MLB Preview: NL EAST (Revised)

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

ATLANTA BRAVES

LINEUP

1. Kelly Johnson | 2B | .287 | 12 HR | 69 RBI

2. Yunel Escobar | SS | .288 | 10 HR | 60 RBI

3. Chipper Jones | 3B | .364 | 22 HR | 75 RBI

4. Brian McCann | C | .301 | 23 HR | 87 RBI

5. Casey Kotchman | 1B | .272 | 14 HR | 74 RBI

6. Garret Anderson | LF | .293 | 15 HR | 84 RBI

7. Jeff Francoeur | RF | .239 | 11 HR | 71 RBI

8. Jordan Schafer | CF |

9. PITCHER

PITCHING STAFF

1. Derek Lowe | 14-11 | 3.24 ERA | 147 K | 1.13 WHIP

2. Jair Jurrjens | 13-10 | 3.68 ERA | 139 K | 1.37 WHIP

3. Javier Vazquez | 12-16 | 4.67 ERA | 200 K | 1.32 WHIP

4. Kenshin Kawakami |

5. Tom Glavine | 2-4 | 5.54 ERA | 37 K | 1.64 WHIP

CL Mike Gonzalez | 14 SV | 4.28 ERA | 44 K | 1.19 WHIP

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Matt Diaz | .244 | 2 HR | 14 RBI

Omar Infante | .293 | 3 HR | 40 RBI

I like what the Braves have done this offseason. They are going back to their successful ways in having quality pitching. Their lineup is balanced; however, they lack a dependable, power hitter.

If Chipper can stay healthy for the majority of the year, I would expect the 2009 Atlanta Braves to be competitive.

OVERALL GRADE: B-

FLORIDA MARLINS

LINEUP

1. Cameron Maybin | CF | .500 | 0 HR | 2 RBI

2. John Baker | C | .299 | 5 HR | 32 RBI

3. Hanley Ramirez | SS | .301| 33 HR | 67 RBI

4. Jorge Cantu | 1B | .277 | 29 HR | 95 RBI

5. Jeremy Hermida | LF | .249 | 17 HR | 61 RBI

6. Dan Uggla | 2B | .260 | 32 HR | 92 RBI

7. Cody Ross | RF | .260 | 22 HR | 73 RBI

8. Emilio Bonifacio | 3B | .243 | 0 HR | 14 RBI

9. PITCHER

PITCHING STAFF

1. Ricky Nolasco | 15-8 | 3.52 ERA | 186 K | 1.10 WHIP

2. Josh Johnson | 7-1 | 3.61 ERA | 77 K | 1.35 WHIP

3. Chris Volstad | 6-4 | 2.88 ERA | 52 K | 1.33 WHIP

4. Anibal Sanchez | 2-5 | 5.57 ERA | 50 K | 1.57 WHIP

5. Andrew Miller | 6-10 | 5.87 ERA | 89 K | 1.64 WHIP

CL Matt Lindstrom | 14 H | 3.14 ERA | 43 K | 1.45 WHIP

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Wes Helms | .243 | 5 HR | 31 RBI

Alfredo Amezega | .264 | 3 HR | 32 RBI

Another young squad from the Florida Marlins. The only thing that differentiates the Marlins from other young teams is the productive stats they receive from their young guns.

I will be excited to see this young team throughout the season; I expect they will play a big role as a spoiler.

OVERALL GRADE: C

NEW YORK METS

LINEUP

1. Jose Reyes | SS | .297 | 16 HR | 68 RBI

2. Daniel Murphy | LF | .313 | 2 HR | 17 RBI

3. Carlos Beltran | CF | .284 | 27 HR | 112 RBI

4. David Wright | 3B | .302 | 33 HR | 124 RBI

5. Carlos Delgado | 1B | .271 | 38 HR | 115 RBI

6. Gary Sheffield | RF | .225 | 19 HR | 57 RBI

7. Luis Castillo | 2B | .245 | 3 HR | 28 RBI

8. Brian Schneider | C | .257 | 9 HR | 38 RBI

9. PITCHER

PITCHING STAFF

1. Johan Santan | 16-7 | 2.53 ERA | 206 K | 1.15 WHIP

2. Mike Pelfrey | 13-11 | 3.72 ERA | 110 K | 1.36 WHIP

3. Oliver Perez | 10-7 | 4.22 ERA | 180 K | 1.40 WHIP

4. John Maine | 10-8 | 4.18 ERA | 122 K | 1.35 WHIP

5. Livan Hernandez | 13-11 | 6.05 ERA | 67 K | 1.67 WHIP

CL Francisco Rodriguez | 62 SV | 2.24 ERA | 77 K | 1.29 WHIP

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Fernando Tatis | .297 | 11 HR | 47 RBI

Ryan Church | RF | .276 | 12 HR | 49 RBI

I know that Gary Sheffield shouldn’t make that much a difference, but I only had the Phillies winning the division by two games.

The Mets have been the fan favorite to win the NL East for the past two seasons now, and in both seasons, they blew their chances of making the playoffs. One of the problems with last year's club was the bullpen.

With the offseason additions of K-Rod and J.J. Putz, the Mets have bolstered up the bullpen.

Now, with the addition of Sheffield, they have a little bit more depth considering Ryan Church will be a bat on the bench and a guy that with play for Sheff when Manuel decides to give him a day off.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

LINEUP

1. Shane Victorino | CF | .293 | 14 HR | 58 RBI

2. Jimmy Rollins | SS | .277 | 11 HR | 59 RBI

3. Chase Utley | 2B | .292 | 33 HR | 104 RBI

4. Ryan Howard | 1B | .251 | 48 HR | 146 RBI

5. Jayson Werth | RF | .273 | 24 HR | 67 RBI

6. Raul Ibanez | LF | .293 | 23 HR | 110 RBI

7. Pedro Feliz | 3B | .249 | 14 HR | 58 RBI

8. Carlos Ruiz | C | .219 | 4 HR | 31 RBI

9. PITCHER

PITCHING STAFF

1. Cole Hamels | 14-10 | 3.09 ERA | 196 K | 1.08 WHIP

2. Brett Myers | 10-13 | 4.55 ERA | 163 K | 1.38 WHIP

3. Joe Blanton | 9-12 | 4.69 ERA | 111 K | 1.40 WHIP

4. Jamie Moyer | 16-7 | 3.71 ERA | 123 K | 1.33 WHIP

5. Chan Ho Park | 4-4 | 3.40 ERA | 79 K | 1.40 WHIP

CL Brad Lidge | 41 SV | 1.95 ERA | 92 K | 1.23 WHIP

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Eric Bruntlett | .217 | 2 HR | 15 RBI

Matt Stairs | .252 | 13 HR | 49 RBI

The 2008 World Series Champion Phillies bring back the bulk of their championship team.

There are a lot of things I like about the Phils. The lineup is very good considering Citizens Bank Park, and the depth is pretty good and has a chance to get better if they decide to add Sheffield.

The one thing that worked for the Phillies last year was the pitching. Somehow, someway, a Phillies pitcher stepped up down the stretch. When you look at the rotation, it is not good; you have a quality ace and then four mediocre pitchers behind him.

If Moyer pitches as well as he did last season and if Myers and Blanton pitch to their capabilities, the Phils should be fine in 2009.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

LINEUP

1. Lastings Milledge | CF | .268 | 14 HR | 61 RBI

2. Christian Guzman | SS | .316 | 9 HR | 55 RBI

3. Nick Johnson | 1B | .220 | 5 HR | 20 RBI

4. Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | .283 | 14 HR | 51 RBI

5. Adam Dunn | LF | .236 | 40 HR | 100 RBI

6. Elijah Dukes | RF | .264 | 13 HR | 44 RBI

7. Anderson Hernandez | 2B | .333 | 0 HR | 17 RBI

8. Jesus Flores | C | .256 | 8 HR | 59 RBI

9. PITCHER

PITCHING STAFF

1. John Lannan | 9-15 | 3.91 ERA | 117 K | 1.34 WHIP

2. Scott Olsen | 8-11 | 4.20 ERA | 113 K | 1.31 WHIP

3. Daniel Cabrera | 8-10 | 5.25 ERA | 95 K | 1.61 WHIP

4. Jordan Zimmerman |

5. Shairon Martis | 1-3 | 5.66 ERA | 23 K | 1.45 WHIP

CL Joel Hanrahan | 9 SV | 3.95 ERA | 93 K | 1.36 WHIP

KEY BENCH PLAYERS

Ronnie Belliard | .287 | 11 HR | 46 RBI

Josh Willingham | .254 | 15 HR | 51 RBI

Austin Kearns | .217 | 7 HR | 32 RBI

Well, there is not much to say about the Nats other than to say that they have young, undeveloped players on their roster. The good thing about the Nationals is they have a lot of young depth that can be intermingled into the lineup on any given day.

They have a young, inexperienced pitching staff and an average at best bullpen. Most likely, Nick Johnson will be exiting Washington before the deadline, which will make room for the outfielders to play (Dunn would move to first permanently).

Nonetheless, pitching has always been an important key for success and the Nats just don't have it.

OVERALL GRADE: D+

The NL East is going to come down to another crazy two weeks between the Mets and Phils. I think the Mets actually have what it takes to get it done this season.

1. New York Mets (95-67)

2. Philadelphis Phillies (91-71)

3. Atlanta Braves (84-78)

4. Florida Marlins (75-87)

5. Washington Nationals (64-98)