster as they traded away the two cornerstones from their 2003 World Series Run, Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera and Pitcher Dontrelle Willis.

The Marlins will be hoping their pieces from the trade (Mike Rabelo, Andrew Miller) will be enough to build confidence for the youngsters.

The Marlins and Devil Rays will compete to be the worst Florida Team in Baseball.


My Projected Finish:
NEW YORK METS
PHILLADELPHIA PHILLIES
ATLANTA BRAVES
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
FLORIDA MARLINS


In the next MLB Preview, we will preview the American League East. Will The Red Sox be able to repeat? Will Joe Girardi find success in New York? Can The Blue Jays Be A Sleeper this season? Can Tampa Bay Be Competitive This Season? Find out in the next MLB Preview.