The More Fool You (2016 National League Preview)

I realize that I've been absurdly slacking from a blogger's standpoint over the past few weeks, since Spring Training is going on and there's all sorts of posturing and pontificating about the upcoming season, but there hasn't really been a ton of substantial things to talk about. I could give a whole dissertation about the Mets and how they break out at each position, but I have a tendency to ignore numbers and go with what I see, and basically I haven't seen that much. I've watched a sparse few innings of a few games from Florida and otherwise, all I have to go on is what I read about on the internet. That's not saying much.

But what I have noticed is that there's more than a few teams that have sort of been anointed as "The Darlings" of MLB, and this is nothing new, it happens every season, but perhaps I'm just noticing it more because now, after this run they had last season, the Mets are actually among them. Nobody's sleeping on the Mets this season, or at least they're not sleeping on them like they did last season, so as the pundits like to point out, it's going to be a more difficult road to get back to where they were. This is a bit of a fallacy. Getting to the World Series is hard whether you're a favorite or not and while the Mets ought to be able to hold serve, other teams have gotten better so it's the same challenge, just with a different cast of characters. So, with that in mind, here's my 50-cent offering of the National League, replete with approximated records and bells and whistles. Read at your own risk.

(For the record, last season, I picked the Mets to win the Wildcard at 89-73, take out the Padres in the Wildcard game, and beat the Nationals in the NLDS before losing to the Cardinals in the NLCS.)

NL EAST
1) New York Mets (94-68)
It's easy to look at the Mets of 2015 and see a team that probably overachieved and made it to where they did probably before they were supposed to. You could also look at them and wonder how they did it all seeing as how for half the season they struggled to plate 3 runs a game. But once they added Yoenis Cespedes to the mix and got Travis d'Arnaud healthy, and Michael Conforto going, the offense clicked and this is again going to be that recipe. But more than anything, this is an offense that has a healthy amount of depth, much moreso than in prior years, so that if anyone does go down for a period of time, someone can easily slide in to replace them and the team likely won't lose a beat. But that's not the reason everyone is all in on the Mets. It comes down to the pitching. These pitchers that the Mets have had already done enough to raise some eyebrows before the 2015 season even started and when it came to crunch time, the ensemble of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz would not be moved. They weren't perfect, but for young guys pitching in big spots for the first time, they all held their own. These guys were billed as Aces and they pitched like Aces. What makes this even more tantalizing is the realization that none of these guys have peaked yet. They can all get better. If they're on the rise and still managed to kick some of the top teams in the league in the teeth, well...watch out.

2) Washington Nationals (88-74)
The Unstoppable Force that was the 2015 Washington Nationals ended up imploding on itself in laughable fashion, as they played like a team of overconfident schmucks, and by the time they were caught and then passed by a hard-charging Mets team, they had no recourse to recover and instead they just turned on each other, culminating in Jonathan Papelbon choking Bryce Harper in the dugout. Fortunately, most of the team is returning, so everyone's up their butt again in with the thought that they can't underachieve twice, can they? Or can they? I think they can. Their lone big acquisition was Daniel Murphy for fuck's sake! I know the thought process behind that was something like this: "Heh heh...we'll show those Mets! We're gonna steal away their Postseason hero!" I'd love to see the look on everyone's face come September when Daniel Murphy's hitting .268 with 12 Home Runs and just spent the entire month of August grounding out to 2nd Base and getting thrown out at 3rd with 2 outs and Harper on deck.

3) Philadelphia Phillies (78-84)
I know that the Phillies are still sort of in this rebuilding and retooling process but I just have a feeling that they might be better than they look on paper. I watched both Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff pitch against the Mets late in the season and I wouldn't sleep on them—they're good young pitchers. In fact, their pitching staff at large is pretty good, but they still have Ryan Howard's carcass clogging up the middle of their lineup and they don't have much offense to speak of.

4) Mickey Mouse Marlins (71-91)
Once again, it's Spring Training and I'm hearing too many people saying things like "OOH, THE MARLINS LOOK GOOOD!" My guess is that they're simply mollified by the allure of the Celebrity Manager and the Celebrity Batting Coach to pay too much attention to the fact that this is still the same crappy team that's going to get off to an 8-22 start and spend the rest of the season annoying everyone by continuing to exist.

5) Atlanta Braves (67-95)
The Barves are following the recent trend of "Total Rebuilding" made popular by the Astros. Basically every serviceable player they had on their roster was dealt away for prospect, the most recent being the departure of Andrelton Simmons, who's now in the AL West and out of our hair so we don't have to hear about how great he is anymore. Though the lineup isn't totally desolate—Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis are still in the middle of things, and they'll probably win their fair share of idiot games over the Mets this season—I wouldn't expect too much in the way of meaningful noise from this bunch. So not only is it the last season of Turner Field, but the team's gonna stink!

NL CENTRAL
1) Chicago Cubs (119-43)
I mean, hey, why fight it, right? If you believe everything you've read, not only did the Cubs win the World Series last season, they went out and signed every Free Agent, so now they're a mortal lock to win it this year too. Magic Joe Maddon has everyone breathing through their eyelids. Jake Arrieta is going to pitch 6 No Hitters, Baseball Jesus is going to hit 75 Home Runs, Rizzo is going to bat .420 and everyone's going to be doing back flips around the bases at Wrigley Field. If you thought Cubs fans were obnoxious already, well, just you wait because they're going to be absolutely insufferable now.

2) St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)
I'm not even sure that the Cardinals are that good this season, but I guess I feel impelled to just pencil them in for 90 wins and a Wildcard just on general principle at this point. It'd be nice if this were the season that everyone got fed up and put them in their place, though, or at least just exposed Genius Mike Matheny as the hack he really is.

3) Pittsburgh Pirates (88-74)
The Pirates right now simply have the poor fortune of being an exceptionally good team stuck in a division with two of Baseball's Darlings right now, and what this unfortunately means is that they may end up on the outside of a numbers game when it comes to a Playoff spot because they're going to end up in a race where it's basically everyone beating each other up. Where it ends up being most important is, of course, in starting pitching and that's where the Pirates are a bit short, because where the Cubs have their guys, and the Cardinals have their guys, the Pirates have Gerrit Cole, and Francisco Liriano and...Jon Niese.

4) Milwaukee Brewers (81-81)
When I do these capsules, there's always one team that I pick to finish 81-81 which means I have absolutely no feel for them whatsoever. And this year, the Brewers are that team. They're not good enough to hang with the big boys in this division, they're not bad enough to clog up the cellar, they're just...The Brewers. They've got Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy who are perfectly good players, and this fellow Keon Broxton looks interesting, but who's pitching here? Their deGrom-like prospect Josh Hader is still a year away which leaves them with a lot of boring dreck at the Major League level. 

5) Cincinnati Reds (73-89)
The upshot for the Reds this season is that they won't spend the entire second half of the season using an all-Rookie starting rotation...because none of them are Rookies anymore. 

NL WEST
1) San Francisco Giants (91-71)
I know the Giants are kind of the chic pick to win it all, or at least they are behind the Cubs, since it's an even year and that's when the Giants strike. It continues to be the regular cast of characters for the Giants for the most part: Buster Posey is still there, and Hunter Pence and his coif, and Madison Bumgarner, and they poached Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija for the middle of their rotation, so they look pretty solid, and then just tack that even-year thing on and, well, all they have to do is figure out a way to get to the Playoffs and then take it from there, right? What could go wrong!?

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (89-73)
The Dodgers are a chic pick too, not for any other reason than they're the Dodgers and when your payroll is pushing $300 million people expect you to play like it. But the Dodgers kind of have the same problems that they had last season, which is that after Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, they're lacking in pitching and now they don't even have Greinke to fall back on. They're putting an awful lot in the basket that is Scott Kazmir and also in the unknown quantity that is Kenta Maeda. Offensively, they're returning basically everyone, which is fine but they're all a year older, although Üœberprospect Corey Seager will take over at Shortstop and is certain to light Baseball on fire.

3) Arizona Diamondbacks (88-74)
I know the Diamondbacks are "kinda going for it" this season, because they made the biggest prestige moves during the offseason, signing Zack Greinke and going balls-in to get Shelby Miller from Atlanta,  but in reality they're in the same boat as the Pirates. They're a team with a healthy amount of talent but none of the razzle-dazzle of the division's Big Boys, and so when push comes to shove, they may well be the ones pushed off the floor.

4) San Diego Padres (82-80)
There's teams that are middling and there's teams that are boring, and I think the Padres are a little bit of both. They made all sorts of posturing moves last season to bolster their lineup and their pitching staff and nothing really worked. So...let's bring back mostly the same group!

5) Colorado Rockies (75-87)
But those guys got BEARDS!

AWARDS
NL MVP: Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
NL Cy Young: Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks
NL Rookie of the Year: Steven Matz, Mets

PLAYOFFS:
NL Wildcard Game: Cardinals over Dodgers
NLDS: Cubs over Cardinals; Mets over Giants
NLCS: Mets over Cubs

Ha! You thought I was buying into a letdown? Fallen victim to the Cubs Mojo? One thing the Mets have going for them is the sort of starting pitching that will grab you by the neck and not let go. Don't be misled by what went down in the World Series last season; we haven't seen the best of this group yet. Yet. Let the Cubs draw all the ink they want during the regular season, let people fawn over them and cream in their pants like ESPN does on a daily basis. They got stoned last season and in a short series like that they can easily get stoned again.

On A Better Track (2015 National League Preview)

Generally, I do annual season preview capsules that for all intents and purposes are pulled directly out of my ass. It's a good avenue to make some fairly outlandish predictions that don't come anywhere close to being correct. But last year, at least when I wrote out a National League preview, I was actually somewhat on the right track. In addition to correctly predicting all 5 National League playoff teams, I nailed the Mets record right on the nose at 79-83. Of course, in the Playoffs everything went haywire, but that's OK. I still picked a Giants/Pirates Wildcard game, and the Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers as division champions. The American League, forget about it. I picked the Rays to win the pennant, although to my credit, I did astutely pick the Royals to make the playoffs as a Wildcard team (and then lose to Boston).

So, let's see if the mojo I had last year carries over. As always, the records are a general approximation within 5 or so wins to the good or bad.

NL EAST
1) Washington Nationals (97-65)
I already went into how Washington is going into this season basically having been anointed as the Team to Beat in just about all of Baseball. And why shouldn't they be? Loaded from top to bottom, they added Max Scherzer to a rotation that now boasts 5 pitchers that could easily be #1 starters on other teams. Bryce Harper has another year under his belt. Anthony Rendon has emerged to fill the void left by an aging Ryan Zimmerman and other such names like Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos are still around to wreak havoc on other teams, particularly the Mets if history holds to form. Of course, they're such an overwhelming favorite that you have to wonder if maybe it'll go to their heads a little bit. Either way, I hope they lose and look like schmucks in the process.

2) New York Mets (89-73)
We talk plenty around here about the Mets already so there's not too much that hasn't been said, but I've been all in on this Mets team all Winter. After 6 seasons in the wilderness, the Mets finally have a team that's worth getting excited about. Losing Zack Wheeler for the season might take a little bit of the starch out of the collar, but for all intents and purposes the young and still learning Wheeler is being replaced by Matt Harvey, who looks every bit like he's going to pistol-whip opponents like he did in 2013. The presence of Harvey alone ought to shove the Mets over .500. Add to that the fact that Jacob deGrom looks like he's picked up right where he left off, and all these other good pitchers are hanging around, and you have a staff that could easily compete with Washington. Offensively, they still appear challenged except that they've been beating the tar out of everyone in Spring Training. Michael Cuddyer's looked good, David Wright seems healthy, Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares appear ready to build on strong 2014 seasons, and I'm still on the Wilmer Flores bandwagon. This is a good team as composed right now. Just, nobody wants to give the Mets that kind of credit yet. So people are still thumbing their noses at the Mets, but just wait. Vindication is on its way.

3) Mickey Mouse Marlins (84-78)
This is another one of those seasons where the Marlins spent some money and bought some talent in the offseason, but are any of us really fooled? Look at these names. Dee Gordon. Dan Haren. Ichiro Suzuki. Mat Latos. Michael Morse. Good players, but not the kind of guys that are going to lift the team to new heights. More like players brought in to placate their $325 million dollar man Giancarlo Stanton. Until the Marlins are at .500 in late July and they decide to cut bait on everyone and start from scratch again. You know it's coming.

4) Atlanta Barves (77-85)
So glad these guys are over. After once again proving me right by completely shitting the bed down the stretch last season, the Braves decided a bit of a rebuild was necessary and jettisoned guys like Jason Heyward, who never lived up to his lofty billing, Justin Upton, and Evan Gattis, who continues to trade high based on one month where he hit 9 HRs two years ago. The result is a mostly new look lineup that features a lot of old (Jonny Gomes, Nick Markakis), a lot of the same (Freddie Freeman) and some same that have changed their names in order to confuse people (Melvin Upton, Jr). Of course, since God's Gift to Shortstops Andrelton Simmons and the "unhittable" Craig Kimbrel are still around, maybe some pundits are still tricked into thinking the Braves will be good, but they won't. Don't worry.

5) Philadelphia Phillies (70-92)
Clearly now in their twilight, the Phillies still for whatever reason have hung on to their glory guys Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee when they're not going to perform up to their prior levels and even if they did, they wouldn't help a team that's not going to amount to much. The team is now choking on the back end of their contracts and with a mostly barren farm system, help doesn't seem to be on the way any time soon. Too bad.

NL CENTRAL
1) St. Louis Cardinals (93-79)
A recycled comment: Why fight it? But these clowns are so damn full of themselves that Mike Matheny, after two years managing the team, was salty enough to pen a love letter to himself under the title "The Matheny Manifesto," as though he's been a Baseball sage for 30+ years. A testament to the arrogance of this team, and yet they always seem to back it up.

2) Pittsburgh Pirates (87-75)
It may be a slight regression year for the Pirates but I wouldn't expect them to fall off the cliff by any stretch. This is still a team to be reckoned with; their Outfield of Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte may be the best in Baseball and they can still through some good quality pitching at you on any given night. Still, some holes in the back end of their lineup and an unsettled bullpen may be the difference between a Wildcard and going home this year.

3) Chicago Cubs (82-80)
The offseason's busiest bees, that's for certain, the Cubs have raised plenty of eyebrows with the myriad deals they struck, most notably to poach Manager Joe Maddon from the Rays and the signing of ballyhooed Free Agent pitcher Jon Lester to go along with their galaxy of top prospects in Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and them other guys. Except that they're getting cute and trying to Super-2 Bryant and Russell and so they'll begin the year in the Minors. Still, the Cubs have been getting an awful lot of ink this Spring, particularly for a team that's fared about as well as the Mets in recent years and has a Championship drought that's now well over a century. Still, it seems as though the Cubs fan knows no such thing as hubris, and this will probably lead to their downfall and another forgettable season.

4) Milwaukee Brewers (80-82)
The Brewers could well be one of those surprise teams that everyone sleeps on because, well, they're kind of a sleepy group. Their entire roster, once you look past their stars, Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez, is pretty sleepy. I mean, the carcass that's Aramis Ramirez is still trolling 3rd Base, Kyle Lohse is pitching for them and they have a 2nd baseman named Scooter. Yes, I know that Scooter Gennett is actually a decent player, but can you take a team seriously when their starting 2nd Baseman is literally named "Scooter?"

5) Cincinnati Reds (78-84)
The Reds, kind of like the Brewers, are a Baseball team with some modicum of talent that's stuck in a crowded NL Central where there aren't any particularly bad teams, but outside of the Cardinals nobody that's especially good. So it's difficult to pick an order among them but someone has to finish last, and I'm going to go with the Reds, because they've steadily regressed over the past few seasons after making the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round multiple times, because they haven't really gotten any better, and because their two best players, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, can't stay healthy.

NL WEST
1) Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68)
This incarnation of the Dodgers is one more Postseason failure away from officially becoming overrated. I mean, sure. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher on the planet, but when that calendar flips and he sees that Cardinal red, he suddenly becomes very ordinary. Meanwhile, they still have a galaxy's worth of stars around him, from mercurial Yasiel Puig, to irritable Adrian Gonzalez, to Ãœberprospect Joc Pederson, and that should be more than enough to carry them through to another division title. But can they make their opportunity count this time?

2) San Diego Padres (88-74)
The Padres are a good example of remaking the entire identity of a team on the fly. After basically looking kind of stuck in the mud for the better part of a few seasons, all of a sudden they have this flashy young GM in A.J. Preller who swoops in and turns around the entire team. Gone are Padre mainstays like Franch Headley and Yasmani Grandal. In are some big names like Matt Kemp, James Shields, Wil Myers, Justin Upton and Will Middlebrooks. That right there is half of a lineup of new blood, and good new blood at that to support some of the guys still around like Yonder Alonso and Jedd Gyorko. This should be enough to put the Padres in position to strike as a contending team.

3) San Francisco Giants (85-77)
Since it's an odd year, the Giants figure to regress off their 3rd World Series Championship in 5 seasons. Much of their Championship nucleus is still in place, among them Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey, but Pablo Sandoval is gone to Boston and Hunter Pence will miss a chunk of time with an injury. The Giants have won their championships based on a team that's greater as a whole than as the sum of their parts. But when too many of their parts go missing, it creates a hole that even Madison Bumgarner can't fix.

4) Colorado Rockies (77-85)
Once again the Colorados are a team stuck in neutral. They still have Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez on their roster in spite of these two players leading the league in being injured and being rumored to be traded, they still have 13 other guys named Charlie, they have aging Justin Morneau, and from what I'm able to discern, they are about to go into the 2015 season without a Major League Pitcher on their roster, which I suppose is their way of saying that no pitcher is better than whatever they have in their system.

5) Arizona Diamondbacks (73-89)
Some teams are bad. Some teams are boring. It seems like the Diamondbacks are a little bit of both. It's easy for an NL East fan like myself to sort of gloss over an NL West team, but these Diamondbacks seem to be a special case. They made no moves of note in the offseason (unless you consider Jeremy Hellickson of note), they didn't make any effort to protect their two 40 Home Run strikeout machines in Paul Goldschmidt or Mark Trumbo in the lineup, and, yes, Oliver Perez is still on their roster. If that's not enough to make you want to throw in the towel, I don't know what is.

AWARDS
NL MVP: Anthony Rendon, Nationals
NL Cy Young: Matt Harvey, Mets
NL ROY: Joc Pederson, Dodgers

PLAYOFFS
NL Wildcard Game: Mets over Padres
NLDS: Cardinals over Dodgers, Mets over Nationals
NLCS: Cardinals over Mets

Well, hey, perhaps I could be accused of homerism, and that may well be true. But I know a team on the rise when I see it, and the page is about to be turned for the Mets. Plus if Mets fans didn't have enough reason to hate the Cardinals, well, let's turn that knife some more.

Get It Right This Time (2014 National League Preview)

Only five days now until Opening Day, although you wouldn't be able to figure that out if you went outside, since it feels like January (or, more appropriately, any April night at Citi Field), but nonetheless, it's as good a time as any to share my convoluted thoughts on how the National League standings are going to break out this upcoming season. Last year (and in general), I was nowhere close to correct. I'll try to do better this year, but I really can't promise anything other than providing some mild amusement. As always, figure these records to be a general approximation of the final standing, plus or minus a 5-win margin of error. Or not.

NL EAST
1) Washington Nationals (91-71)
Last year, I picked the Nationals all the way to the NLCS, and of course they promptly came out and laid an egg for the first 4 months before finally getting their act together, sort of. By the end of the season, though they were out of contention, they were earning the label of "The Team Nobody Wants To Play." It's mostly the same group of guys this season, minus Dan Haren, who was ineffective, and plus Doug Fister, who was procured from Detroit and can be sneaky good. The bullpen is solid, assuming Tyler Clippard continues to be annoying and Drew Storen has his act together, and the offense is pretty damn solid. The keys, in particular, are the health of Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, and a return to form from Ryan Zimmerman. Regardless, they stack up as substantially better than their competition and I have a feeling they can run and hide if they get off to a fast start.

2) Atlanta Braves (83-79)
Say it with me now...
Over-Rated (clap-clap-clapclapclap)
Over-Rated (clap-clap-clapclapclap)
OVER-RATED (clap-clap-clapclapclap)!!!
I'm truly baffled by the continued fascination everyone has with this Paper Tiger team. They fattened up on a weak division and lucked out because Washington couldn't get out of their own way last season, masking the fact that toolsy B.J. Upton hit .200 all season and Awesome Andrelton Simmons struggled to bat his weight. Guys like Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward can shoulder some of the load, but they lost Brian McCann to Free Agency and Flathat Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to elbow injuries and at some point Craig Kimbrel is actually going to show that he's not worthy of the Mariano Rivera treatment he continues to get. Luis Avilan is apparently their Opening Day starter and Aaron Harang is involved in this picture, as is stone-handed strikeout machine Dan Uggla and that adds up to trouble in the long run. I'd pick them lower but there's a reasonable enough amount of talent there to prevent the ship from sinking completely. Expect them to be outliers that get a courtesy display in the Wildcard standings despite being 6 games out with 12 to play.

3) New York Mets (79-83)
In spite of the fact that management has spoon-fed us the "contend in 2014" mantra for a few years now, this team doesn't look like it's ready to make that leap yet. I've gone through it a bit already, but while anything's possible and the Mets could put it all together and be relevant in the Wildcard race, there's too much that needs to go right in order to say that with any kind of confidence. Both Ike Davis and the train wreck that is Lucas Duda are still prominently involved, and neither has taken charge or shown any kind of sign that they'll be what we hope they'll be. Ruben Tejada has been basically given the Shortstop job for reasons I clearly am not meant to know. At least the Outfield, with the additions of Chris Young and Curtis Granderson, is of Major League quality this year. Pitching, well, while the horses are in the organization, they're not going to be in the Major Leagues on Monday, save Zack Wheeler, who will get the nod in the season's 3rd game. Jonathon Niese has been a big question mark and it seems Daisuke Matsuzaka will make the team if what I'm hearing is correct. The bullpen is once again suspect, particularly since Bobby Parnell has struggled in Spring. That's all to say nothing of the fact that Matt Harvey isn't around, but even his presence on this team might not be enough to offset the lacks on offense and in the bullpen.

4) Philadelphia Phillies (74-88)
Nothing like a nice decaying dynasty, isn't there? After carrying the club through probably the greatest era in team history, now the Phillies are left with the bloated, untradeable contracts of the now well past-their-prime Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. A youth movement would have been nice, to find some pieces to complement Domonic Brown, but instead, the Phillies went out and signed Marlon Byrd (36), Wil Nieves (36), A.J. Burnett (37 and was set to retire) and Roberto Hernandez (33 and still hasn't sunk in that he's not Fausto Carmona anymore) to team up with Cole Hamels, who's injured, and Cliff Lee, who's looking more and more like very expensive trade bait to a contending team. We all knew this day would come, and man, it's going to be great to see these guys crash and burn.

5) Mickey Mouse Marlins (67-95)
Last year, the Marlins caught lightning in a bottle and the emergence of excitable 20-year old Rookie Jose Fernandez put some starch in an otherwise miserable season (that, annoyingly, was punctuated by the fact that they continually manhandled the Mets). They have some interesting youth projects on their roster right now in Henderson Alvarez, Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick to placate Giancarlo Stanton, but they're all completely unproven and most of the roster is filled with marginal players like Ed Lucas, Casey McGehee, Brian Bogusevic and Garrett Jones. Basically, you can expect another season of the Marlins getting run over by most teams, and somehow winning 11 of 18 from the Mets again.

NL CENTRAL
1) St. Louis Cardinals (95-67)
Why fight it. No matter how many players they lose, no matter how many Managers they change, the Fucking Cardinals will still somehow manage to win 90 games, many of them in the most annoying way possible.

2) Pittsburgh Pirates (89-73)
After finally making it back to the Playoffs for the first time in 21 years and winning the Wildcard Game, the Cardinals ended up spoiling the Pirates party. But the good vibes generated from that season shouldn't be erased. Though they did not gain much by way of offseason moves (unless you count Edinson Volquez and Jaff Decker key additions), this group, led by reigning MVP Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez, should continue to perform well, particularly since they'll be getting a full season out of Gerrit Cole. Finally proving they can win and getting past that 20-year losing streak can help build a boatload of confidence in a young team, and though they won't sneak up on teams anymore, they still should be able to finish the job and make it back to the Wildcard game once again.

3) Cincinnati Reds (85-77)
I have a hard time figuring out the enigmatic Reds. On paper, they look like a team that really ought to run away with this division, and for all I know they may yet do that, but it's always something with this team, like Johnny Cueto having a meltdown, or Ryan Ludwick underperforming, or Brandon Phillips mysteriously aging, or Homer Bailey coming down with some bad vibes that morning. Whatever it is, a team that looked to be on cruise control in September kind of petered out at the end and eventually got bounced in the Wildcard game. Gone are longtime stalwart Bronson Arroyo and OBP machine Shin-Soo Choo, replaced by hotshot Rookie Billy Hamilton. Hamilton gets justifiable hype because of his speed, but it's an interesting experiment. Hamilton certainly has the skills to swipe 90-100 bases, but offensively, he's shown himself to be on par with, say, Joey Gathright. It's difficult to steal bases if you can't get on base first. That could be the Red Herring in the Reds season.

4) Milwaukee Brewers (78-84)
The addition of Matt Garza to this roster and the return of Steroid Pariah Ryan Braun give the Brewers a little bit of intrigue, but this team still has a number of holes not easily filled by the pieces in place. Carlos Gomez had an outstanding season last year, but they're also still trotting out Aramis Ramirez, who's aged about as well as Scott Rolen did, and never-will-be Rickie Weeks, to go along with a bunch of guys you've probably never heard of. Also in the mix are Pirate Castoffs Tom Gorzelanny and Zach Duke, never a good sign.

5) Chicago Cubs (69-93)
Help is on the way for the Cubs, but it's still a couple of years off. After throwing money around willy nilly for years, the Cubs are now sort of trying the Houston Astros model of rebuilding, although not quite at the dramatic level that the Astros did it. Regardless, there's a number of interesting, intriguing prospects that are kicking around the Cubs Minor League system. Unfortunately, these prospects won't do the Cubs a damn bit of good this season, so instead they're looking at another long, unexciting year.

NL WEST
1) Los Angeles Dodgers (96-66)
The Dodgers are like everyone's darlings since they managed to out-Yankee the Yankees this season, and it certainly will translate some wins, because the lineup and the pitching staff are loaded, but man, these guys are going to piss you off. They're two games into the season and already Yasiel Puig has managed to piss off his manager and Adrian Gonzalez and everyone who likes to write about violent stuff. So lord only knows what the rest of the season has in store. Zack Greinke mouthed off on Australia, Matt Kemp mouthed off on something else, and we haven't even gotten to Brian Wilson yet. Plus they have old friends Justin Turner and Mike Baxter kicking around their roster. They're going to win, this is unavoidable. Just try not to get too hot and bothered by it and then enjoy it when they inevitably shit the bed in October.

2) San Francisco Giants (86-76)
The Giants hit a wall for one reason or another last year, but for the most part this is the same team that's won two World Series Championships in the past 4 years, and that's not something that can be easily overlooked. As much as you'd like to think that their low, leaky offense that consists of Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and nobody else in particular, the pitching, behind Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and the Artist formerly known as Tim Lincecum, was bolstered by the signing of Pro's pro Tim Hudson and is still capable of carrying the team to a higher level. You can fall asleep on them but there they are, contending for a Wildcard and making things difficult for other teams.

3) San Diego Padres (81-81)
San Diego seems to be getting an awful lot of "sleeper" talk this Spring, for reasons I can understand, because they're banking on a Chase Headley rebound and a Jedd Gyorko ascension, and other guys like Yonder Alonso and Will Venable had decent years last year, and maybe if Josh Johnson and Ian Kennedy can get their respective shit together, then maybe they've got something here. But maybe. Much like the Mets, they need a lot to go right in order to be a serious contender, and too much needs to go right for them to seriously contend.

4) Colorado Rockies (79-83)
The Colorados are one of those teams that I don't think knows what they are just yet. They added Brett Anderson, Boone Logan and old friend LaTroy Hawkins to a pitching staff that included nobody noteworthy, and on the other side, they certainly will hit, but the Colorados are another one of those teams that ends up getting killed by injuries and guys like Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez end up being replaced by guys like Charlie McCharlieman and D.J. LaNosehair, and that's not good for business.

5) Arizona Diamondbacks (76-86)
I don't necessarily think the D'Backs are a last place team, but they're probably the least together team in a particularly good division. Losing Patrick Corbin for the season kind of takes the starch out of their season, and although the addition of Mark Trumbo in addition to Paul Goldschmidt certainly puts a ton of feast-or-famine thunder in the middle of their lineup, there's also a little too much Cliff Pennington/Eric Chavez/Didi Brontasaurius going around to make things too exciting. Also, Oliver Perez.

AWARDS
NL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
NL ROY: Travis d'Arnaud, Mets

PLAYOFFS
NL Wildcard Game: Pirates over Giants
NLDS: Cardinals over Nationals; Dodgers over Pirates
NLCS: Cardinals over Dodgers

Again, why fight it. But maybe since I'm predicting it, it won't actually happen.

Lighting Up The Night

To say that the game itself is the least interesting part of the All-Star Festivities is probably an understatement. The game rarely, if ever, lives up to the hype; I can only remember a handful of games that might have generated some excitement. They tend to be disjointed, sleepy affairs, certainly not for the short-attention span generation. Recent years have seen me become bored and tune out the game entirely, usually after the 4th or 5th inning, or whenever the Mets representatives had already played.

This year's affair held more juice than normal, if only because it was at Citi Field, my home ballpark, and much of the pomp and circumstance would basically be in my backyard. This wasn't like in 2008, when the whole thing was basically a Yankee lather job. This was the Mets moment in the sun, Citi Field's night to shine. Of course, the game was a dud overall, a 3-0 American League victory that featured great pitching, and more great pitching, and even more great pitching, and little else. But if nothing else, the hosts held up their end of the bargain.

You knew Matt Harvey would be cranked up for this particular start (and probably looking for a little more recognition), especially after the roaring ovation he received upon his introduction. But he nearly had his wheels come off in the 1st after allowing a leadoff double to Mike Trout and then hitting Robinson Cano (who was nice enough to not bother getting out of the way of Harvey's tailing fastball, but Harvey, ever gracious, apologized afterward), but Harvey, who has made a habit of not breaking, struck out Miguel Cabrera and, one out later, Jose Bautista to get out of the inning untarnished. His second inning was spotless, featuring a strikeout of Adam Jones, and thusly, his evening was done after two innings, allowing one hit and striking out 3, which was more or less a normal outing for him (you know, without the hype and getting pulled after 2 innings).

Unfortunately, the National League couldn't muster any runs for Harvey, which has been a recurring theme for him this year. In fact, the NL managed all of 3 hits against the AL. But, one of them was by the All Star Game's de facto Master of Ceremonies, David Wright, who has a habit of getting at least one hit every time he plays in an All Star Game, kept his streak going with a 7th inning single that ended up being of little consequence.

And then, there was Citi Field. The Mets had last hosted an All Star Game in 1964, the first year at Shea Stadium. As a kid, I wondered when, or if, there would ever be another at Shea. As I got older, I realized why there never was: most stadiums were now these shimmering new palaces. Shea Stadium was what it was. Our loveable blue blob. Magnificent in its time, but lacking in pizzazz. The All Star Game needs some pizzazz (usually because the game stinks). Citi Field debuted in 2009 with that pizzazz and, in its 5th season, hosted its first All Star Game. And although I wasn't there because I wasn't approved for a loan, it seemed to me that Citi Field did not disappoint as host. The Mets fans were out in full force, giving the representatives of the Phillies, Braves, Nationals and Yankees their well-deserved jeers (Jose Fernandez of the Marlins didn't appear to draw much of a reaction, probably because he's young and he hasn't pissed us off yet). David Wright, Matt Harvey, Terry Collins and Davey Johnson were given their much-deserved heroes' welcomes. Even departed players Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gomez received warm welcomes. The park looked great, it played fair and a fine time appeared to be had by all.

Now, will it be another 49 years before the Mets host another All Star Game?

I Missed That Part (2013 National League Preview)

It's been a few years since I did team preview capsules, but with the season now less than a week away, and within the past few days I've partaken in a) an NL-only Fantasy Baseball Draft and b) a trip to Queens that took me past Citi Field coming and going, I figured it's time I get things cracking and get ready for the season. And, what better way than to preview the National League, or, more appropriately, the Mets and 14 other teams I either don't like or don't pay attention to unless they have someone on my fantasy team. I'll keep this as rapid fire as possible. All records are simply an approximation and anything plus or minus 5 wins can be construed as a good job of understanding baseball on my part. So here we go.

NL EAST
1) Washington Nationals (100-62)
They won the division last year handily without a month of Bryce Harper at the beginning and without a month of Stephen Strasburg at the end, and then it all got submarined when their normally reliable bullpen and, particularly, their normally reliable closer Drew Storen flamed out in the 9th inning of the deciding game of the NLDS against St. Louis. Fortunately (or unfortunately, in Storen's case), the Nationals have plenty of other good bullpen arms around in case he's got a hangover. Offensively, not gangbusters, but with the boatload of pitching old friend Davey Johnson has in his arsenal, they don't have to hit a ton to win. Class of the division.

2) Atlanta Braves (87-75)
They're kind of a chic pick right now. It's easy to buy into the Braves, because after shitting the bed in the Wildcard play-in game last year, they went out and made several improvements, most notably bringing in both Upton brothers, giving them an outfield that has the potential to be both wildly talented and incredibly mercurial. Their hype machine has also managed to make everyone believe that Andrelton Simmons is the second coming of Barry Larkin when he's a little closer to being the second coming of Rey Ordonez. They'll win more than they'll lose, but from where I'm sitting, the rotation is kind of thin and while their bullpen is great, a closer look at Craig Kimbrel reveals a dominant pitcher with a mild case of Armando Benitez. They'll contend for one of the Wildcard Game spots, but no more than that.

3) Philadelphia Phillies (84-78)
Let's face it. The Phillies are getting old. Roy Halladay started to break down last year and Cliff Lee was middling, leaving Cole Hamels as the de facto Ace. After missing half the season with injuries, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both struggled to find their prior form, and with the team going nowhere at the trade deadline, several pieces were traded away. Offseason trades to bring in Ben Revere from Minnesota and Michael Young from Texas are intriguing but there's too many holes in the pitching staff to make up for it. Unless somehow Halladay and Lee turn back the clock to 2010.

4) New York Mets (76-86)
I'll spend a lot of time this season talking about it, but 2013 for the Mets is not about 2013. It's about what might happen going forward. And as such, they're not going to be very good this year. The Mets this season are going to be about working through the development of players like Matt Harvey, Ruben Tejada and, eventually, Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud. That said, they'll also be hoping that someone sticks in the outfield and the remainder of the pitching staff doesn't embarrass themselves in the process.

5) Miami Marlins (58-104)
The sell-off that I predicted would happen came much quicker than I thought. It wasn't even halfway through last season that they started trading away their stars, and come the offseason, just about anybody making any kind of money was traded to Toronto. The end result is that the Marlins are pretty much right what they deserve to be: A pissed-off Giancarlo Stanton, a pissed-off Ricky Nolasco, and 23 other players mostly devoid of Major League talent. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people. Jerkoffs.

NL CENTRAL
1) Cincinnati Reds (95-67)
Whether or not Aroldis Chapman starts or closes is academic. The Reds are a good, deep team that has offense to burn. The ascension of Todd Frazier last season to take over for Scott Rolen at 3rd Base and the acquisition of Shin-Soo Choo in the Outfield to go with already established stars like Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce fill out a lineup that doesn't have very many holes and a big chip on their shoulder from a couple of early playoff exits. This could be the year they step forward.

2) St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)
The Cardinals are like one of those Super Mario Bros bosses that you have to keep jumping on and shooting at before you can kill them. No matter how many times they're counted out or left for dead, they somehow manage to put another stupid run together and draw a lot of gushing, overblown praise over what a gutty team of winners they are. I'm completely sick of them, but unfortunately, even though they lost Obi Wan LaRussa and Albert Pujols, they still won, and that team is pretty much still intact, so unless something goes horribly wrong, they'll be right back in the Wildcard Game and they'll probably catch another stupid break somewhere along the way.

3) Pittsburgh Pirates (83-79)
They're not quite there yet, but this is going to be the season that the Pirates finally break their 20-year losing streak. Although their prospect-hoarding methods have foiled them before, they finally seem to have a couple of breakout stars in Andrew McCutchen (perhaps the best player in Baseball that nobody really knows about) and Pedro Alvarez (struck out a ton but did hit 30 HRs), and they've spent a little money to bring in some veteran presence with winning attitudes as opposed to retreads that nobody else wanted. The pitching is somewhat iffy on the back end of their rotation, but if James McDonald can dial it back to the first half of last season, that'll help, and #1 pick Gerrit Cole is about ready to contribute. They're not going to make The Leap just yet, but they'll turn the corner this year.

4) Milwaukee Brewers (80-82)
I find the Brewers painfully boring. Ryan Braun can carry them only so far, and an aging Aramis Ramirez coupled with Corey Hart's carcass and Rickie Weeks' unpredictability doesn't lend itself to much success, even if Carlos Gomez somehow managed to turn into a reasonably productive player. Pitching is a similar story for the Brews. Yovani Gallardo can be great, the problem is he's never consistently great, and the rest of the rotation lacks anything resembling a sexy name.

5) Chicago Cubs (70-92)
Those of us in Metville can take some solace in the train wreck that the Cubs have become, because it happened to them just as quickly as it happened to the Mets. The Cubs went from back-to-back Division Titles in 2007 and 2008 to starting Jeff Samardzija on Opening Day as the headliner of a rotation that includes oft-injured Matt Garza and retreads Edwin Jackson, Travis Wood and Scott Baker, and nobody in particular to save their hide when they inevitably fall flat. There's some interesting names on the offensive side, but before you get too excited, remember that Alfonso Soriano is one of those interesting names.

6) Houston Astros (63-99)
The Astros have become so putrid these past few seasons that it's easy to forget they even exist, particularly since they only play the Mets 6 times a...wait...what? They moved to the American League? Well, shit. Never mind then.


NL WEST
1) San Francisco Giants (93-69)
The Giants have this every-other-year thing going, being that they've won a World Series Championship twice in the past 3 years in spite of the fact that they've been counted out because of a rather unexciting lineup. But, undaunted, they've leaned heavily on a pitching staff that's basically peerless when measured alongside the rest of the National League, and that's even considering that their best pitcher, Tim Lincecum, had an awful year last year and is currently regarded as reclamation project rather than Ace. They capped their season by stopping the pesky Cardinals and the powerful Tigers dead in their tracks and for the most part kept that unit together. They'll be tough to beat.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71)
The Dodgers spending spree has filled their lineup with some very sexy names, but how often do we see these superteams fail to gel and ultimately fall apart? I'm not of the belief that this will happen to the Dodgers in the same style of, say, the 2012 Miami Marlins, but I also don't think that they've clearly made themselves the favorite. They've already lost one player they were relying on for 2 months in Hanley Ramirez, and they're also banking on three members of the FriedChickenGate Red Sox to carry some of that load. But, that said, they also boast the odds-on MVP in Matt Kemp and the odds-on Cy Young Favorite in Clayton Kershaw. That'll count for something.

3) Arizona Diamondbacks (80-82)
The Diamondbacks are the perfect example of a team stuck in neutral. They have some reasonably talented players and can generate both offense and pitching, but their roster, top to bottom, isn't so talent-laden that they'll be anything more than a nuisance for teams that they play a lot.

4) Colorado Rockies (74-88)
The highlight of the Rockies season in 2012 was when they came into New York in August boasting a record of 46-73 and a mostly minor-league lineup, and swept a 4-game series where the Mets looked so embarrassing, it drove Mike Francesa, who doesn't even root for the Mets, to a 10-minute screaming meltdown.

5) San Diego Padres (71-91)
I heard they were pulling the fences in at Petco Park, much like they did at Citi Field, in order to generate some more offense. Unfortunately, Chase Headley, who poses to be the Padres' version of David Wright, appears likely to miss about a month with an injury of some sort, and I'm not so sure I can really remember who else is on their roster, I feel like they have Edinson Volquez, and guys like Cameron Maybin and Yonder Alonso are up-and-comers, but for every one of those players, there's 2 retreads that won't help much. Conveniently, they play the Mets in next Monday's opener so I'll familiarize myself with them slightly better at that point.

AWARDS
NL MVP: Joey Votto, Reds
NL CY YOUNG: Matt Cain, Giants
NL ROY: Zack Wheeler, Mets (He'll be in the Majors around May 1st)

PLAYOFFS
NL Wildcard Game: Dodgers over Cardinals
NLDS: Nationals over Dodgers, Reds over Giants
NLCS: Reds over Nationals

I'll get around to the AL before Opening Day. I promise.

Strange Brew?

Tomorrow marks the Mets 81st game (and my 10th of the season at Citi Field). I've made a few observations, some of which I've shared here, others which have just been brewing in my head. Here's what I've noticed.

WHAT'S GONE RIGHT:
Quite a bit, even if there haven't been an overwhelming number of individually stellar seasons, there's a lot here to work with. Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson (and as much as I hate to say it, Omar Minaya) have put together an incredibly cohesive group that plays together, plays for each other, and plays to win, and that's been evident in their 43-37 record. No, it hasn't been pretty and sometimes it's been downright disgusting. But I don't know a single Mets fan who wouldn't have signed for 6 games over .500 and 3 games out of 1st place at the halfway point.

The great performances that we've gotten, particularly out of David Wright and R.A. Dickey don't need much discussion. Each is justifiably rewarded with a trip to the All Star game next week (even though Wright was rooked out of a starting spot either because the Giants fans stuffed the ballot boxes or because the Mets fans didn't), The real MVP this season, however, is probably Johan Santana. Throwing the first No Hitter in Mets History aside, all he's done is come back from major shoulder surgery and look just as good as he did before he got injured, and sometimes even better. It doesn't matter if he can't throw 95 anymore. He knows how to pitch and he can throw whatever pitch he wants, wherever and whenever. More importantly, he hasn't missed a start and he's allowed Dickey and Niese to slide comfortably into their roles as #2 and #3 in the rotation.

The rest of the rotation hasn't been terrible either. Jonathon Niese got over some early inconsistency and has found himself in a real nice groove. Chris Young, when he's healthy, is an excellent pitcher. All he's got to do is stay healthy, however. Dillon Gee has acquitted himself reasonably well as the #5 starter, not consistent, not eye-popping, but he's done what he's needed to do more often than not.

The real question is how long the rotation will hold together. The players themselves aren't the issue here but whether or not they can hold up over the remainder of the season is. Until Young resurfaced, depth had been a bit of an issue, probably because of Alderson's hesitance to rush Matt Harvey up from AAA. It's fine to keep him there, but if there are any more injuries in the rotation, it's probably in the best interest of the team to promote Harvey to the Majors. They can't afford to hand over key starts to more Chris Schwinden types, and while Miguel Batista and Jeremy Hefner are also starter candidates, they can't be trusted over a large string of time.

Other things that have gone right: Ike Davis in June, where he seems to finally have put it together. Lucas Duda's emergence as, if nothing else, a real power threat, complete with the streakiness. Scott Hairston against Lefthanders. Kirk Nieuwenhuis came up early and earned his keep. Frank Francisco didn't throw any chairs. Ruben Tejada has shown incredible polish at the plate and his approach both offensively and defensively will make everyone forget about Jose Reyes before too long. I don't know if the power will develop with time, but his style of play seems awfully reminiscent of Edgardo Alfonzo, and if that's the kind of upside he's got, I'd say he's a keeper.

WHAT'S BEEN SO-SO:
The Jordany Valdespin experiment. He plays with such an infectious degree of energy that it makes him eminently likeable, but he has absolutely no polish and no discipline at the plate, and very little in the field. You could tell this from his first Major League at bat, which came with the bases loaded, and resulted in him swinging out of his shoes at the first pitch and popping up. Better moments would follow, but he's got a lot to learn, and at 24, I wonder if he will.

Scott Hairston playing everyday: I know this is a result of Jason Bay's injury, but the fact is that Scott Hairston isn't good enough to play every day. I know his power surge has been a nice story and he's come up with a lot of clutch hits. But he's the kind of player who kills lefties and is only passable against righties. Play him all the time and he'll get exposed.

Bobby Parnell, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco: When they're on, they're on. When they're not, watch out. Francisco has often made you want to hide your eyes, and Jon Rauch has incinerated a few leads. Parnell is always a mystery because he doesn't seem to pitch to the level of his stuff. While I'm all for giving Parnell the closer role going forward, I can't say it inspires a ton of confidence. With the back end of the bullpen mostly rotting away and guys like Pedro Beato and Jenrry Mejia sitting in the Minors, I don't think the closer of the future exists on the Mets roster right now.

WHAT'S BEEN BAD:
Jason Bay. Not entirely his fault, but he needs to get out of New York. The sooner the better.

Mike Pelfrey's injury. Not that Pelfrey was going to light anyone ablaze, but he was at least a dependable commodity who could eat innings. His injury resulted in several weeks of the Chris Schwinden Pu-Pu Platter until Chris Young arrived.

Offensive production from Catcher: Though Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas have proven perfectly capable defensively (particularly having to deal with a knuckleball every 5 days), they have been mostly non existent offensively. Thole can handle the bat reasonably well, but he has no power and drives in no runs. Nickeas is even worse and yet mysteriously has driven home 12 runs this season to Thole's 10.

The Back end of the Bullpen: Batista isn't an 8th inning man. He's a mop up man. Ramon Ramirez is woefully inconsistent. I've already mentioned Rauch and Parnell and though they're not the total dregs, they're only a slight step up. Other guys like Robert Carson, Elvin Ramirez and that Egbert fellow, and whoever this Justin Hampson is either aren't ready, aren't capable, or possibly both, otherwise they might have gotten a little more use. Better depth is out there, even though finding a dependable relief pitcher is sort of like throwing horse manure at a wall and hoping it sticks.

IN SUMMATION:
The Mets have managed to overachieve this year without anybody really overachieving (I wouldn't call Dickey overachieving since his numbers were pretty damn good to begin with the last couple of seasons, I think he's learned more consistency which is why he's getting these results). One thing that's helped is that the rest of the NL East, and, in fact, the NL in general, hasn't had any real breakaway great team. The Phillies have come back to earth with a thud and now that they're talking about dealing away Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino who knows what will happen to them. The Marlins, like any "superteam" are having trouble gelling. Washington has won with outstanding pitching. Atlanta is a complete mystery. I don't know how this will play out ultimately, but the Mets are, in reality, a good reliever and probably a right-handed Left Fielder with power away from throwing a major wrench into everyone's plans.

The 50-50 Club

The Mets lost last night, in an eminently forgettable game to the eminently forgettable Houston Astros. This appeared to be a game that the Astros won in spite of themselves. While the Mets on paper look bad but have played well, the Astros actually are as bad as they look. Their basic lack of improvement following a 104-loss season should indicate as much. This makes their victory last night slightly more galling, considering that their bullpen is so awful that Astros manager Brad Mills actually used 7 different pitchers to get through 7 consecutive batters in the late innings. But somehow, they managed to scrape out the winning run when Terry Collins' non-move, to remove Manny Acosta, blew up in his inexcusable second inning of work. I'm known to blast off on certain players, and, rest assured, a full-scale diatribe against Manny Acosta is indeed percolating, but it's not quite ready yet.

The Astros, of course, are the 1962 brethren of the Mets, and their paths have crossed in some fairly memorable battles over the past 50 years. And, of course, their share of clunkers. What seems odd, however, is that this apparently is going to be the Mets last trip to Houston as a National League team. In a rather innocuous move which I don't think anyone is going to really start complaining about until they see how ridiculous it is, the Astros are going to be incongruously moved to the AL West next season, giving Major League Baseball two 15-team leagues. This also means that there will be interleague play going on all season long. Which means that the AL Fatboys are going to start clamoring for the NL to adopt the DH. And so on, and so forth.

I'm fairly certain little good will come of this. I, and most NL fans, tend to be purists. We like our quick, moderately low-scoring, strategy-filled affairs, replete with pitchers having to take their hacks. The Fatboy argument, of course, is that the NL is the only league in professional baseball where the pitcher bats, and they even employ a DH in Spring Training games. A fair argument, but the NL ultimately requires thinking and strategy in their games, something that has always appealed to me. The NL is the Thinking Man's league, whereas the AL basically just requires you to put on your shades, tilt back your head and wait for someone to hit a 3-run Home Run. And yet somehow, some NL team is going to have to be forced to be subjected to this on any given day, even in the thick of a pennant race. I mean, really. The AL? The DH? The DH is a position that has kept guys like Bob Hamelin, Rob Deer and Adam Dunn employed. The Designated Fatboy, the 3-run HR and 4-hour games. Gotta love that American League ball.

My sincere hope is that this is just an experiment, and maybe they'll go back, or maybe someone in Bud Selig's office will wake him up, wipe the drool off his chin and smack him across the face, but, unfortunately, this is probably going to be here to stay. So, Houston, farewell, at least for the next few seasons, until our paths cross again. May we always remember your storied National League tradition.