National League East
With no team finishing with a record below .500 last season, the NL East was baseball’s most balanced division. The Atlanta Braves captured the NL East for the fourteenth straight time in ’05. Look for the New York Mets to prevent the Braves from winning their fifteenth straight in ’06. The acquisitions of Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner are huge upgrades at first base and closer. Even if Delgado and Wagner struggle in their first seasons in New York they will be better than the .240/29RBI Doug Mientkiewicz produced and the 28 saves/3.94 ERA of Branden Looper. A deep pitching staff anchored by Pedro Martinez should keep the Mets in a bunch of low scoring games. If David Wright and Jose Reyes continue to improve and Carlos Beltran betters his weak .266/16HR/78RBI 2005 season, the Mets arguably have one of the best lineups in all of baseball.
The Philadelphia Phillies also have a legitimate shot at stealing the NL East. Look for Bobby Abreu, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, rookie sensation Ryan Howard, and newcomer Aaron Rowand (.905 OPS- highest among CF last season) to win a lot of high scoring games. Although the Phillies have a good shot at the division title, I don’t think their pitching staff is deep enough to propel them to the top.
Lastly, betting against the Atlanta Braves is never a good idea being that they have a chance to win a fifteenth straight division title. Their pitching staff is headlined by Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, and Mike Hampton. The core of their lineup consists of Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Marcus Giles and Edgar Renteria. The Braves largest problem is their weak bullpen and the loss of famed pitching coach Leo Mazzone.
Winner: New York Mets
Wild Card Contenders: Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves
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