How National League division races have been affected by offseason signings

Published: Friday, December 16, 2011, 1:48 PM     Updated: Friday, December 16, 2011, 1:48 PMBy Sporting NewsThe Express-Times
Follow0TweetSharecloseDiggStumble UponFarkRedditShareEmailPrintUS PresswireDoes Jose Reyes make the Miami Marlins an NL East contender?

Prince Fielder's destination remains as up in the air as one of his moon-shot homers, but we know this: He will not return to the Milwaukee Brewers. Without Fielder, the Brewers aren't likely to enter 2012 as favorites to repeat as NL Central champions. The World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals have earned that distinction, despite also losing their slugging first baseman.

Despite all the noise out of South Florida, not quite enough has happened to pick against last season's NL East winners. And the balance of power hasn't shifted in the NL West, either. Two months, however, remain before spring training.

How the NL races shape up now:

NL East: As long as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are on top of their games, the retooled and free-spending Miami Marlins and the upstart Washington Nationals will have to be content with beating out the Atlanta Braves for second place.

The Philadelphia Phillies have owned this division for the past five years and are coming off their best season: 102 wins and a 13-game margin of victory over the Braves. They aren't going to slip too much, especially with the Big Three not happy about the team's early playoff exit.

NL Central: Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa won't return, but ace Adam Wainwright will. If he returns to his form of 2009 and 2010, the Cardinals should be capable defenders of their World Series title.

Watch out for the Cincinnati Reds, who have too much young talent not to bounce back from their disappointing 2011 campaign. The Chicago Cubs are bound to be better, and the Pittsburgh Pirates appear better equipped to end their streak of 19 consecutive losing seasons. Contending is another story. The safest pick in baseball at this point: The Houston Astros will finish last.

NL West: Trading for righthander Trevor Cahill and getting back shortstop Stephen Drew is enough to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a paper edge over the pitching-rich San Francisco Giants. A strong return by catcher Buster Posey could change that in a hurry, though.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are just trying to keep their heads above water until new ownership is in place, and who knows when that will happen. The Colorado Rockies have added outfielder Michael Cuddyer but even if they trade for lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, third place is their ceiling. There is no doubt the San Diego Padres will finish last.

--Story originally appeared on SportingNews.com.

Related topics: philadelphia phillies
Sponsored Links
Share this storyPrintEmailStory tools
More stories in Lehigh Valley SportsPrevious story
Philadelphia Flyers' Chris Pronger out for season with post-concussion syndrome; High school athletes suspended for Tebowing - sports links Next story
Barry Bonds given two years of probation and 30 days of house arrestCopyright 2012 lehighvalleylive.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
0Comments Feed
Post a comment (You may use HTML tags for style)

You must accept the terms of service before you can post a comment.

Post a commentSign in to lehighvalleylive.comUsernamePassword
 Remember me?I forgot my username or password »Don't have an account?

Register now for free, or sign in with any of these services:

AIMGoogle OpenID More Lehigh Valley SportsMost CommentsMost Recent 58
commentsThe Morning Note: How can the economy be worse than it was three years ago? It can't. And it's not. 22
commentsPollution Control Financing Authority chairwoman accuses Everett Chamberlain of calling her 'a liar' 20
commentsYour comments: Is it appropriate to advertise in schools if it earns much-needed money? 15
commentsAnnual Warren County homeless census has larger turnout this year, workers say 10
commentsKeystone pipeline deemed safe; Cemetery development bad idea - Jan. 25 letters to the editor Most Active UsersWhat's this?Users with the most lehighvalleylive.com comments in the last 7 days60SoSayYou39iwlnilla35bunnykat34newfaceintown26tag42dayConnect with lehighvalleylive.comWhat's this?All Facebook & Twitter accounts »From Our Advertisers


Advertise With Us »Popular TagsWhat's this?

Site Search Search Local Business Listings Site Map | Advertise | Contact us Make us your home page Home | News | Weather | Sports | Entertainment | Interact | Jobs | Autos | Real Estate | Rentals | Classified Ads | Shopping | Place An Ad Your Photos Your Videos BlogsOpinion & ColumnsSportsToday's Express-Times Post a job Post a free classified ad Sell your carSell/Rent your homeApartments & RentalsBusiness Finder High School SportsObituaries Easton-PhillipsburgEntertainment LotteryLetters to the Editor Subscribe to our content (RSS) Email alerts News Twitter feed Mobile site Subscribe to The Express-Times today and get incredible savings off home delivery! Subscribe Now! Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised November 1, 2011)

© 2012 PennLive LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of PennLive LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

Ad Choices

View the Original article