2008 Season Preview East
Welcome to the East Scott. You have just entered a division that boasts the league’s all time wins leader coming off of back to back championships. This division has a tremendous amount of potential in it. With the Cardinals improving much over last year this figures to be the first time in years that the division is wrapped not up by the all star break. The Braves: The same old same old from Noland. great lineup great defense and great pitching. That sounds like quite the winning combination. The Braves posses all three elements that are needed. A balanced lineup of Average and Power they should continue to score runs. There is no weakness to discuss here. The braves have been built to win and win now. Projection: 102 Wins The Marlins: Kyle has quietly put together one of the better rotations in the league and should be able to put the game away in later innings with Putz closing the door on the competition. The Lineup is pretty solid though they could use some more power out of the first base spot. They have a pretty average defense and shouldn’t be giving any games away. Their opponents will have to beat them. The one weak spot on Defense will be victor Martinez as his arm is a liability and opponents will have the green light on him. That rotation will have to do a good job of holding runners. With the youth this team has sprinkled in the roster this team should be around for a while. Looks like that 5 year plan worked out. Projection: 84 Wins The Cardinals: Brian has forced his name back into the conversation with a strong off season. Following a 68 win season you can expect more out of the Cards. Some of the youth that they have been chasing is starting to pay dividends. Brian made his move this off season and proved to the fans and his team that loosing is unacceptable by accruing David Wright in a blockbuster deal this off-season from the Braves. He plans to make the Braves regret the deal every time Wright steps to the plate. With a decent rotation this team will depend on quality starts as a lineup with Crawford, Teixeira, Rollins and Wright should put plenty of runs on the board. They could have the best infield in the game if Kendrick continues to develop. Injuries could take their toll as depth is questionable at some positions. Projection: 90 Wins The Reds: Expectations are low for expansion teams and Scott knows this. He will be looking to give the fans hope and a reason to come back out to the ballpark. Unfortunately they will be taking the brunt of the beating in this division with three serious contenders. With JJ Hardy Adam Wainwright and Bobby Jenks to build around it shouldn’t be long till they start to make some noise. Look for the Reds to be sellers at the trade deadline or even before. They will probably be looking to trade some of their older players for draft picks or key position players. It’s a long road to the top and it’s a tuff division but if the reds have all the right moves, they will get there. Projection: 56
Bill Toth
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1/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
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