2007 MLB Preview Part 3
National League East:
Philadelphia: There will be no shortage of runs put up and that little bandbox in South Philly this year. Indeed, the Phillies have perhaps the most potent everyday lineup in the League. They have speed with SS Jimmy Rollins at the top, a steady on base/power threat in 2B Chase Utley, and devastating power with 1B Ryan Howard. The fearless Aaron Rowand returns in center and veteran Rod Barajas came in via free agency to provide a steady hand behind the plate. Scoring won’t be any trouble, but they will need a more productive year from LF Pat Burrell if they want to make a serious run. Last year’s Achilles Heel was pitching. Young lefty Cole Hamels will combine with the ageless Jamie Moyer from the left side. The nameless “alleged wife beater” will be joined by newcomers Adam Eaton, and the very reliable Freddy Garcia, who was part of a Championship program with the White Sox. Tom Gordon (who remains beloved in Boston for his successes and for his failures as a Yankee in the ’04 ALCS) returns to the closer’s role. If the pitching holds up, Charlie Manuel’s crew ought to looking for big things come October.

New York Mets: The Mets 3-4-5 guys (Beltran, Delgado and Wright) are the centerpiece of a very good offense that ought to keep them in contention all year. In the corner outfield spots, they will feature the aging Moises Alou and the rapidly declining Shawn Green, so look for hits down the line to go for extra bases. The Mets’ problem is aging/injured starters. Pedro will be out until the All-Star break, having sustained the arm injuries that Red Sox management feared were inevitable following 2004. Tom Glavine, also well past his glory days, will be counted on as the #1 guy in the rotation. He’ll be followed by the likes of Chan Ho Park, John Maine, El Duque and the less-than dependable Oliver Perez. This isn’t exactly the sort of pitching staff that can contend over the course of the season. However, there’s just too much offensive talent here for the team to flounder. Their best hope is to hang around long enough until Pedro returns and hope they can catch lightning in a bottle. Otherwise, it’s going to be a tough year in Queens.

Atlanta: Last year marked a sudden interruption in the Braves’ historic run of Division titles. GM John Schuerholz spent the winter retooling and reloading, and his team appears to be on the right track to rebound. Chipper and Andruw may not be the phenoms they once were, but they’re not quite ready to punch their tickets just yet. They are surrounded by tremendous young talent. RF Jeff Francoeur is a rare talent, and he’s joined by 2B Kelly Johnson, C Brian McCann and 1B Scott Thorman as promising youngsters in the everyday lineup.

Amazin’ John Smoltz anchors the rotation, and together with Tim Hudson, they’ll provide a nice 1-2 punch. After those guys, though, it’s pretty much a roll of the dice. Chuck James and Kyle Davies need to contribute some serious innings if they have a prayer of contending. They made a nice move picking up Mike Gonzalez to solidify the bullpen. Bottom line, if things break right, maybe the Braves can reach second; most likely, they’ll finish third and be a team on the rise for next year.

Florida: The Marlins had a great season (78 wins) last year under first-year skipper Joe Girardi and struck gold with Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez (acquired from Boston in the Josh Beckett deal). Also, 2B Dan Uggla (a Rule V Pick), hit 27 homers, Josh Willingham finally blossomed with 26 homers and the everyday lineup is filled with promising young players. All-Star 3B Miguel Cabrera had another big year with the bat.

On the mound, LHP Dontrelle Willis only recorded 12 wins, tied for the team lead along with youngsters Josh Johnson and left Scott Olsen.

Girardi began feuding with the team owner (the despicable creep who sold out the great baseball fans in Montréal), so he was fired after one successful year. Look for Joe G. to return to the Yankees in some capacity, as he will be groomed to be Torre’s replacement.
Josh Johnson will be out indefinitely with elbow woes, so that will be a big blow to the rotation. The bullpen is also in a state of flux with last year’s closer (Joe Borowski) having left and unknowns and promising kids. Last year, this group of relative unknowns took the baseball world by storm. This year, the other clubs will be waiting. Fourth place seems to be about right this year.

Washington: “First in war, first in peace, and last in the (National) League.” So goes the Senators’ old war cry from 1901-71. The centuries change, yet the tune remains the same. The blush is off the cherry blossoms as the Nats begin their third post-Expos’ season. There isn’t a great deal worth noting in DC in 2007. Alfonso Soriano, their only legitimate power threat, is gone. They have decent talent in 3B Ryan Zimmerman and 2B Felipe Lopez, but everything after those two is a mystery. C Brian Schneider is in decline at 30, LF Ryan Church is looking to rebound from a bad year, 1B Nick Johnson will be out most of the year with a broken leg, and RF Austin Kearns, well, one never knows whether he’ll hit 30 homers or 10. Filling in the blanks this year will be Detroit castoffs Nook Logan and Dmitri Young, combined with the dreadful Cristian Guzman at short.

About the only good move the Nats made was the addition-by-subtraction trade/swindle of geriatric Jose Vidro to Seattle for OF Chris Snelling and RHP Emiliano Fruto. If Bowden keeps making small steals such as this, the Nats may be competitive by the time they move into their new ballpark.

On the mound, the picture is not any rosier. The starting five consists of oft-injured John Patterson (1-2, 4.43), Shawn Hill (1-3, 4.66), retread Jerome Williams (0-2, 4.63), Tim Redding (0-6, 3.87), and Billy Traber (4-3, 6.44). That’s a combined 6-16 record for 2006. Seriously, baseball fans, would you plunk down major league money to watch minor league journeyman talent? They do possess one of the League’s more dominant closers in Chad Cordero, but with the lack of appreciable pitching, how many save opportunities can he expect? It will be a long season of cellar dwelling down in Old DC.