NL East
This division isn't as strong all the way around like the AL East is, but this is a pretty top-heavy division that will probably still see a couple playoff teams. Whether those teams will be able to do anything in the playoffs remains to be seen, and may also depend on whether a team gets screwed over by horrible umpiring/voodoo magic BS that has emanated out of St. Louis the past couple postseasons. (I'm not a bitter Cubs fan or anything, why do you ask?) Hopefully my predictions will be more on point this year than last year. Last year's were way off.
2012: 98-64, 1st in NL East, lost in NLDS
The nation's capital got its first taste of postseason baseball in a long time last year, but I'm sure those fans were disappointed that the taste wasn't longer (once again, we can blame St. Louis for this). There's no reason to think this team won't be back this October though. They came away with a big prize in Denard Span, who will be a good leadoff hitter for this team leading up to the Bryce Harper-Ryan Zimmerman-Jayson Werth heart of the order. Having a (you would hope) full season of Stephen Strasburg should also help. Hey, Washington fans, you want to switch Davey Johnson and Mike Shanahan around? You might have had deeper runs in both sports and you might not have had to wait for RGIII to have his ACL repaired.
2013 Projection: 99-63
2012: 94-68, 2nd in NL East, lost in NL Wild Card Game
While I'm not blown away by this rotation, they're certainly not bad, and the bullpen is in good shape. What really impresses me though is the lineup, especially now that they have both Upton brothers in the lineup. Combine him with Jason Heyward, and you have arguably the best outfield in the league. Scoring runs shouldn't be a problem for these guys, but they aren't quite as complete a team as Washington is. Nonetheless, they have a chance to avenge how last season ended.
2013 Projection: 95-67, Wild Card
2012: 81-81, 3rd in NL East
The 1-3 of their rotation is still one of the best in baseball, but it's clear they aren't as good as they were billed when they were assembled a couple years ago. Part of the problem last year though was with the offense, especially with Ryan Howard missing half the season. They're mostly healthy going into this season, but their best hitters are all on the wrong side of 30. A rebuild will need to come soon.
2013 Projection: 77-85
2012: 74-88, 4th in NL East
There's a lot of youth on this team now, especially in the field, and I'm honestly not really wowed by any of these guys. Certainly they can be in the ballpark of where they were last year, but it will be tough without RA Dickey going every 5th day. Even so, that rotation is decent enough all the way through that they can do a little damage here and there, but probably not to keep up with the elite of the division.
2013 Projection: 75-87
2012: 69-93, 5th in NL East
A year after being the kings of free agency, Jeff Loria added to his lore as being the worst owner in the sport by blowing up his team again right after using them as a draw to help pay for his fancy new stadium. Shameful. What little remains is a decent starter who should probably be a #2 or #3 starter as opposed to a #1 and a guy who can hit baseballs really, really far. Other than that I'm not impressed with this team at all. Could we see a team that averages fewer fans in attendance than they'll have winning percentage points? Don't rule it out.
2013 Projection: 59-103
Better yet, can we just contract Miami? Or force Loria to sell the team to a guy who at least puts on a front that he gives a crap about the team and their fan base? Hell, maybe as a draw, have LeBron come by for every home game he can to dunk over Loria. You might get some butts in the seats just to see that.
We're heading to the Central divisions tomorrow, starting back in the American League. Don't worry, I won't sell my skills with the English language for a Totino's pizza and having to sit through a dozen SigAlerts in Los Angeles traffic along with a disease to be named later.
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