NL East
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Miami Marlins
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Washington Nationals
5. New York Mets
The only other division where a .444 average would have seen the Marlins finish bottom last season was the AL East so talk of them having to improve immeasurably to compete is wide of the mark - realistically they need strength in a few key areas and their big moves this off season may well have got them that. Still can't seem 'em besting the Phillies though, even with Philadelphia's ageing offence and need to rely on Domonic Brown or a.n.other unproven quantity as part of the outfield. With improvements in Washington continuing too The Braves are in for a difficult season. The Mets, without Reyes (last year; .337/.384, 101 runs scored) and with nothing coming in, are in dire straights. The Astros had last year's bottom winning percentage at .346 and the target for New York this year must be to avoid that 'honour'. This division is looking as potentially bountiful and pleasantly unpredictable as its AL counterpart. Look for the wildcard to come from here.
NL Central
1. Cincinnati Reds
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Houston Astros
St. Louis have lost a manager and an Albert since their World Series year last year, and even with those two they only finished second in the division. The Brewers, meanwhile, have lost their own talisman in Fielder and will probably be without Braun for the start of the year. Of the respective replacements for both teams, Ramirez - who looked great for long stretches last year - looks better than the oft-injured Beltran. In any other division, with that power gone from the top two, you'd look to the remaining teams to step up but, really, can anyone? Houston certainly can't and are looking at a nothing year ahead of switching leagues and regrouping (the latter for the fifth or sixth consecutive year) in 2013. Cincinnati keep on getting tipped to 'do something' and never do but have at least picked up some useful pitching help. The Pirates look like relying on the pluck they showed last year again, rather than talent and skill. And the Cubs? Appointing Epstein is a good move but it's a long term one, the pitching still looks very suspect and throwing Rizzo in full time at 1st, especially on last year's evidence, is a dubious gamble. One or two moves during Spring Training could make all the difference but for now, lets say its Cincinnati's breakout year. Again. The key will be their own and Milwaukee's starts; how far ahead can the Reds get before Braun returns?
NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres
Arizona bloomed down the stretch last year whilst San Fran slumped in a very un-champion like manner. LA were good for periods, especially with Kemp firing, and The Rockies started quickly. Has anyone done enough to change the status quo? Probably not. The Dodgers might find themselves able to make some moves late in the day and, on that basis (plus the oft-forgotten Kershaw - a true ace), let's say they'll hold off a promising Rockies team. On a side note: if they do make the moves, LA only have four wins to make up on The Giants from last year. They could, to the surprise of many, end up sneaking into the Wild Card reckoning.
AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Ah, this old chestnut. Last year Tampa broke into the NY/Boston love-fest amid a turbulent season for the Red Sox. The problem for The Sox is that this year could be just as bad. The noises coming from Bobby Valentine on team morale sans Francona and the ability of Crawford to be ready for opening day are not sounding fantastic and the pitching still looks - yes, you guessed it - suspect. The Yanks have made good, rather than expensive, moves, which is odd for them and even amid questions about their age, the infield (plus Granderson) still looks amazing. Toronto will go hard to make a dent this year whilst they're still guaranteed Bautista's power and much will depend on how the likes of Brett Lawrie, Travis Snider and Eric Thames kick on from pretty amazing rookie years. Speculators here could tap The Sox to go fourth, something which I can't see the owners allowing to happen - if they're down there at the trade deadline look for big moves, pride will stop them chalking a season up to 'development'. Jays and Rays to trade places instead. The Orioles aren't worth considering on any level.
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Kansas City Royals
Cleveland surprised here last year but this was still the only division across both leagues to boast just one single team with a better-than-.500 average. That's bad. What it is also means beyond that is that talk of Fielder being constrained by Detroit's pitcher-friendly dimensions are completely redundant; whether he is or he isn't, and whether the Tigers do or don't miss Martinez, no-one is making up the 15-game gap Motor City built up last year. The rest of the standings are ifs, buts, maybes and won'ts. Cleveland won't repeat last year's success. Kansas are feeling positive but their success is based on if their prospects start to perform. There's no way Minnesota, with a set of healthy stars, Willingham and Marquis, should finish bottom again, but stranger things have happened. The White Sox need to learn to live without Ozzie and fast. Anyone's guess. I'll back a Twins turnaround, a Cleveland stasis and the other two making up the numbers. A pitching addition could see the Twins run down the Indians but with the latter adding Ubaldo, it's easier to back them to hold on at this point.
AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners
Seattle have been linked with everyone and got no-one and short of the outstanding King Felix, their rotation looks amongst the poorest in the league. The decline of Ichiro did not show any sign of stopping either. Their one bright point is that the A's seem to be trying their hardest to beat them into last. Everyone; fans, commentators, the team... me, seems confused with exactly what their trade plans are. The surprise addition of Cespedes though means that their outfield is, all of sudden, looking at least passably strong. The Angels have made their move for The Rangers top spot and with the addition of Pujols to a rotation boasting Weaver, Wilson and Haren and whilst they might not be quite as strong as some are saying (a couple of bookies have them at second favourite, behind the Phillies, to take the whole thing) they might just edge a strongly fought contest.
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