Carrabis: 2010 National League Preview by Jared Carrabis
SSN's Jared Carrabis breaks down the National League


For more than a decade, the National League has been dominated by the American League in both the All Star Game, and most importantly, in the World Series.

NL East

In the past two seasons, the Philadelphia Phillies have risen as a National League team with an American League attitude. Complete with a devastating lineup and superb starting pitching, the Phils claimed World Series glory in 2008 and fell just short against the George Steinbrenner’s billion-dollar circus in 2009.

In the National League East, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and the boys from the City of Brotherly Love will once again come out on top. If they can make it to the World Series without a healthy closer who was perfect a year prior, then the addition of Roy Halladay to this club will only make things better. Of course, they do say their goodbyes to Cliff Lee, but a full season of Roy Halladay and a healthy Brad Lidge will leave the NL East competition in the dust.

The Atlanta Braves don’t have much of a chance to win this division in the final curtain call for manger Bobby Cox, but could find themselves in the hunt for the Wild Card. The Braves bring in Melky Cabrera, Billy Wagner, Troy Glaus and the World Series luck charm Eric Hinske, but the losses of Javier Vazquez, Garret Anderson, Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez may prove to be costly. Be on the lookout for the best prospect in baseball, outfielder Jason Heyward, who has the potential to become a superstar in no time.

Last season, the Florida Marlins won 87 games, but they didn’t sign a single free agent all winter long to improve their club. They lost key pieces to their bullpen and a 20+ HR hitter in Jeremy Hermida to Boston. A third-place finish for the Fish seems logical.

The New York Mets have essentially become the punch line in Major League Baseball. They’re a middle of the pack team in this division at best, as the addition of Jason Bay won’t be bringing the glory days back to Queens any time soon. If injuries continue to determine the Mets’ fate, a fourth-place finish could be in their future.

The Washington Nationals got some attention this offseason by signing former AL MVP Pudge Rodriguez, Jason Marquis, former two-time 19-game winner Chien Ming Wang, Adam Kennedy and Matt Capps. These names will at least give the Nats some respectability, but I can’t say they will save them from the cellar of the NL East.

NL Central

The St. Louis Cardinals are a given for the Central division title. Aside from Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, the Cardinals boast the best one-two punch in all of baseball with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright atop their rotation. Next to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, the Cards also claim the best 3-4 combo in the game in Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the middle of their lineup.

Chicago Cubs fans won’t have a team that they can count on to end their 102-year World Series drought, but they will have a team worth showing up to Wrigley Field to watch. Lucky for them, the rest of the division isn’t anything to brag about, so a second-place finish is within reason.

Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun will do their thing over in Milwaukee, but the postseason doesn’t seem likely with the Brewers’ pitching. Losing Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall and J.J. Hardy won’t be much help, either.

The Cincinnati Reds could be a surprise team in 2010 as far as exceeding expectations, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this is the year that the Big Red Machine returns to postseason play.

The Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates will round out the Central respectively, as I don’t expect either to be a contender next season.

NL West

In the National League West, there seems to be a lot of doubt concerning the Los Angeles Dodgers. The much-publicized divorce between Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his soon-to-be ex-wife Jamie may be the reason why Baseball Prospectus has the team finishing third in 2010, as the front office was unable to make any significant moves this past winter. However, the last time I checked, the Dodgers still had Matt Kemp, Andre Eithier, James Loney and Manny Ramirez in their lineup. Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw has the potential to blossom into one of the game’s best, which makes the Dodgers my team to beat in the West, again.

A lot of experts have the Rockies finishing second and taking the NL Wild Card, but I think this is the year that the San Francisco Giants put everything together and punch their ticket to October as the NL Wild Card.

I love San Francisco’s starting pitching headed by two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Not to mention former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito and the lefty, Jonathan Sanchez. This Giants team is a big bat away from becoming a serious contender for the NL pennant. If the injury bug bites the Dodgers, don’t be surprised if the Giants take home the NL West.

The Diamondbacks will be either at or under .500, with Justin Upton putting up MVP-like numbers and the only time that the San Diego Padres will find themselves in the headlines is going to be during the Major League Baseball trading deadline on July 31.

Published on March 30, 2010

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