2009 National League Predictions

The best season of the year is almost here…Baseball Season. That means it is time for my annual division standings predictions. Below are my National League predictions. Click here for my American league predictions.

East

1^st – Philadelphia Phillies – Someone is going to have to prove they can knock down the defending champs before I can remove them from the perch of their own division.

2^nd – NY Mets – Will trail Philly most of the season, so at least the fans won’t have to deal with another late season collapse.

3^rd – Atlanta Braves – Did enough in the offseason to overtake Florida, but not enough to make it to the playoffs.

4^th – Florida Marlins – This division could have 4 teams above .500 if Florida can duplicate last year’s overachieving.

5^th – Washington Nationals – You have to wonder if they will always be bad.

Central (* note – As a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan I can’t look at them objectively, so I didn’t include them in the rankings)

1^st – Chicago Cubs – Can the two-in-a-row Central Division champs make it a three-peat? We’ll see what the Cardinals have to say about it, but I don’t see any other team challenging them.

2^nd – Houston Astros – Claim this spot by default. (see Milwaukee)

3^rd – Milwaukee Brewers – No chance is staying competitive without CC Sabathia.

4^th – Cincinnati Reds – Seems like they just barely beat out Pittsburgh for the battle of the bottom spot in this division every year.

5^th – Pittsburgh Pirates – Haven’t finish above .500 since Barry Bonds left for the Bay after the 1992 season.

West

1^st – LA Dodgers – Having Manny Ramirez for a full season could help a team from this division actually win more than 90 games. Or, it could blow up in LA’s face and Manny could be Manny after the All-Star break and completely tank their season.

2^nd – Arizona D’Backs – Could have all of the young talent pull a Tampa Bay from last year, but I don’t see young lightning striking twice in back-to-back seasons.

3^rd – San Francisco Giants – Did a few good things in the offseason, but was it even enough to break .500?

4^th – Colorado Rockies – Losing Matt Holiday will hurt this team more than they know.

5^th – San Diego Padres – Only Seattle and Washington lost more games last year than San Diego. I don’t see them making a drastic turn-around this year.