A Breakdown Of The National League 2008 Baseball Season

What I plan to do here, so long as my power doesn't blow out which has been happening a lot in this area lately, is to go through each team in order of how I think they'll finish in their division and highlight some of their key players. Now onto the National League.......

NL East

1. New York Mets - It was very tough deciding between whether I should put the Mets or Phillies in first place, especially after what happened last season. Though I think the Phillies squad is more reliable than the Mets' batters, I have to give it to the Mets because of that unbelivable piutching rotation of Santana, Martinez (if healthy), Maine, Perez, and Hernandez. Also, Wagner is still an excellent closer. However, though I pick the Mets to go to the World Series this year against the Tigers, they have the same problem as the Tigers. That is, their roster is filled with old players who either get hurt (Alou, Beltran, Martinez) or forget how to bat by the end of the season (Delgado).

2. Philadelphia Phillies - Again, it was tough to list the Mets as first and the Phillies as second and I admit you can make an argument to flip this around. Hamels, Myers, and Moyer are OK pitchers, but don't equal up to the Mets' pitchers. The acquisition of Lidge was a bad move because he isn't a great closer anymore. However, where the Phillies shine is in their big, scary bats of Howard, Burrell, Utley, Jenkins, and Victorino.

3. Atlanta Braves - My favorite team, the Braves, are now just a team of their past. I thought they were bad last year, well, they'll be worse this year with the loss of Andruw Jones and the acquisition of Tom Glavine, who is old, terrible, and led the Mets to their final defeat of the year last year. Again, like the Phillies, the Braves pitching rotation of Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine, and James are very good in their own right, in fact they are better than the Phillies' starting pitchers, but can't equal the Mets. However, the Braves' bullpen is just atrocious and a major reason why they lose. Their batting is still very good though, highlighted by Jones, Teixeira, McCann, Francoeur, and Johnson.

4. Florida Marlins - Like deciding whether I wanted to put the Mets or Phillies at first, I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to put the Marlins or Nationals in last. The Marlins starting rotation isn't worth mentioning nor is their bullpen spectacular. However, I like their hitting better than the Nationals, with Uggla, McPherson, Hermida, and Jacobs as highlights.

5. Washington Nationals - Their starting pitching isn't memorable and their bullpen is even worse, except for Chad Cordero. They have some decent hitting (Mo Pena, Milledge, and Kearns), but nothing amazing to speak of. The Marlins and Nationals are solely meant for teams like the Mets, Phillies, and even Braves to beat up on.

NL Central (Probably the toughest division)

1. St. Louis Cardinals - Their staring pitching (Wainwright, Looper, Mulder, Reyes) are mediocore, but Isringhausen is still a reliable closer. Their hitting is very powerful in the big bats of Pujols, Duncan, Glaus, and Ankiel. I believe the Cards will be back in first this year.

2. Chicago Cubs - Zambrano, Hill, Lilly, and Marquis make for a solid rotation, though their bullpen isn't all that great. Still they have the best leadoff hitter in baseball (Soriano) and the scary bats of Ramirez and Lee.

3. Houston Astros - The addition of Tejada is lovely, but still won't save this team. Oswalt and Backe are very good starting pitchers and Villarreal and Valverde are excellent in their bullpen, but their hitting is still poor, only highlighted by Tejada and Berkman.

4. Milwaukee Brewers - Eh. Sheets and Suppan are good starters, but that's about it. Gagne and Turnbow aren't reliable in the bullpen anymore and once you pitch around Fielder all the other batters are just so-so.

5. Cincinnati Reds - This team is very unpredictable, but I predict they'll do bad. Harang is their only good starter, but Cordero can save them in the bullpen. Their hitting is either old or inconsistent, but I would still highlight Griffey Jr., Dunn, Phillips, and Encarnacion has reliable hitters.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates - This team may surprise people, but I can't see it happening. I mean, Snell and Duke are young starting pitchers just waiting to break out, but they consistently are bad. Their bullpen is a bunch of bull. However, their hitting is at least mediocre, highlighted by LaRoche, Bay, Nady, and McLouth.

NL West (Another Tough Division)

1. Los Angeles Dodgers - All the work the Dodgers have put into this team should pay off. If the Mets don't go to the World Series, this team would be my next choice to represent the National League. Penny, Lowe, and Schmidt are still excellent starters, as is Saito in their bullpen. Their hitting is an excellent mix of pesky speed (Furcal, Pierre) and very good hitting (Kent, Garciaparra, Martin, Jones). Oh, and they got one of the best managers in baseball, Joe Torre. Man, the Yankees and their fans are harsh. Do they forget what how much good Torre did for the Yankees?

2. San Diego Padres - If any team in this division is going to give the Dodgers trouble, it would be the Padres. Peavy, Maddux, and Wolf can put up a fight with the Dodgers' pitching and Hoffman is still one of the best closers in baseball. Barrett, Greene, Giles, and Edmonds are their standout hitters, but their other batters are decent as well.

3. Colorado Rockies - Was last season a fluke? It had to be. Looking at this team I don't see what the big deal is. Francis is a great starter, but that's about it. Their bullpen (Fuentes, Vizcaino, Corpas) is actually pretty good and their batters (Holliday, Atkins, Helton, Torrealba, Hawpe) I'm sure are better known now after last season. Still, we won't see a repeat performance.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks - Again, the starting pitching (Webb, Haren, Owings) is very good and can face other pitching rotations. However, I can not say the same for the Diamondbacks' bullpen or hitting, with honorable mention to Drew and Byrnes.

5. San Fransisco Giants - The Barry Bonds controversy should be the least of this team's worries. Their starters are terrible with the exception of Lowry. Their bullpen is...well there isn't one. As far as hitting, Molina, Rowand, and Winn make this team look like an MLB team.

Updated News As The 2008 Baseball Season Approaches

The long-awaited Erik Bedard trade to the Mariners reportedly may be nearing completion. The Baltimore Sun and Seattle Post-Intelligencer are reporting that Mariners outfielder Adam Jones -- the key prospect the Orioles are expected to receive for Bedard -- is in Baltimore to take a physical. The Sun, citing an unnamed source, reported Monday that the trade of Bedard from Baltimore to Seattle is pending only completion of physicals. The newspaper reported that if Jones passes his physical, a trade could be announced as soon as Monday.

Talk about old school! Juan Gonzalez is trying a comeback with the St. Louis Cardinals. After sitting out the past two seasons, the two-time AL MVP will be one of 26 non-roster players invited to St. Louis' spring training camp this month. The 38-year-old Gonzalez last played regularly in 2003 when he had 24 home runs and 70 RBIs in 324 at-bats for the Texas Rangers. He had one at-bat with Cleveland in 2005 before injuring his hamstring.

Shelley Duncan is at early spring training workouts, healthy and looking forward to the season following offseason treatment for a blood clot. Duncan will be competing for time at first base with Morgan Ensberg, Wilson Betemit, Jason Lane and Jason Giambi, who is heading into the final season of his $120 million, seven-year contract. Duncan also played both corner outfield positions last season along with first base.

Free agent first baseman Sean Casey has reached an agreement a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Boston Red Sox, ESPN's Peter Gammons reports. Friday's deal was made pending a physical. Casey will give the Red Sox an experienced backup at first to starter Kevin Youkilis.

The Detroit Tigers could have kept Curtis Granderson around for a while, retaining his talents with one-year deals until he became eligible for free agency after the 2011 season. The Tigers, though, don't just wait around to make moves these days. Granderson and baseball's busiest team agreed Monday to a $30.25 million, five-year contract that includes a club option for 2013 that could make the deal worth up to $43.25 million.

Khalil Greene's big 2007 season with the San Diego Padres resulted in the shortstop agreeing to a two-year, $11 million guaranteed contract with the team, according to a published report.

Major Transactions Happening In The MLB

In the middle of the football playoffs, people such as myself tend to forget that other sports exist. Still, major trades and acquisitions have been occurring in recent weeks in the MLB:

The St. Louis Cardinals have reached agreement on a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that will send third baseman Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus, several major league sources said.

The deal is contingent upon the two players passing physical exams Monday, sources said.

According to a source with knowledge of the trade, the Cardinals only signed off on the deal after Glaus agreed to exercise his $11.25 million option for 2009. St. Louis management didn't want to give up three years of Rolen for only one year of Glaus, so Glaus had to commit to the option year as part of the deal.

Both players were also required to waive no-trade clauses.

A source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Toronto will be responsible for the three years and $33 million left on Rolen's contract, while St. Louis will assume the $24.5 million owed Glaus through 2009. Since no cash is involved in the trade, it appears that no approval from commissioner Bud Selig's office is required.

Rolen, 32, is a career .283 hitter and seven-time Gold Glove winner with Philadelphia and St. Louis. Only Brooks Robinson, with 16 Gold Gloves, and Mike Schmidt, with 10, have won the award more often at third base.

Rolen has struggled with shoulder problems the last two seasons, and had a well-publicized falling out with manager Tony La Russa that set trade talks in motion.

Glaus, 31, has 277 career homers in 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks and Blue Jays. He hit 20 homers and drove in 62 runs in 115 games with Toronto last season before undergoing surgery in September to repair a nerve problem in his left foot.

I love this trade because I'm a big Troy Glaus fan even though he has been slacking in the numbers lately. Here's some simple math: Albert Pujols + Troy Glaus = Major Power.

Also in the MLB (and this saddens me as an Atlanta Braves Fan), the Atlanta Braves have reached a preliminary agreement to acquire center fielder Mark Kotsay from the Oakland Athletics, filling the hole created by the departure of Andruw Jones. The deal will be finalized once Kotsay passes a physical for Atlanta, where he is expected to fly to on Sunday, and assuming the commissioner's office approves the cash negotiated to be exchanged in the deal, sources say.

In return for Kotsay, the Braves are trading pitcher Joey Devine, and Oakland will assume $5.325 million of the $7.325 million owed to the center fielder for this year.

Kotsay, 32, played in 56 games in 2007 after having back surgery, hitting .214 with 15 extra-bases hits in 206 at-bats. In 2005, before Kotsay began having serious back trouble, he batted .280, with 51 extra-base hits and a .325 on-base percentage.

He has rated highly as a center fielder, and the Braves are trying to find a temporary center fielder for at least the start of the 2008 season, or until they deem top-prospect Jordan Schaefer ready to take over the position permanently. Even still, c'mon, Mark Kotsay? Is that the best the Braves can do to replace the almighty powerful Andruw Jones? Now you know this team is trying to rebuild.

Manager Tony La Russa Has A Drinking Problem?

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa pleaded guilty to driving under the influence Wednesday, eight months after police found him asleep inside his running sport utility vehicle at a stop light and smelling of alcohol. La Russa seemed sincere in his apology: "I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never occur again."

This time his punishment is more harsh. As part of his plea agreement, La Russa will serve at least six months' probation, pay a $678.50 fine, complete DUI school and any recommended treatment and complete 50 hours of community service, according to state prosecutors.

La Russa, who is 63, seems to have experience with alcohol. As mentioned already, this isn't his first arrest for drinking. La Russa went to law school in Florida and passed the bar exam, but he no longer practices. I don't believe that. Standing in the dugout he looks like a depressed, angry individual. Maybe if the Cards do better next year he'll stop drinking. Anyway, I'm glad he didnt come to New York to manage the Yankees.