National League Postseason Predictions

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The second part of the predictions for the 2012 MLB postseason, this time - the National League.

National League - East

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have been beasts of the east for years now and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. Yes, the injury to Ryan Howard is concerning for the Phils but he shouldn't be out more than half the season and when he comes back he should resume being his usual self and driving the Phillies to the postseason. 

Throughout the last season the Phillies struggled when it came to the late innings and they were hard pressed to find a reliable closer to give the ball to in the ninth inning. They fixed that situation when they went out and snatched Jonathan Papelbon away from the Boston Red Sox in the off season. Philadelphia also brought back Cole Hamels on a one-year deal and signed Juan Pierre to a one-year contract.

The Phillies made an uncharacteristically early exit from the postseason last year and have added players that they think will make up for the deficiencies they believed they spotted in last years squad. Jim Thome is coming to town and they signed Jimmy Rollins to a three year deal that will help solidify their infield for some time.

While they parted ways with Roy Oswalt the Phillies are still the best team in the East. Atlanta has improved this off season and will challenge the Phillies all season. The Nationals have assembled a solid pitching staff and has promising rookies, but they won't have enough this season to challenge. The Mets are well...the Mets. Miami has shelled out millions for their club and are taking an all in approach this year and it will work as they will compete with the Braves and Phillies all season.

National League - Central

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals won it all last season but to many fans they lost it all in the off season when Albert Pujols picked up and headed to the West Coast and Anaheim. They retain most of their team from last season and even get a boost to the pitching staff with the return of Adam Wainwright.

Despite the loss of Pujols the Red Birds still boast a combination of Matt Holiday, Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence. They can still hit and they certainly can still pitch, which means that in the weak Central Division the Cardinals will run away with the championship. St. Louis agreed to terms with most of their young pitching staff and agreed to a six-year contract with catcher Yadier Molina.

The Cubs are fully invested in their rebuild and won't come close to the first spot in the division. The loss of Prince Fielder will effect the Brewers but they will still pull some games out and finish second in the Central. Cincinnati always seems to find a way to under perform when they have solid teams, but this year they don't have the best team they've had in a while which means they won't get to the post season in Cincy. The Pirates are still the Pirates and despite a run they had last year there's not too much going on in Pittsburgh besides waiting for Steelers season. In their last season in the National League the Astros will go out with a whimper and battle the Cubs for last place.

National League - West

Arizona Diamondbacks

This one was difficult, not in the "they're all so good I can't make up my mind" kind of way but a "do one of these teams actually have to make the playoffs?" The Diamondbacks came out of virtually nowhere last season to take the West and make a brief run in the playoffs. Much of their success can be attributed to the coaching style of Kirk Gibson.

Gibson had his team playing like they wanted to win every game and it worked. The Dbacks brought in Jason Kubel to help with the offensive problems they experienced last year. Aside from that, Arizona stood pretty much pat, content to enter 2012 with the same team that took them to the playoffs last year.

With the pitching leadership of Ian Kennedy the Diamondbacks should have no trouble winning the West. The struggles that plagued San Francisco last season show no real signs of improvement, there is still a lack of offense by the bay. The Dodgers are undergoing a bankruptcy and the identity of who is writing checks when the team is bankrupt confuses me. San Diego has improved and has one of the best farm systems in the game, look for the Padres to be good out west in a few years. The Rockies added a few pieces but nothing that would vault them into the playoffs.

Wildcards

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta will compete with the Phillies throughout the season but end up falling just short, placing them in the play-in game in the postseason. They took a short term approach to many of their players, offering most of their eligible players one-year deals. Their offense is a bit of a problem with Chipper Jones aging and becoming more injury prone. Jason Heyward has trailed off in the last year and may or may not have what it takes to maintain his production year-long.







Miami Marlins

The expenditures in Miami will work out well for them and they will be playing Oct. baseball in the new Marlins Park. With the signings of Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen the Marlins will finally have what it takes to make it back to post season baseball. As long as the frustrations of Hanley Ramirez don't effect his play this team has all the makings of a contender. They can pitch, the can hit and they can run.