MLB Preview - NL East Division

To be honest, I have no clue who is going to win the NL East this year. None of the teams is terribly great, and they all have their strong points and weak points. However, this is how I think it might end up:

1. New York Mets - not that their lineup is going to set the world on fire, but their pitching staff is probable the best overall; if Duaner Sanchez can recover from his injury completely, their bullpen should be very solid, and their rotation is easily the best in the division after Santana was added; they need a good long term option in right field, as Ryan Church is serviceable at best; their infield is easily the best in the division, but Brian Schneider is not exactly an upgrade over Paul LoDuca; regardless, with the mediocre teams in the division, they're probably going to be the best of the lot; if they end up getting more than I think they will out of Ryan Church, they could be favorites for the World Series too

2. Atlanta Braves - I feel like the Braves could make some really big improvements this year; if Mike Hampton and Tom Glavine can hold up this year, they might actually have one of the better rotations in the league, a stark contrast with last year; the bullpen should be consistent, if not shut-down; the outfield, despite losing Andruw Jones, should be pretty good, both with the glove and the bat; the infield will be fun to watch, with the youth movement up the middle and the best switch hitters in the league at the corners, and of course Brian McCann is the best catcher in the division without question; still, there's a chance that they could falter, and their depth is not great; still, they have the potential to make some waves, and might even make the playoffs if they really get lucky

3. Philadelphia Phillies - its hard, with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins, to say that the Phillies aren't going to be in the hunt for the division, but their lineup does have some holes in it; they lost Aaron Rowand's bat and his Philly-attitude, and Geoff Jenkins is going downhill pretty quickly; after Cole Hamels, their rotation is pretty bad, and with Brad Lidge being injured (and being Brad Lidge), their bullpen may need some trade-deadline help; they'll score runs, especially with Pedro Feliz replacing the awful Wes Helms at third, but they will give up a lot more runs; however, you can't ever completely count them out, and they'll be in the race in the last few weeks of the season

4. Florida Marlins - despite being young and getting rid of Miguel Cabrera, the Fish probably won't be the worst team in the division this year; Hanley Ramirez is a superstar, and Dan Uggla could end up being this year's Chase Utley; Cameron Maybin and Josh Willingham are up-and-coming stars in the outfield; their bullpen and rotation could end up being promising, but that's unlikely; the bullpen is young, but Kelly Gregg is pretty good

5. Washington Nationals - despite having a better lineup than the Marlins, their rotation is pretty horrid; their bullpen is pretty good, but its hard to take advantage of that when you're down 4 runs; still, if Dmitri Young can even have half the year he did last year, they could be better than last, but overall they're still pretty bad

Next up...NL Central and where the St. Louis Cardinals will fall to this year...