NL MLB Preview 2012

NL MLB Preview 2012

NL West
1. Arizona D-Backs - Kirk Gibson is one heck of a manager. His staff has developed their young players way faster than anyone could have imagined, leading them to the NL West title last year. The Snakes are young and talented. I'm a big fan of OFs Justin Upton and Chris Young. Their bullpen is solid, but SS Stephen Drew will be the key--he has to live up to the hype and stay healthy.
2. LA Dodgers - MVP Matt Kemp is the best, yeah I know that Braun won the honors last year but Kemp is the true MVP. The guy is unreal. Ethier must stay in the lineup and be productive, his wrist injury was devastating last season. I would love the new management to add another quality bat before the trade deadline. Their pitching worries me. Kershaw is dominant, but the rest of the staff is old and potentially fatal.
3. SF Giants - Love the pitching, hate the hitting. Same motto as last year. The hitting has to be better, I like the addition of OF Melky Cabrera. Brandon Belt needs to be a factor, and Bochy must give him the ABs. Look for Matt Cain to dominate. The bullpen will probably decide their fate, and not having Brian Wilson will cost them.
4. Colorado Rockies - I have turned sour on the Rocks. Injuries just seem to surround them every year. Carlos Gonzalez has all the skills to be the next great NL player if he could ever stay in the lineup. There are serious pitching issues here. When old man Jaime Moyer is your #2 starter, you are in serious trouble. They traded away Ubaldo Jimenez last year and lack pitching depth. They are really the only team in the division that can't pitch well, so they must score a lot of runs. Yikes!
5. SD Padres - I would rank them lower if I could but there's only five teams in the division. What can you say about the team with the lowest payroll in MLB? They don't try to win games, and run their franchise like a business--just to make as much money as possible for their ownership which has been a disaster for a long time. They are rebuilding again, and trade away their best player practically every year. They don't know what they are doing and don't seem to care.

NL Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals - Remember these guys. They won the World Series last year over the Rangers. They lost Albert Pujols but added OF Carlos Beltran, and Beltran is great when he plays. The injury worries don't stop there. Pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright both have had health problems and first baseman Lance Berkman is old and is always banged up. David Freese is a rising slugger, watch him crush this year.
2. Milwaukee Brewers - Is it just me or does their lineup appear overly impressive? I really cannot solve this team, they seem like they should be better every year, but never put it all together. Pitchers Greinke and Marcum will be free agents at the end of the season and should have big seasons. Gallardo is an ace and Axford was tremendous last year. Where are all the victories? The heart of the order (Braun, Aramis Ramirez, Hart) all need to have big years for the Brew Crew to reach the postseason.
3. Cincy Reds - Oh, Dusty Baker. This guy doesn't really get it. I don't like their pitching or defense. Their two best pitchers are in the bullpen. They need Chapman to be more involved. He should be a starter. Their hitters strike out way too much, especially for that generous ballpark. Votto is obviously great, but who hits behind him?
4-6. Chicago Cubs, Pitt Pirates and Houston Astros. Bury these teams now. Three teams with no prayer of a winning season, let alone the playoffs. The Cubs are probably the most dissapointing out of the three, but they have no talent at all outside of SS Starlin Castro. The Pirates are always terrible, but at least they seem to be trying hard every year, and I can respect that. The Astros are rebuilding big time and it will take some time-- so be patient. I can appreciate their drastic changes, they basically gutted the whole franchise and started over.

NL East
1. Atlanta Braves - These guys overachieve nearly every year. I like their veteran leadership. Their bullpen is fantastic and will be key down the stretch. Venters and Kimbrel are easily overlooked, but don't make that mistake. Is this the year that OF Jason Heyward becomes the man in Atlanta? The Braves hope so.
2. Philly Phillies - No Ryan Howard and no Chase Utley. This lineup is old and seriously lacks power. It will be difficult for them to score runs all year long. Utley is no longer that great second baseman that you remember from a few years ago. Howard's achilles injury was bad and he could be out for most of the season, or come back at less than 100%. Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee aren't young and have thrown a lot of innings over the past few seasons. There are too many question marks this season for the Phils.
3. Miami Marlins - Ozzie Guillen will have his hands full this year in Miami. I really like the direction that the Marlins are headed. Mike Stanton is a physical specimen, watch him take batting practice, best BP hitter in baseball. He will hit bombs even though their new ballpark is gigantic. I think that it will take one more year for Guillen to get these guys all on the same page. Josh Johnson should also be better next year after missing most of past few seasons with arm problems, he sets the tone for their staff.
4. Washington Nats - This is the true wildcard team in the NL. Their pitching is very talented and has a lot of upside. I love their young power arms. Strasburg is special, but closer Drew Storen is on the DL for at least half the year and Brad Lidge cannot close games if they want to be taken seriously. Zimmerman is their only real threat on offense, that's not a good sign. It will take a couple more years and a couple more bats for them to contend.
5. NY Mets - Not a good team. I really wonder if they trade 3B David Wright this year. They probably need to trade him in order to rebuild their franchise. I can easily envision a deal to the Angels for a large package of top prospects. If they are smart, then they will do it and ignore the NY media pressure. They are looking at a 3-5 year rebuilding process. Cross them off the list.

Wildcard: LA Dodgers over Milwaukee Brewers
NLDS: St. Louis Cards over LA Dodgers 4-2, and Arizona D-Backs over Atlanta Braves 4-3
NLCS: St. Louis Cards over Arizona D-Backs 4-1