MLB Previews

Today I will start our MLB Previews. My good friend Johnny Baseball and I Steve the Hammer will be giving you division by division predictions, wild card predictions and playoff rounds leading up to who we think is going to win the World Series. Today we begin with the National League East.

Steve the Hammer NL East Predictions:

1. Philadelphia Phillies- They have a better rotation than most fantasy teams and play in a weak National League. I could be the number 5 starter and this team would still win 100 games. The Phillies should run away with the East this year.


2. Atlanta Braves- Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe will have this team in prime position for a run at the wild card. Will they be as good as the Phillies? I don’t think so, but adding Dan Uggla to a lineup with Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones and Martin Prado should make Atlanta a big time playoff contender


3. Florida Marlins- Florida added Javy Vasquez to Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco. I know Yankee fans hate Vasquez but in the NL he’s going to throw 200 innings and win at least 12 games. They added a bat at catcher in John Buck, got Omar Infante in the Uggla trade and still have Hanley Ramirez. The Marlins could potentially be a surprise team in baseball this season.


4. Washington Nationals- Let’s not kid ourselves, the pitching for this team is awful with or without Strasburg. Maybe Chien-Ming Wang could get back to his 19 game form from when he was with the Yank’s but I don’t see it. I do however think that this team will hit a little bit. Jason Werth, Adam Laroche, Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Ankiel isn’t bad. If Pudge goes back on the juice they could be the Ranger’s of a few years back.


5. New York Mets- God I hate this team. Johan may not pitch at all this year and the Chris’s of Young and Capuano are hit or miss. Jose Reyes will get hurt again and Jason Bay isn’t that good. Add that to an old and feeble Carlos Beltran and you have a last place finish. And who is in the bullpen? Going to be a long season in Queens this year, I can promise you that.

Johnny Baseball NL East Predictions:

First off I would like to say it's an honor to be a special guest blogger for Hammer41's blog...now let's get to some predictions and opinions. This is how I feel the NL EAST will shape up

1. Philadelphia Phillies - Obviously a no-brainer here. 4 All-star starting pitchers and an all-star at almost every position. Although I feel Hamels and Oswalt can be overrated at times, they will have the lineup to make up for it. BEWARE...a slow start could be in store if they are without Chase Utley for an extended period of time. Also their bullpen is suspect as we saw at some points last year and losing Werth means losing protection in the lineup for the sluggers. Never the less a first place finish should be in store...pending an injury bug and maybe the Braves can nip em' in the butt.

2. Atlanta Braves - I'm giving 2nd place to the Braves this year. A potential Wild Card team again. Really had a great year last year for Bobby Cox (a true class act and manager). Looking at their lineup they really do have some great talent with Heyward, Prado, Chipper, McCann, and Uggla. Everyone forgets about Brian McCann as one of the best catchers in the game. Hewyard is going to develop more and more every year and Dan Uggla just adds huge pop to the lineup. Pitching really held its own last year despite Jair Jurrjens being hurt and having a subpar year. A huge chunk of the Braves season I feel will depend on Nate McLouth, a former all-star looking to get back into stride. They will give the Fightin Phils a run for their money.

3. Washington Nationals - Here's where the divison really starts to get hairy. The last three spots are really up for grabs. I'm giving number 3 to the Nats. Some good pop in that lineup with Zimmerman, who is probably one of the most underrated players in the game and also Werth to me is a huge addition. Pudge can whip any pitching staff into shape and with alot of young talent (Desmond, Strasburg,Clippard) and some grizzled vets, well who knows. Do I think they are ready for the playoffs yet? Nope but better seasons are to come with some good young talent mixed with some veterans.

4. Florida Marlins - Gunna be a tough year for the Marlins. Well what else is new, every few years they trade away half the team and let players go and just re-build. In the midst of all of that they still will have some good pitching (which will probably get traded by July 31st) with Johnson, Nolasco, and Vazquez. Lineup is just not cutting it for me. Hanley and Gabby Sanchez are the only ones that really would scare me. I'd be suprised if Hanley got a strike to hit all year with their lineup but hey sports are crazy.

5. New York Mets - And now to the lowley, ghastly, depression filled Mets. When I think of the Mets it brings me to the worst of places in my mind. Earlier this week I heard the Mets want to cut their payroll to $70 Million by next season. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? That's more than half the payroll! This means no Reyes, Beltran, or maybe even...Santana? Please let's not get a LeBron situation going (seeing as there is not enough lighter fluid in the world to burn away the horrid horrid memories the Mets will provide this year) If you know you arent going to resign Reyes., TRADE HIM! And if you want to cut payroll and stard re-building you may as well trade Beltran cause he damn sure isn't going to re-sign with the Mets. And well also, if your going to start dismanteling your team might as well trade Johan seeing as he may be virtually useless anyway. Met fans are going to want to kill me, but trade David Wright while the iron is hot. He is a stat-guy that is all (go on MLB.com and see what player in his spot in the lineup doesn't put up around the same numbers as him)...doesn't have an ounce of clutch in him (his biggest hit was in the world baseball classic) and also because if you start the re-building process now...Wright will be a little on the old side once it's complete. Get what you can from him and move on...PLEASE!. Start re-building around Ike Davis. It is going to be a long long long year for any Met fan. I had a glimmer of hope but it has been crushed by the Wilpons.

Well that's it for the NL EAST. Keep logging in as for the next few weeks Johnny Baseball and Mr. Hammer over here will give our predictions on this years MLB season who knows, maybe even a few suprises.