Here are my 2nd round picks for the NBA:

Cavaliers over Hawks in 6 (previous pick was Cavs over Hawks)

I think the Hawks have matured and play great at home. They should be able to steal a game or 2, but thats about it against the leagues new MVP.

Magic over Celtics in 7 (previous pick was Magic over Celtics)

If KG comes back I can see this going the other way for sure. In fact, i’d pick the Celtics to play the Lakers in the finals again. But without KG I just don’t see that next generation all pro on the Celtics. We can make a case for Rondo, but he’s no Superman. Howard leads his team past the defending champs.

Lakers over Rockets in 6 (previous pick was Lakers over Blazers)

Too much fire power on the Lakers. No experience past the 1st round on the Rockets. This will lead to another early exit for Yao Ming and the Rockets. Down 1-0, Kobe will step his game up, he isn’t a top 2 player in the NBA for no reason.

Nuggets over Mavericks in 5 (previous pick was Nuggets over Spurs)

The Mavs should be able to steal a game at home, but the Nuggets are clicking on all cylinders. No one is going to stand in their way if they keep playing like the way they are. Question is, can they keep it up?

Here are my picks for the later rounds:

Lakers over Nuggets (same pick as before)

Cavaliers over Magic (same pick as before)

Lakers over Cavaliers (same pick as before)

Now onto the NHL:

Once again called all 4 teams right in the East, and only half in the West. My Stanley Cup champion Sharks are out of the race early again. Sharks fans must be getting tired of this. My Penguins are still in the race, but are now in a 2-0 hole. Here are my picks.

Hurricanes over Bruins in 6 (previous pick was Canes over Bruins)

Cam Ward versus Tim Thomas. What a show Ward has put on so far, while Thomas hasn’t really been tested but was the best goalie during the regular season. I think the Canes have the experience, especially at goalie, to sneak past the Bruins.

Penguins over Capitals in 7 (previous pick was Pens over Caps)

Man oh man, i’m so dissapointed with the way the series is going only as a Penguins fan. As a hockey fan, I haven’t seen many better offensive games than the 1st two of this series. Hat tricks for Crosby and Ovechkin in the same game. They’re putting on a show. The only difference has been that Malkin hasn’t showed up, and that Varlamov has been slightly better than Fleury. I don’t want to change my pick, but i’ll admit, i’m scared out of my pants right now.

Due to reseeding, my West picks are all messed up. I had the Sharks over the Flames and the Wings over the Canucks. here are my new picks.

Wings over the Ducks in 7

I want to pick the Ducks but I just can’t pick against the defending champs. They have a big name at every position, from Hossa to Osgood, to Zetterberg, to Datsyuk who is in the running for MVP. Hiller has been great, can he pull a JS Giguere? I don’t think he’ll be able to.

Canucks over Blackhawks in 5

Sedin brothers are proving to be too much. Khabibulin is not the same goalie he once was and Luongo is proving to be a bit better right now. Blackhawks may steal another game, but I think the Nucks take the series.

Later round picks:

Canucks over Wings (i’m changing my picks, i’ve become a Canucks believer)

Pens over Canes (same pick as before)

Canucks over Pens in the finals (poor Sharks’ fans).

Till the next round, let me know what you guys think.

Just like the NHL picks, I will redo these every round.

Cavs over Pistons in 4

Pistons have shown nothing. They could have avoided this matchup with a late season win, but faltered and now they’ll pay the price. The years of the Spurs and Pistons are done.

Celts over Bulls in 7

The way the Bulls have been playing they remind me of the Hawks in the first round last year. Gordon and Rose should be able to carry them to 1 or 2 more victories each, but in the end the Celtics are just better, with or without Kevin Garnett.

Magic over 76ers in 7

Magic are hurting and have high expectations in the playoffs for the first time since Shaq left for the Lakers in the 90s. They will win the series, but the other AI (Andre Igoudala) and company will make it tougher than everyone thinks.

Hawks over Heat in 7

Dwayne Wade has a lot of youngsters around him. I know i’m picking 3 serieses to go 7, but I feel like the East is up and coming and the teams are a lot closer than people think. Wade will carry his team for 3 wins, but the Hawks were growing last year and have only gotten better. They’re good enough to push into the 2nd round, and this should be the best series to watch come games 5, 6, and 7.

Lakers over Jazz in 5

The Jazz can’t play on the road. They got their 1 win at home. They may keep game 4 close, but will probably lose in the same fashion they lost game 2. Game 5 is going to be all LA.

Nuggets over Hornets in 6

Chris Paul is too good to get swept. The Billups trade has obviously made the Nuggets contenders. Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Paul as he has the better team around him right now. West and Chandeler need to show up.

Spurs over Mavs in 7

I would have said 6, so i’m cheating a bit as the Mavs have already won 2 games. Tim Duncan is a champion, Dirk Nowitzki is not. That should be the difference. Not to mention Jason Kidd has slowed down and Tony Parker is on a tear. With or without Manu Ginobili, the Spurs are a better team. Roger Mason (the new Robert Horry) with a game 7 game winning 3 pointer.

Blazers over Rockets in 7

This should be just as good as the Hawks and Heat series. The young Blazers have the 2nd best shooting gaurd in the game in Brandon Roy and a bunch of young talent that I think can get the job done against Yao. This series could go either way, but the Blazers have the better star and are just a bit more exciting to watch. They’ll also pose great problems for the Lakers in round 2, I think they pull it off.

Eastern Conference Semis:

Magic over Celtics in 7 (Magic get a bit healthier and without KG no one is going to stop Dwight Superman Howard. We’d all love to see the Celtics and Cavs go at it, but without KG its just not the same, and the Celts may just not get there.)

Cavs over Hawks in 5 (I feel like the Cavs will dominate the young Hawks and the Hawks are a year away. Moving up 1 round every year!)

Western Conference Semis:

Lakers over Blazers in 6 (Blazers will pose problems. The best 2 sg’s in the league will go at it in Kobe and Roy. Kobe is just too good, especially on defense. Blazers should be able to sneak a win or 2, maybe even 3, but they’re not winning this series.)

Nuggets over Spurs in 6 (this should look much like the Nuggets/Hornets 1st round series, Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Parker as well, especially with the team clicking at the right time.)

Eastern Conference Finals:

Cavs over Magic in 6 (2 superstars go at it. Reminds me of Shaq and Kobe. 2 future hall of famers. The Cavs are just too good though, they’ll probably take 1 road game and they’re not going to lose at home.)

Western Conference Finals:

Lakers over Nuggets in 5 (Nugs might steal a game, but they got dominated by the Lakers recently.)

Finals:

This is a toughy. Cavs vs. Lakers is everyones consensus picks. I will have to go with the Lakers though in 7. This may be tough as the Cavs don’t lose at home, but Lebron doesn’t face Kobe everyday. Kobe has the championship experience and two 7 footers that can dominate. No Z can’t dominate and I don’t care who thinks otherwise, he will get beat in this series. And it may just be the difference as long as the Lakers point gaurds don’t get beat by Mo Williams.

Here are my late picks, I will redo the picks every round, obviously these are a little late as I wasn’t able to make these earlier.

Boston over Montreal in 5 (Currently Boston leads 3-0)

Boston is unstoppable right now, especially with Thomas in goal, but after being in Montreal I feel like I owe them a pick of at least pulling off 1 victory.

Capitals over Rangers in 7 (Rangers currently lead 2-1)

I can’t pick against Ovechkin, but Lundqvist has been amazing and will push this series.

Carolina over New Jersey in 7 (series currently tied at 2)

The stars are alligned for the Canes, but Brodeur is pissed after last nights game and will give it all he’s got.

Pens over Flyers in 6 (Pens lead 3-1)

Crosby and Malkin haven’t been great, but Fleury has shown up as of late. When all things click, this team may be unstoppable, but Philly has 1 more home game and those fans are straight nasty.

Sharks over Ducks in 7 (Ducks lead 2-1)

Best team in the NHL, even after the slow start, can’t pick against them.

Wings over Jackets in 4 (Wings lead 3-0)

Detroit is clicking on all cylinders, the state of Ohio is just happy they made the NHL playoffs for the first time.

Canucks over Blues in 4 (ok, so I cheated on this one haha)

Flames over Blackhawks in 7 (Hawks up 2-1)

This is going to be a great series. It’s a toss up, but i’m going with Iginla to lead his team.

Conference Semis:

Penguins upset Capitals (both have played in a physical 1st round, 2 future hall of famers vs. 1, the goaltenders will make the difference, should be the best series of the East playoffs).

Hurricanes upset Bruins (just a shot in the dark, they ride the wave, have the experience).

Red Wings over Canucks (neither met a challenge in the 1st round, this round will be different, but the Wings want to defend their title against the dangerous ‘Nucks)

Sharks over Flames (Flames will not have enough to beat the Sharks)

Conference Finals:

Penguins over Hurricanes (Cinderella’s run ends)

Sharks over Red Wings (No rematch from last year)

Finals:

Sharks over Penguins (Too much firepower on the Sharks, Fleury is too inconsistent)

Most people that follow tennis understand that this is one of many ”lets get ready for the French Open” tournament that will be held in Paris from May 25-June 7.  Nonetheless this marks Nadal’s third win this calendar year on the ATP circuit while Federer has lost in every tournament that he has played in…a Federer fan would have to worry whether this will be another down year (by his standards) for him.

Out West…the Lakers start off by playing the Jazz who are already with a hobbling Okur and Boozer isn’t at 100% yet…they have already taken care of the Rockets multiple times this season and the winner of the Mavs/Nuggets series (both will win their first round matchups against the Spurs and Hornets respectively) won’t give the Lakers any problems in the Western Conference Championship round….honestly…the best chance any team out West has of beating the Lakers would be the Blazers…they match up very well against the Lakers from the 1-8 positions..in fact I would argue that Brandon Roy/Rudy Fernandez is a better starting/backup scenario than Kobe/Sasha (which by the way is the reason the Lakers lost in the Finals last year..not because of Gasol’s so called softness but because Kobe had to guard Rondo/Pierce/Allen at the same time)…nonetheless I expect the Lakers to come of of the West and face the Cavs in the finals.

Now this is where it gets interesting…I know most people believe that the lakers are more talented..because it is true, the Lakers on paper do have more talented players than the Cavs do…but the Cavs team is so much better built in terms of their offense and skillset that each brings to their team, I believe they do have the better overall team than the Lakers.  If you are telling me that Ariza is a better player than Wally Sczerbiak then you are highly mistaken, Wally is one of the most underrated scorers in the league and has averaged at least 18 and 5 in three different seasons and should easily be able to handle Ariza and Odom during stretches of a game..who along with Mo Williams (who averaged 18ppg this season) spread the floor beautifully for Lebron to do his work.  Big Z holds the middle down very well and should be able to play Bynum to a draw; yes Gasol will win the matchup of whomever is guarding him but Mo Williams will also easily win his matchups against the Lakers PGs

So it comes down to the best players on each team.  The Lakers won both the games this season against the Cavs (one without Bynum) and the main reason was because of Kobe’s defense against Lebron.  If anyone has watched the Lakers play this season Kobe is the BEST on the ball and 1-1 defender in the league (with Kirk Hinrich coming in second) , yes he doesn’t block as many shots as Lebron or Wade..but he reguarly stops the opposing player on defense than either of those do, and I feel that he will take his D to a whole another level against Lebron in this series and allow Gasol and Bynum to handle majority of the offensive work for the Lakers.

Lakers in 6

He had a rough start to his 2008 season as a rookie. In 3 career starts he was 1-0 with a 9 era, only 4k’s and 13 walks, and a Whip of 2.58. Batters were hitting .360 against him. He did start out this year well though, facing Oakland on the night of the accident he pitched 6 innings, gave up 7 hits, had 3 walks and 5 k’s while giving up no runs.

Condolences go out to his family, losing someone so young always hurts, but he will be remembered.

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Unlike the NL East and NL Central, the West looks weak. This is going to be a pitchers division with many stud aces taking the mound and very weak lineups following. The Giants and Padres should have the NL’s worst 2 lineups, while the Diamondbacks are young and inexperienced, and the Rockies have lost their best player and the Dodgers had lost their until midway through spring training.. Which lineup will take this division? 

Arizona Diamondbacks

This team is young, but only missed the playoffs by 2 games last year. They bring back a great starting rotation and a decent lineup, but lack power. They lost Adam Dunn in the offseason and it’s going to take a bite out of their power but they bring back a lot of youngsters in their prime who could make up for that loss.

The lineup will include Felipe Lopez, Chris Snyder, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Justin Upton. All have the potential to be great players down the line, especially Young, Reynolds, and Upton, but I feel as though they are still a year or 2 away from really putting it together. The pitching staff will have to carry them, the question is, can they?

The staff includes All Stars Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. They are followed by Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and Max Scherzer. This is a solid rotation, but the whole division is full of solid rotations. In fact, i’d bet the under for every division matchup in the NL West this year. 

The bullpen pretty much consists of Qualls, Rauch and Tony Pena. This should hold over and be a decent bullpen, especially since the starters are good enough to get into the 7th inning consistently.

Webb and Haren will be Webb and Haren, even though Webb has struggled since last August, he is still an Ace. Davis, Garland, and Scherzer will be the question marks, and solid performances or a breakout season for Max could mean the D’Backs are playoff bound. They will also have to find some power in the lineup if they are to make a run.

Colorado Rockies

This team finished 3rd last year and have lost All Star Matt Holliday to the Oakland A’s. Their pitching staff should be a bit better than last year, but will it be enough to boost them into making a playoff run? Remember, they play in a hitter’s ballpark and probably have the weakest rotation in the West.

The pitching staff consists of Cook, Jimenez, Marquis, De La Rosa and Franklin Morales. They have lost their clubhouse leader Jeff Francis to injury. Cook is a very overrated pitcher, but the rest of this staff could surprise, especially Ubaldo Jimenez. He has some nasty stuff, and a break out season in this offense starved division isn’t very far fetched.

The bullpen consists of newly acquired Huston Street in the Holliday trade, Manny Corpas, and Taylor Buchholz who is on the DL. This is a serviceable bullpen and shouldn’t cause a problem with blowing games as long as the starters give them opportunities.

The lineup isn’t that bad, but they will definetely miss Matt Holliday. Iannetta, an aging Helton, Barmes, Tulowitzki, Atkins, Spilborghs, and Hawpe are the main hitters in the lineup, with Ian Stewart coming off the bench. Dexter Fowler is also a very interesting rookie, and should put up some solid numbers, double digit homerun and steal totals are very possible.

The Rockies should contend as long as their lineup can contend with the strong pitching staffs of this division. They have the weakest pitching staff, which means they can’t just match their opponents in run support for their pitchers, but will have to surpass them because their staff will not be able to match up with the rest of the West. 

Los Angeles Dodgers 

The winners of West last year return most of their players. They have a decent lineup with the addition of Orlando Hudson and the resigning of Manny Ramirez. They have a decent yet very young pitching staff, so the hitting, like in the case of many of this division’s teams, will have to carry them.

The rotation is led by ace, and yes he’s an ace, Chad Billingsley. It will be followed by Kuroda, Wolf, and youngsters Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald. Besides Billingsley, the rotation has some question marks. I feel as though Kershaw is a year away from being dominant and McDonald 2 or 3 years away. Of course Jason ‘waste of money’ Schmidt is on the DL yet again.

The bullpen consists of Broxton, Kuo, Mota, and newly acquired Will Ohman. Claudio Vargas is also on the DL. This bullpen should be able to hold up and compete with the rest of the division. 

The lineup is great. Russell Martin, Loney, Hudson, Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny, Kemp, and Ethier are dangerous from 1-8. They are also a lot better than the other lineups in this division, especially if Manny goes off again, like he’s know to do. They also have some depth at all positions with Ausmus, Mientkiewicz, DeWitt, Delwyn Young, and Juan Pierre coming off the bench.

The Dodgers can repeat, but they will need Manny to be Manny, and they will need the young pitchers to come through. 

The aces I am referring to are Jake Peavy and Chris Young. They both had healthy issues last year and will need to be workhorses in order to help the Padres compete this year. Walter Silva is also a nice prospect, only time will tell if he pans out.

They have lost their all time saves leader in Trevor Hoffman to the Milwaukee Brewers. This leaves Heath Bell to closing duties, and he’s a beast. The rest of the bullpen isn’t up to par and contains Cla Meredith and Duaner Sanchez.

The lineup consists of Nick Hundley, Eckstein, Kouzmanoff, Headley, Gerut, Brian Giles, and Adrian ‘Gonzo’ Gonzalez. Gonzo seems like he could be on his way down, while Headley has much upside but hasn’t reached his potential yet. Cliff Floyd of course is on the DL.

For the Padres to compete, Peavy and Young will need to pitch all year. The run support is going to be slim, but that should be the case for all these teams. Walter Silva will need to be decent as well.

San Francisco Giants 

This team had 72 wins last year, 12 behind the leading Dodgers. I feel like they may close the gap this year with a dominant pitching staff. However, they do have the worst lineup in the NL according to many experts. Will there be enough run support?

This lineup lacks power from top to bottom. Their cleanup hitter is 16 hr hitting Bengie Molina. No one understands why Ishikawa has gotten the start at 1b over Nate Schierholtz. The rest of the lineup consists of Renteria, Sandoval, Fred Lewis, Rowand, and Randy Winn.

The pitching staff is full of guys that can just make people miss. They will contend to be the top strikeout staff in the majors with Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum leading the way for Matt Cain, Randy Johnson, Jonathan Sanchez, and Barry Zito (yuck!).

The bullpen consists of Bow Howry and Jeremy Affeldt. The closer will be a very underrated Brian Wilson who recently hit 100 mph with a fastball, in the first game of the season for the Giants.

The Giants will compete, and should improve on the pitching end. The worst lineup in the NL will hurt though. I can see them sneaking in to be the division winners, and wouldn’t consider it a longshot, but would consider it unlikely.

Projected Finish

Dodgers

Giants

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Padres

The Dodgers are the only team that has a potent offense in this pitching dominated division. Their pitchers are good enough to compete and their lineup will propel them to another division title. I think the Giants and Diamondbacks have very dominant pitching staffs, but will fall short due to a lack of run support.

Running up the rear will be the Rockies who have lost thier best player and have some aging players. Their pitching staff is also not up to par with the rest of the division. Their youngsters though will propel them over the Padres who have nothing going for them except for Peavy, Young, and Gonzo. 3 players that, in my mind, won’t be able to avoid a last place finish.

First of all, wow, thank you Jerry Angelo! You still suck, but at least you grew a pair for the first time in your tenure, it may save you job, at least in the eyes of Bears fans.

A lot of people (the media) who considered J Cut (my new nickname for my new favorite qb Jay Cutler) a stud before are now calling him a slightly above average qb. The same people who called Kyle Orton inadequate are now calling him average. Very biased (ehem ESPN). They’re probably just pissed theyre golden boy Brett Favre is retiring.

I have to say the Bears overpaid. By a lot. But consider this, if they don’t overpay, they lose out to a team that does. They had to overpay to get what they wanted. Plus, not all draft picks work out, who knows who they would have gotten with the 18th pick.

Speaking of the draft, the O-line still needs help, but is already much improved. There are many many many good OTs coming out this year, and they can probably nab 1 in the 3rd round.

This leaves question marks at S, WR, and the D-Line. Well, pretty simple, draft a WR in the 2nd round (i’m still praying for Kenny Britt as I went to Rutgers).

Ok, so now you have an average line on both sides, a solid TE, RB, a stud QB, and no good WRs, but a game breaker in Hester, all with an aging but still above average defense. People are still scared. “Ohhh who is Jay Cutler going to throw too”. Um, how about the same people that Orton threw to.

They went 9-7 with these pieces last year, and an O-Line that wasn’t as good and a QB that wasn’t as good. The rest of the division hasn’t done much this offseason (Sage Rosenfels doesn’t count). I think another 9-7 finish is worst case scenerio. To me the Bears won out, and i’m excited!

They haven’t had a passer like Cutler in a long time, and there no denying that he’s better than Orton. But looking at the flip side of things, theres no denying that the Broncos made out like bandits with this trade.

J Cut went 8-8 against a weak AFC West. Why? Well, they had a Detroit Lionesque defense last year! Cutler is 13-1 or 12-1 when his team gives up less than 21 points.

So now the Broncos have plenty of draft picks to shore up their defense in the first few rounds. They’ve already added Dawkins and will be drafting plenty of players on the defensive side. Imagine a secondary with Dawkins, Bailey, and Malcom Jenkins from Ohio St.

2 shutdown corners, a top 5 safety and all of sudden you have 7 in the box every down and the team is not giving up 28 pts per game anymore. Kyle Orton is very serviceable. To all these bashers out there, there is a reason that he was No. 2 on their list of QBs they wanted behind only Brady Quinn.

So Derek Anderson, Jason Campbell and all you other overrated QBs, eat your hearts out. Denver knows what they’re doing. Now once again, as I did before with J Cut, i’m going to ask this question. If Kyle Orton can go 9-7 with a “CFL WR corp”, then what makes the media think he won’t go at least 9-7 with Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Tony Scheffler?

Once again this is a win/win for both teams. Everyone has been looking at the negative side of this. Orton sucks, Cutler will have no recievers now, etc. Give it a break already. We’ll see 5 years from now if this trade had a REAL impact for the franchises, but for the short term this was a great trade on both sides.

My last tidbit has to do with Josh McDaniels. Please, oh please, don’t give him all the credit when Kyle Orton is successful in the AFC West. This guy was not Tom Brady’s QB coach while he developed, and Matt Cassel could be a 1 hit wonder for all we know. He has nothing to do with J Cut’s development, and trust me, as a Bears fan I know, Kyle Orton is already developed. He had no O-Line and no WRs, now he does.

He has the best O-Line in football, and he has good recievers, what he does is because of the QB he already is, not because McDaniels is some miracle worker. For McDaniels to prove himself, he will have to have a solid defense as well.

At least this puts to rest Sexy Rexy (Grossman) talks in Chicago, finally! We will miss you though. Neckbeard (Orton), we will also miss you. Up next, Jerry Angelo while we have you listening to us, bring in Boldin, Plax, Braylon, Holt and/or Peppers. Orton, good luck.

J Cut welcome, you’re officially a Monster from the Midway tonight at 6PM. Hey, at least we’re not getting Michael Vick! Go Bears!

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I took a look at the NL East last, now it’s time to take a look at a much weaker NL Central. Not quite as much parity in this division, but considering there are 6 teams, there could be some surprise finishes. Now, i’m a Pirates fan, so lets hope they can weasel their way into a top 3 spot for the first time in ages. And as I stated before in part 1, I think the Mets will win the wild card, and if they don’t it will be the Phillies, leaving only 1 playoff spot for the 6 teams in the Central. Who will emerge as the NL Central champion?

Chicago Cubs

Winners of the division last year, they boast just as good if not a better lineup as well as starting rotation. The bullpen is solid with Chad Gaudin, Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol (possibly the best setup man in the game).

The rotation also has immense amounts of potential, and if they fail to be superb, they will be average at worse. Z, Carlos Zambrano will be the opening day starter. He will be followed by an ace in the making in Ryan Dempster, a consistent pitcher in Ted Lilly, and a former ace in Rich Harden. In a 7 game series, if Harden is healthy this would be a deadly rotation to face. Sean Marshall is no pushover as the 5th starter either.

The lineup is just as good as last year. Soto, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Fukudome bring speed and power back this year. Fukudome is the biggest question mark, but with the addition of an inconsistent Milton Bradley (no not the board game, the hot head), Fukudome is their 6th best hitter. Not much to worry about there.

If Harden and Bradley can stay healthy, there is no stopping this club from breaking the longest World Series drought in baseball.

Cincinnati Reds

This team finished 2nd to last in the standing last year only in front of the abysmal Pittsburgh Pirates. They have lost a power bat in Adam Dunn this offseason as well. Can they improve?

I think they will be a little bit on the decline, but not by much. Their rotation has potential to win some games without offense, and their offense has potential to win some games without pitching, but I don’t see the 2 clicking together into a playoff contender.

The pitching is young, very young, with Harang leading 2nd year guys Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto. Arroyo, Owings, and Bailey are all also young and can be studs, but mostly likely won’t. Arroyo has seen that boat sail, and Bailey still has a year or 2 before he matures. Same can be said about Cueto and his inconsistencies.

The bullpen is weak with Fransisco Cordero as the closer. The lineup, like the pitching staff is young but has potential. Votto, Bruce and Phillips can be the best at their position, but the team around them is a bunch of question marks. Taveras, Encarnacion, Alex Gonzalez, and Ramon Hernandez bring some pop to the lineup, but their averages are nothing to look twice at.

Houston Astros

The fact that Pudge is the backstop for this team is telling. I can see this team slipping from their 3rd place finish last year. Their whole team is full of aging former all stars. We should see dips in all of the production across the board.

Roy Oswalt is their only legitimate pitcher, unless you count Wandy Rodriguez at home. Jose Valverde is the closer, their bullpen has no depth beyond that. Their lineup is full of players that have done it before, but are now on the way down.

Ivan Pudge Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada are way past their prime and are a part of the steroid scandals. Berkman is a beast but he’s not getting any younger either. Pence and Bourn are young, but have been on and off. Carlos Lee is their only staple and even he saw a bit of a drop off last year. 

The all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman is the anchor of the bullpen. And really the only threat from the starting rotation is Yovani Gallardo, who I think will put up great numbers.

Most of the lineup is back, with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun leading the charge. Kendall, Weeks, JJ Hardy, Bill Hall, Mike Cameron, and Corey Hart make this a decent lineup in the Central. But someone remind me why this team is carrying 4 catchers again?

Pittsburgh Pirates

Ah, my favorite team. I miss those days of Barry Bonds (the skinny version), Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke. Well, back to reality. Last place last year, and not looking much better in the majors this year. Although, their AAA outfielders might be the best out there.

The Bucs pen is one that won’t falter, when they get the opportunity that is. Yates and Grabow will lead into the 9th where Matt Capps should be 1 of the best closers again this year. The rotation is full of talent, but just like the other rotations mentioned so far (minus the Cubbies), it is full of ‘what ifs’. Malholm is solid, followed by potential ace Ian Snell, Duke, Ohlendorf, Dumatrait, and/or Karstens.

The lineup is weak once again. Doumit at catcher and McClouth in the outfield are studs. We’re still awaiting the debut of McCutchen from AAA to round out the outfield with McClouth and Brandon Moss with Steve Pearce waiting in the wings. This should be one of the best outfields in the near future in the NL.

Aside from that, Freddy Sanchez bring consistency and leadership, while Andy LaRoche is a stud in the making. Unfortunately, this lineup is set to do well in 2011 or 2012, not now. Eric Hinske is also a sleeper as he produced Jay Bruce like numbers last year, but is obviously not as reliable and will have to pass Morgan in the LF depth chart.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals contended with the bats of the Astros, and the star studded teams of the Brew crew and Cubbies last year, all without their ace Chris Carpenter. They did it with grit, the same grit that won them a recent World Series. They look for players with heart like Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein. How much heart do they have this year?

When I think heart, I think Rick Ankiel. When I think MVP, I think Albert Pujols. These 2 will lead a lineup that consists of Ryan Ludwick, Yadier Molina, Khalil Greene, Troy Glaus, and the very underrated Skip Schumaker. In fact, this whole team may be underrated and underestimated till September.

The Cards also get their ace back in Chris Carpenter (who I hate so much), while keeping an ace in the making in Adam Wainwright. Todd Wellenmeyer also has the potential to be an ace. Kyle Lohse and Joel Pineiro round out a very dangerous rotation that could contend with the Cubs. 

Projected Finish

Cubs

Cardinals

Brewers

Reds

Pirates

Astros

While the Cardinals can contend with the Cubs and will keep it very close, the difference top to bottom in the lineups tells me that Cubs will repeat. The Cardinals will also contend with the Mets and Phillies for the wild card, and if I had to pick a team to pass 1 of the powerhouses, I would go with St. Louis. Unfortunately, I think they will come up just short.

As for the Brewers and Reds, they lack a few things. The Brewers a legit pitching staff, and the Reds experience. This will have them a few games back of the Cards, each contending for 3rd right around .500. The Pirates will improve but still haven’t caught up with the rest of the division. And the Astros, well, like their ‘studs’ they’re on the way down.