In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

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Next up is the NL East.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
Much like the Yankees in the American League, it’s hard to find bad things to say about the Phillies. They’re the three-time defending NL East champions and considering they’re ready to bring back the same core of players that got them to the World Series the past two years, there’s no reason to doubt them. Oh, and they added Roy Halladay. Roy, I’m going to dominate your face for nine innings, Halladay. If Cole Hamels rebounds and J.A. Happ’s 2009 wasn’t a fluke, the Phillies won’t suffer a setback this season. In fact, the pitching doesn’t even have to be that great with the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez taking up the first six spots in the order. The problem, however, is that Hamels might not bounce back and Happ’s ’09 season may have been a fluke. There’s also that nagging Brad Lidge closer issue that could haunt this club as well. That said, odds are that the Fighting Phils will be right back at the top of the NL East again this season. They’re too good, too talented and too experienced to fold and they have a great chance to reclaim their title back from the Yankees.

2. Atlanta Braves (11)
A lot of pundits are high on the Braves this year – and for good reason. In Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami, their starting rotation is one of the best in the National League. Atlanta has the starting pitching to go toe to toe with the Phillies in the division, but the real question is whether or not they have enough offense. Top prospect Jason Heyward looks as good as advertised, but if he’s not ready to produce then Atlanta’s corner outfield situation is questionable at best. This club has a nice blend of young and veteran hitters, including Heyward, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus, but they’re one or two big injuries away from falling to the middle of the pack in the National League. This club has more than enough talent to push the Phillies in the division and as of now, are the early favorites to win the NL Wild Card. But players like Jones, Glaus and Billy Wagner have to stay healthy and produce or else the Braves will fail to live up to expectations this season.

3. Florida Marlins (18)
The Marlins are usually pretty easy to project nowadays. They’re always slightly better than what you think they’ll be, but just not as good to rank ahead of some of the more talented teams in the National League. Hanley Ramirez continues to be one of the best players in the game and his supporting cast (Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Dan Uggla and Ricky Nolasco) isn’t bad either. In fact, Ramirez and Johnson are reason alone to go to the ballpark on a weekly basis. But unless players like Cameron Maybin, Jorge Cantu, Emilio Bonifacio (who was confused for Ricky Henderson for about three games at the start of last season) and prospect Logan Morrison produce, then the Marlins will fall to the middle of the pack this year in the NL. Still, while they’re not as talented as the Mets, over the last seven years they’ve won more games and have spent nearly $600 million less over that span. For whatever reason, Florida always finds a way to be competitive with their young roster and while I don’t think they have enough to succeed in the end, I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a run at the Wild Card again like they did last year.

4. New York Mets (20)
If I were a Mets fan, I would have tried to take a bath with one of my kitchen appliances by now. I don’t mean any disrespect – I’m just concerned with their well being after watching this team underachieve over and over and over again. Every year this club has talent and every year they find a way – whether it be through poor managing, injuries or what have you – to screw it up. The Mets have enough star power in David Wright, Jose Reyes (when healthy), Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran to succeed, but bad luck, incompetence in the front office and poor fundamental play always sinks this club. Then again, bad luck won’t have anything to do with why the Mets will fail this year. Simply put, they don’t have enough starting pitching to succeed. There’s no guarantee that Santana will be 100% all season and after him, the rest of the rotation is under whelming to say the least. Sorry Met fans, but the torture looks like it’ll continue for at least another year.

5. Washington Nationals (29)
There are plenty of people high on the Nationals this season, but I’m having a hard time taking a leap of faith. I realize the additions of Jason Marquis, Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Ivan Rodriguez filled needs, but let’s not confuse these players with Catfish Hunter, Johnny Sain, Dennis Eckersley and, well, Ivan Rodriguez in their primes. I think this club has improved, but some publications believe they’ll finish third in the division and I just don’t see it. Stephen Strasburg isn’t quite ready to save the day yet and therefore the rotation is still similar to the one that allowed 874 runs last year. Marquis should help, but the end of the rotation is scary and Capps might be the only reliever that winds up with a sub 4.00 ERA by the end of the year. While there is hope on the horizon in the form of Strasburg, the Nats just don’t have enough overall talent to get out of the basement of the NL East.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/25/2010-mlb-preview-nl-east/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/06/23/mlb-trade-rumors-beltre-derosa-and-washburn/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/06/23/mlb-trade-rumors-beltre-derosa-and-washburn/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:45:40 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=20416

- According to SI.com, the Mariners have yet to receive any interest for third baseman Adrian Beltre, who Seattle would love to move because he’s in the last year of his $64 million contract.

- One name that continues to be involved almost daily on the rumor mill is Indians utility man Mark DeRosa. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Cardinals and Yankees have expressed interest in DeRosa, but neither are willing to give up young pitching like Cleveland covets.

- The Mets are rumored to be interested in DeRosa, Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson and Orioles one-bagger Aubrey Huff, but Newsday’s Ken Davidoff writes that the club shouldn’t make any stupid trades just to fill a spot while Carlos Beltran is on the DL.

- MLB.com reports that the Diamondbacks could become sellers soon and that pitchers Doug Davis and Jon Garland, as well as second baseman Felipe Lopez could all be on the trade block.

- The Phillies want to add an arm, but the pitchers they’re looking at (Erik Bedard, Jake Peavy, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo and Jason Marquis) are either hurt or playing for contending teams.

- The Dodgers have interest in Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn according to MLB Fanhouse and Juan Pierre’s name has come up as a potential trade piece.

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Offseason Movement: The biggest move the Rockies made this offseason was trading outfielder Matt Holliday to the A’s in exchange for pitchers Huston Street and Greg Smith, as well as outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Street takes over for Brian Fuentes, who signed with the Angels. Colorado also added pitchers Jason Marquis and Alan Embree, as well as outfielder Matt Murton.

Top Prospect: Dexter Fowler, OF
Fowler is destined to start the season in the minors, but the Rockies hope that he’ll become a middle of the order hitter and flash some pop in due time. He has tons of speed, but he’s an unpolished player overall, and one that will need time to mature. With a current rash of outfielders already on the big league roster, Colorado isn’t likely to rush Fowler or Carlos Gonzalez, the latter being acquired in the Matt Holliday trade.

The Big Question: How will the rotation look without Jeff Francis?
Nobody will confuse Francis with Cole Hamels, but at least the Rockies could usually count on 13-plus wins from the 28-year old starter. But Francis underwent arthroscopic surgery in the offseason to repair his labrum and clean up the rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He’ll likely miss the entire 2009 season, which leaves the starting rotation awfully thin. Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez are solid, but after them are Jason Marquis, Greg Smith and Jorge De La Rosa/Franklin Morales. Maybe the the Rocks will get lucky and one will surprise, but this is a weak rotation on paper.

Outlook: Without Matt Holliday in the middle of their lineup, the Rockies will probably play more small ball this year. Hopefully promising youngster Troy Tulowitzki can put his injury-plagued 2008 season behind him and bounce back to his 2007 form. Colorado will rely on him and Ryan Spilborghs to set the table at the top of the lineup, while hopefully getting some pop from Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton. The starting pitching is a huge question mark, which is why the Rockies will likely struggle again in 2009. But even though this club is far removed from its World Series team in 2007, there is some hope on the horizon in the form of several promising prospects.

Projection: 4th NL West

The deal is pending a physical.

In an effort to free up some salary for Bradley, the Cubs are expected on Tuesday to finalize a deal to send Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Luis Vizcaino, MLB.com reported Monday.

Adding Bradley was one of the top priorities this offseason for the Cubs, who got swept out of the playoffs for the second straight year after a lineup loaded with right-handers struggled against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A switch-hitter, Bradley batted .321 with 22 homers for the Texas Rangers while leading the American League with a .436 on-base percentage. He made the All-Star team while serving primarily as the designated hitter.

In Chicago, he’ll fill the Cubs’ need for a left-handed bat in the middle of the order and will be used mostly in right field even though he has played 100 games in the field just once — in 2004 with the Dodgers. The Cubs will likely spell him with Kosuke Fukudome, who will also platoon with Reed Johnson in center. Fukudome was in right field last season.

Over/under on days before Bradley and Carlos Zambrano start throwing punches at each other: 120.

We still have Manny Ramirez without a team, and the very real possibility that he could just stay with the Dodgers. Really, doesn’t that make the most sense for this guy’s, um, easygoing, personality and playing style? Meanwhile, the stakes for Mark Teixeira have been upped by none other than the Washington Nationals, who are believed to be offering the free agent slugger eight years at $20 million per. That sounds to me like agent Scott Boras trying to just be Scott Boras. We all know Tex is going to wind up in Boston, Baltimore, or back with the Angels.

And as if Cubs’ fans haven’t suffered through enough misery lately, GM Jim Hendry decided to pull the plug on the Jake Peavy trade. He just didn’t want to inherit as much salary as the Padres wanted him to, and he surely didn’t want to throw Mark DeRosa on a plane to San Diego as part of the deal. Now, the Angels have been mentioned as a team that might pursue Peavy, and you definitely can’t count the Yankees out either. Oh, and by the way, the Yankees have turned their attention to in-house “old reliable” Andy Pettitte now, and have not ruled Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe out yet. Wow.

Meanwhile, the Mets spent so much on closers that they literally had nothing left to go after Lowe. Instead, GM Omar Minaya is talking to the Cubs about a trade for Jason Marquis, and/or re-signing Oliver Perez or Pedro Martinez.

There could be a lot more moves on the horizon, but in a week expected to have a lot of fireworks, the hot stove fired up in New York and nowhere else. Stay tuned though, because deals are known to happen into January, and some, like Ramirez and Teixeira signing, could lead a domino effect for more moves.