January 26, 200521 yr Atlanta Braves Subtractions OF ? JD Drew OF ? Charles Thomas SP - Russ Ortiz SP - Jaret Wright SP ? Paul Byrd RP ? Jose Cruz RP ? Antonio Alfonseca Additions SP ? Tim Hudson RP ? Danny Kolb OF ? Raul Mondesi OF ? Brian Jordan RP ? Gabe White Lineup 1. Rafael Furcal (S) 2. Marcus Giles 3. Chipper Jones (S) 4. Andruw Jones 5. Johnny Estrada 6. Raul Mondesi 7. Brian Jordan 8. Adam LaRoche (L) Rotation 1. Tim Hudson 2. John Smoltz 3. Horacio Ramirez 4. Mike Hampton 5. John Thompson Bullpen CL ? Danny Kolb SU ? Chris Rietsma MR ? Tom Martin (L) MR ? Kevin Grybowski MR ? Gabe White (L) MR ? Roman Colon I think Smoltz to the rotation was a mistake and the offense isn't very scary at all. But they're the Braves.. Adam LaRoche will probably hit 64 homeruns this year. ----------------- Florida Marlins Subtractions SP ? Carl Pavano CL ? Armando Benitez MR ? Rudy Saenez MR ? David Weathers Additions 1B ? Carlos Delgado SP ? Al Leiter MR ? Antonio Alfonseca MR ? Todd Jones MR ? John Riedling Lineup 1. Juan Pierre (L) 2. Luis Castillo (S) 3. Miguel Cabrera 4. Carlos Delgado (L) 5. Mike Lowell 6. Paul Lo Duca 7. Jeff Conine 8. Alex Gonzalez Rotation 1. AJ Burnett 2. Josh Beckett 3. Al Leiter (L) 4. Dontrelle Willis (L) 5. Ismael Valdez Bullpen CL ? Guillermo Mota SU ? Tim Spooneybarger MR ? Antonio Alfonseca MR ? Todd Jones MR ? John Riedling MR ? Matt Perisho (L) Delgado was a HUGE acquisition. Bullpen is deep and has the potential to be very bad or very good. Starters have to stay healthy. ------------- New York Mets Subtractions OF ? Richard Hidalgo SP ? Al Leiter RP ? John Franco Additions OF ? Carlos Beltran SP ? Pedro Martinez 1B - Doug Mientkiewicz RP ? Felix Heredia Lineup 1. Jose Reyes (S) 2. Kaz Matsui (S) 3. Carlos Beltran (S) 4. Mike Piazza 5. Cliff Floyd (L) 6. David Wright 7. Mike Cameron 8. Doug Mientkiewicz (L) Rotation 1. Pedro Martinez 2. Tom Glavine (L) 3. Kris Benson 4. Steve Trachsel 5. Victor Zambrano Bullpen CL ? Braden Looper SU ? Mike DeJean MR ? Orber Moreno MR ? Bartolome Fortunado MR ? Felix Heredia (L) MR ? Scott Strickland Pretty well-rounded team.. Not sure about the bullpen. Basically, if they stay healthy, they should compete. Probably not done making moves either. ----------- Philadelphia Phillies Subtractions SP ? Kevin Millwood SP ? Eric Milton RP ? Felix Rodriguez RP - Todd Jones Additions SP ? Jon Lieber CF ? Kenny Lofton RP - Terry Adams Lineup 1. Jimmy Rollins (S) 2. Kenny Lofton (L) 3. Bobby Abreu (L) 4. Jim Thome (L) 5. Pat Burrell 6. Chase Utley (L) 7. Mike Lieberthal 8. David Bell Rotation 1. Randy Wolf (L) 2. Jon Lieber 3. Vincente Padilla 4. Cory Lidle 5. Brett Myers Bullpen CL ? Billy Wagner (L) SU ? Tim Worrell MR ? Ryan Madsen MR ? Rheal Cormier (L) MR ? Amaury Telemaco MR ? Terry Adams Didn't make any moves but still have a good team with a new manager. Very solid bullpen but the starting pitching is a very big question mark. No true ace on the team but also have a solid lineup. ---------------- Washington Nationals Subtractions 3B ? Tony Batista SS ? Alex Gonzalez Additions OF ? Jose Guillen 3B ? Vinny Castilla SS ? Christian Guzman SP ? Esteban Loaiza Lineup 1. Endy Chavez (L) 2. Jose Vidro (S) 3. Brad Wilkerson (L) 4. Jose Guillen 5. Nick Johnson (L) 6. Vinny Castilla 7. Christian Guzman (S) 8. Brian Schneider (L) Rotation 1. Livan Hernandez 2. Esteban Loaiza 3. Tomo Ohka 4. Tony Armas 5. Zach Day Bullpen CL ? Chad Cordero SU ? Luis Ayala MR ? Antonio Osuna MR ? Joe Horgan (L) MR ? T.J. Tucker MR ? Joey Eischen (L) I might be alone on this but I really like Washington's lineup. The rotation is a big question mark but has the potential to be solid. Very solid bullpen, IMO. ----------------------- Offseason Grades New York, A *Any time you can get Pedro and Beltran in the same offseason, it?s a good winter. Florida, A *Lost Pavano and Armando but got exactly what they needed in a LH power hitter and a decent replacement for Pavano in Leiter. Atlanta, A *Lost Drew and didn?t add great players in the offense but adding all-stars Tim Hudson and Danny Kolb was big for the pitching. Washington, B+ *They actually look like a team now. Have a dangerous lineup and, if Loaiza turns it around, could have a decent rotation. Philadelphia, D- *In a year where the division got considerably better, the Phillies did nothing. They still have a good team though. My Team Rankings Offensive Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Philly, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington Rotation Rankings: 1. Atlanta, 2. Florida, 3. New York, 4. Philadelphia, 5. Washington Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Washington, 3. Atlanta, 4. Florida, 5. New York *Very hard to rank, especially offense. I think every team, including Washington, has a good offense. Predicted Standings 1. Florida 2. Atlanta 3. New York 4. Philadelphia 5. Washington *Seriously though, I have no idea. Very tough division.. you can make a case for every team. -------------------------------- Any thoughts? I'm sure I made some mistakes with the lineups and what not, but I'd like some predictions.. only 69 days left until opening day, never to early for predictions! This is a really tough division, better than the NL Central from top to bottom, IMO. Can't wait for the season to start.
January 26, 200521 yr Nice, but Atlanta also lost Wright and Ortiz The Braves got worse offensively, worse in the bullpen, and a rotation that could be very good or could collapse with so much riding on Smoltz's transition to a dominant starter at his age, Horacio Ramirez who doesn't have overpowering stuff and was gone 2/3 - 3/4 of the season last year and John Thomson who had a career year last year. I like Philly. They have a good offense, an incredible pen and a potentially good staff. I'd predict: 1. Florida 2. Atlanta 3. Philly 4. New York 5. Washington
January 26, 200521 yr Very good post... First off, this is my first time posting on these forums and from first impression it appears to be a fantastic site. As for baseball, I'm really anxious for the season to start already, as the NL East should be the most exciting, and from top to bottom the best division in baseball. With the addition of Delgado hopefully we can bring playoff baseball back to South Florida!
January 26, 200521 yr Good post. I hope you are right, but if I was a betting man, it would be hard to bet against ATL.
January 26, 200521 yr I think people rag on the Phillies for not making a lot of moves, but the biggest move of all for them is that they will have a healthy team to start the year.
January 26, 200521 yr Author Good post, even if it is a little bias to us 668872[/snapback] Well, that's a given! :thumbup
January 26, 200521 yr Best move for the Phils: no Admin Bowa. That's worth at least 2 All Stars... :cool
January 26, 200521 yr I agreed with everything but this: My Team Rankings Offensive Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Philly, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington Rotation Rankings: 1. Atlanta, 2. Florida, 3. New York, 4. Philadelphia, 5. Washington Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Washington, 3. Atlanta, 4. Florida, 5. New York I'd have to go: My Team Rankings Offensive Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Philidelphia, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington Rotation Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Atlanta, 4. Washington, 5. Philidelphia Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Florida, 3. Atlanta, 4. New York, 5. Washington ___________________________________________________________ Offensively, you have it right. Florida has the most well-rounded batting order and probably the most likely offense to succeed. The Mets could have a fantastic order if Piazza, Floyd, and Cameron produce like we know they can, but if they don't I don't see New York having a big offensive threat outside Beltran (who might not have the season some people think IMO). Philly is the same or better offensively than they were last season with the addition of Lofton and the subtraction of Byrd/Glanville, so they're going to be pretty good with the sitcks. Atlanta is the dark horse offensively. The top five guys in that order all stick out in a positive way. Everything from 6 to 8 sticks out in a negitive way. They could be great or below average. Washington has a nice order IMO. I think Guzman will be leading off, not Chavez, but it seems very well-rounded. They just need Nick Johnson to have a pretty big year, because if that doesn't happen they'll be around the middle of the pack. Rotation wise... Florida has an awesome rotation, as usual. I think Burnett and Beckett are about to have two amazing seasons, with Burnett's finishing with a Cy Young (which sucks for us, but hey...). New York's rotation will either be pretty awesome, pretty s***ty, or pretty average. It ALL depends on health and consistency. Everyone in that rotation is a question mark. Atlanta #1? What are you thinking? Hudson is great, but after that everything is a huge question mark. That rotation has a huge potential to crash and burn and little chance to succeed IMO, unlike the Mets who I see to have a 50/50 chance for success or failure. I actually see Washington's rotation to be superior to Philly's, but it'll probably be a wash. I think they both suck. In the bullpen, Philly has the upper hand here obviously (and they'll need it with that rotation). Florida has a lot of experience in their bullpen and I think that will prove to be the key to a successful season during the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Atlanta gets third only because of Kolb, because the Mets and Nationals do not have a closer anywhere near Danny and the rest of the bullpen for all three teams pretty much suck ass. Overall, I see it like this: 1st: Florida 98-64 - Most well rounded team by far. Offense is amazing, rotation is awesome, bullpen is established. Basically I predict Florida to win this division because they have the least chance for failure. 2nd: New York 90-72 - I think the batting order is going to be somewhat of a force, the rotation won't have too many problems and the bullpen will survive long enough for them to pull out the wild card, or a couple wins near it. 3rd: Atlanta 88-74 - Atlanta is Atlanta. I think the offense is going to exceed expectations, but the rotation and bullpen will be average or a hair above average at best. Hudson and Kolb can't carry them all the way. 4th: Philidelphia 85-77 - The batting order is going to be great as usual, but the Phillies messed up big time letting Millwood and Milton walk without replacing either of them with a secure fixture. I can't see their rotation doing much at all. The bullpen will be great, though. Maybe if they can pick up a starter or two at the deadline they can improve... 5th: Washington 82-80 - I think the Nationals will be respectable this year. The batting order has a nice mixture of power, contact, and speed. The rotation will be about average and the bullpen is going to suck IMO, but I see them pulling out a winning record and earning some respect.
January 26, 200521 yr I will be the first to say that I think somehow Atlanta will pull it off. Last year we had them for dead in june and they ended up beating us by 10 games. I say Atlanta will win the division and Marlins will get the wild card. Which is just fine by me because we know what happens when the marlins are wild cards I am also not sold on the mets. Besides Beltran and maybe Piazza its not that scary of a line up. Floyd is always hurt and Cameron is a strike out machine.
January 26, 200521 yr I will be the first to say that I think somehow Atlanta will pull it off. Last year we had them for dead in june and they ended up beating us by 10 games. I say Atlanta will win the division and Marlins will get the wild card. Which is just fine by me because we know what happens when the marlins are wild cards 668953[/snapback] I just think the Braves have too little and the Marlins have too much for that to happen. I mean, last season the Braves had some tools they don't have now and the Marlins didn't have some tools they now do. I believe that is going to make a huge difference.
January 26, 200521 yr All I know is that the braves had bad start and we were in first place in the division until the end of june. All of a sudden we were 10 games back. They had lost Sheffield and Lopez and somehow won it. On paper we should win it, but that doesnt always work out. As long as we make the playoffs I dont really care if we are a division winner or a wild card.
January 26, 200521 yr As long as we make the playoffs I dont really care if we are a division winner or a wild card. 668963[/snapback] I do. That streak is ridiculous and it has to stop now.
January 26, 200521 yr well i for one enjoyed your post bud....Great READ man... GO FISH. And phillies losing two top pitchers makes them worse no matter what. Atlanta is a pain in the ASS...but this year they won't pull it off....its time to CLAIM the EAST all OURS!!!
January 26, 200521 yr Author I agreed with everything but this: My Team Rankings Offensive Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Philly, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington Rotation Rankings: 1. Atlanta, 2. Florida, 3. New York, 4. Philadelphia, 5. Washington Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Washington, 3. Atlanta, 4. Florida, 5. New York I'd have to go: My Team Rankings Offensive Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Philidelphia, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington Rotation Rankings: 1. Florida, 2. New York, 3. Atlanta, 4. Washington, 5. Philidelphia Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Florida, 3. Atlanta, 4. New York, 5. Washington ___________________________________________________________ Offensively, you have it right. Florida has the most well-rounded batting order and probably the most likely offense to succeed. The Mets could have a fantastic order if Piazza, Floyd, and Cameron produce like we know they can, but if they don't I don't see New York having a big offensive threat outside Beltran (who might not have the season some people think IMO). Philly is the same or better offensively than they were last season with the addition of Lofton and the subtraction of Byrd/Glanville, so they're going to be pretty good with the sitcks. Atlanta is the dark horse offensively. The top five guys in that order all stick out in a positive way. Everything from 6 to 8 sticks out in a negitive way. They could be great or below average. Washington has a nice order IMO. I think Guzman will be leading off, not Chavez, but it seems very well-rounded. They just need Nick Johnson to have a pretty big year, because if that doesn't happen they'll be around the middle of the pack. Rotation wise... Florida has an awesome rotation, as usual. I think Burnett and Beckett are about to have two amazing seasons, with Burnett's finishing with a Cy Young (which sucks for us, but hey...). New York's rotation will either be pretty awesome, pretty s***ty, or pretty average. It ALL depends on health and consistency. Everyone in that rotation is a question mark. Atlanta #1? What are you thinking? Hudson is great, but after that everything is a huge question mark. That rotation has a huge potential to crash and burn and little chance to succeed IMO, unlike the Mets who I see to have a 50/50 chance for success or failure. I actually see Washington's rotation to be superior to Philly's, but it'll probably be a wash. I think they both suck. In the bullpen, Philly has the upper hand here obviously (and they'll need it with that rotation). Florida has a lot of experience in their bullpen and I think that will prove to be the key to a successful season during the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Atlanta gets third only because of Kolb, because the Mets and Nationals do not have a closer anywhere near Danny and the rest of the bullpen for all three teams pretty much suck ass. Overall, I see it like this: 1st: Florida 98-64 - Most well rounded team by far. Offense is amazing, rotation is awesome, bullpen is established. Basically I predict Florida to win this division because they have the least chance for failure. 2nd: New York 90-72 - I think the batting order is going to be somewhat of a force, the rotation won't have too many problems and the bullpen will survive long enough for them to pull out the wild card, or a couple wins near it. 3rd: Atlanta 88-74 - Atlanta is Atlanta. I think the offense is going to exceed expectations, but the rotation and bullpen will be average or a hair above average at best. Hudson and Kolb can't carry them all the way. 4th: Philidelphia 85-77 - The batting order is going to be great as usual, but the Phillies messed up big time letting Millwood and Milton walk without replacing either of them with a secure fixture. I can't see their rotation doing much at all. The bullpen will be great, though. Maybe if they can pick up a starter or two at the deadline they can improve... 5th: Washington 82-80 - I think the Nationals will be respectable this year. The batting order has a nice mixture of power, contact, and speed. The rotation will be about average and the bullpen is going to suck IMO, but I see them pulling out a winning record and earning some respect. 668931[/snapback] Good stuff.. I agree with a lot of what you said just some small things I don't agree with. I wanted to put Florida as best pitching but I didn't want to be too biased. I think they are pretty much even. I think Ramirez is very good young pitcher for them and is their wildcard. BurnettSmoltz Willis=Ramirez Leiter>Hampton Valdez
January 26, 200521 yr The whole division over .500? has that EVER happened before? You guys are giving way too much credit to the Nats I think. Castilla is equal to Batista when at sea level. Guzman is at best only a slight upgrade on what they had at SS last year (Cabrera, Gonzalez, Izturis, etc). Guillen will be good, but the man he is replacing (Rivera) was already a very good hitter in the 2nd half last season. Vidro and Johnson are incredibly injury prone. Chavez simply blows offensively and with Frank the idiot in charge, he'll be sucking up 600 at-bats from the leadoff spot in all likelyhood. Armas and Day are injury prone in the rotation and Loaiza has been terrible his whole career aside from 03. Obviously I want to see them fail so I am biased, but I guarantee the Washington Nationals will not even come close to sniffing .500 when it's all said and done. The other teams in the division are too good and too deep. The Braves are still the team to fear, you just know they'll resurrect Mondesi and Jordan and find a couple of overachieving 'pen guys and will be in the race. Marlins have the talent to win the division, no question about it. Beckett and Burnett's health is the key IMO.
January 26, 200521 yr im so happy about the delgado thing. now we have the left-hitting power weve been missing since 2001. horray!
January 27, 200521 yr As long as we make the playoffs I dont really care if we are a division winner or a wild card. 668963[/snapback] I do. That streak is ridiculous and it has to stop now. 668967[/snapback] Why is the streak of winning the WC and then going on to win the WS a bad thing for us? Screw it, as long as we're World Series Champs I am happy.
January 27, 200521 yr The marlins are improved Greatly !! 2004 opening lineup ............. 2005 opening lineup 1. Pierre .......... 1. Pierre 2. Castillo ......... 2. Castillo 3. Cabrera ..... 3. Cabrera 4. Lowell ... 4. Delgado 5. Conine .... 5. Lowell 6. Choi ....... 6. Lo Duca 7. Castro ....... 7. Conine 8. Gonzalez ........ 8. Gonzalez This lineup is a whole lot better with Delago instead of choi ( huggggge upgrade) and Lo Duca instead os Castro/ Redmond ( another huge upgrade) Our bullpen is much better with the additions of Mota, Spooney, alfonseca, jones, riedling Our rotation is just as good as 04 Burnett, Leiter, Beckett, Willis, Valdez and a decent bench of Easley, Di Falice, Harris, Aguila, 1 other spring training invitee who makes the team I think our team going into 05 is beter than any other year and I definatley think we will win it all this year if everyone stays healthy. I think we have a great advatnage over the rest of the East and the rest of the National League.
January 27, 200521 yr Bullpen Rankings: 1. Philadelphia, 2. Florida, 3. Atlanta, 4. New York, 5. Washington Theres no way The muts Pen is better than Wash's, Cordero is a very solid closer and Ayala IMO is one of the best SU men in the NL. Eichen a good lefty and Osuna a guy whos played on some big teams and had some good years, former closer...
January 27, 200521 yr The key for us is getting 30+ starts each out of Beckett and AJ. If we get that, everything else should fall into place. Our offense is extremely good (easily one of the top 3 in the NL, IMO), a healthy rotation is among the top two or three in the NL, and our bullpen is extremely deep. There are some question marks with our bullpen, but we have enough good, quality arms in there that if we can get 6-7 innings out of the starters day in and day out, the bullpen should not be a problem. I can't see more than 1 or 2 of our bullpen guys having terrible years. If all those things happen, I see us winning close to 100 games. Ultimately, whether we win the division or not is irrelevant as long as we make the playoffs. This team is built for the postseason... we have two guys that can hit 97-98 MPH on the radar gun who possess nasty curves and two very strong lefties. We must be careful with D-Train and make sure that he's not overworked... he loses a lot of velocity on his fastball at the end of the year.
January 27, 200521 yr Good stuff.. I agree with a lot of what you said just some small things I don't agree with. I wanted to put Florida as best pitching but I didn't want to be too biased. I think they are pretty much even. I think Ramirez is very good young pitcher for them and is their wildcard. BurnettSmoltz Willis=Ramirez Leiter>Hampton Valdez
January 27, 200521 yr My predctions for the standings. 1. Florida- 99-63 2. Atlanta- 93-69 3. Philly- 87-75 4. Mets- 80-82 5. Nationals- 70-92 With all the offseason pickups the NL East has gone from being a mediocre divison which it was last year from being the best in the NL and with the exception of the AL East the best in baseball. My Stats predictions Pierre- 200+ hits 40+ Stolen Bases Castillo- 185+ hits 25+ stolen bases Cabrera- 190+ hits 120 RBIs and 40 HR Delgado- 185+ hits 110 RBIs and 35 HR Lowell- 190+ hits 100 RBIs and 35 HR LoDuca- 180+ hits 90 RBIs and 20 HR Conine- 185+ hits 85 RBIs and 15 HR Gonzalez- 170+ hits 85 RBIs and 25 HR
January 27, 200521 yr I didn't do pitching because Beckett and Burnett are to up and down and unless they have that break out this year like we know they can I will keep them as GOOD but not Great pitchers
January 27, 200521 yr I forgot to include my predictions for standing and records. 1. Florida 98-64 2. Atlanta 91-71 (WC) 3. New York 87-75 4. Philly 82-80 5. Nationals 72-90 NL MVP: Miguel Cabrera Playoff Teams: Florida, Chicago Cubs, SF, and Atlanta (same as 2003) NL Champ: Florida WS CHAMPS: MARLINS!!!!!
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.