M.L.B. '08 Preview: National League

N.L. East
The Braves were finally dethroned two years ago, and the Mets collapsed last year, so this division feels more wide open than it has in a while. Going in, there are three teams playing for the division and two playing for respect.
1. The Mets
This is their year, I swear. Last year the '86 championship turned old enough to drink, and things got ugly in the wee hours. Lesson learned, story changed, Johan Santana rides in wearing blue and orange armor. Everything he does is different, but looks the same. Pedro earns his contract, even if he has to pull a Dumbledore (or a Snape).
2. The Braves
The Braves will be talented and respectable as they transition to a new generation. The most important pieces of their team were amazing players about eight years ago. Think about the year 2000, and the degree to which things then are the same as now. That's about how good the Braves will be this year.
3. The Phillies
There was truth in their amazing surge last year, but perhaps not a sustaining truth. That can happen when you have no pitching. Sub-prediction: '08 Jimmy Rollins will resemble '07 Jose Reyes more than '07 Rollins, and vice-versa for Reyes.
4. The Nationals
Manny Acta will make fake thug Milledge great and real thug Dukes good. On some days the Nationals will be scary to play. On other days they will look like thugs with sticks, helplessly confined within the rules of civility and baseball.
5. The Marlins
I'm not actually sure what exactly a marlin is, but I think it's related to the dolphin, and therefore an acquatic mammal. Despite this, some people call them the "fish." Recommended viewing for all: The Blue Planet- a fantastic BBC series hosted by David Attenborough. I don't know much about the Marlins other than that I could almost cover their payroll.

N.L. Central
This division breaks cleanly into thirds: two contenders, two almosts, two nopes.
1. The Cubs
I originally picked the Brewers, because I don't like picking mercenaries over home-growners if they're close talent-wise, but the Cubes lineup should be really good, the pitching (barely) good enough, and winning sunny games at Wrigley while Sweet Lou dances and flails can make any group of mercenaries feel like a team. After 99 years of being lovable losers, this team could use a few imported soldiers.
2. The Brewers
The aforementioned home-growners. Sub-prediction/hope: Prince Fielder has a really really good year and inspires people old and young to become vegetarrians and live more conscious lifestyles. If their pitching comes together they could definitely take the division.
3. The Reds
They have a shot of jumping groups from almosts to contenders. They could also slip back to the nopes. By the end of this year, people will be predicting them to do well next year.
4. The Cardinals
In recent seasons the Cardinals have been great, then good, then average (when they somehow became great for a month and won the world series), then bad with a serious mind-body disconnect (exemplified by the feud between their mad scientist manager, and brooding, now ex-third baseman). This year they'll be a little better than bad, but not quite good. The mind-body harmonics are improving, and they still have Albert Pujols. The beast may recover and rise again, but it'll take at least a couple of years.
5. The Astros
By trading for the Orioles' Miguel Tejada, the Astros officially became the new Orioles: the team that keeps themselves out of last place by overpaying for veterans with dubious futures. If a strange man in a dark coat offers you a bet on the Astros' lack of success over the next five years, take it! The city of Houston will need to take a collective look in the mirror sometime in that span. I don't know much about the place, yet I feel confident enough to say: Houston, you have a problem.
6. The Pirates
They just signed a talented man named Snell to a sensible deal. These are the things you look for in predicting a promising future. While Houston digs deeper and deeper, Pittsburgh builds something powerful and beautiful. As for this year, they'll lose a bunch of games, and trade Jason Bay to the Mets.

N.L. West
This is maybe the most open division in baseball, with four of the five teams having a pretty decent shot at winning it. My guess is that when the numbers are crunched, Arizona, L.A., San Diego and Colorado will combine to have a 110% chance of taking first place, with SanFran balancing things out by having a -10% shot. The statistical simulations will have to be updated to include the number/concept i.
1. The Diamondbacks
Lots to like here. Really good pitching, talented fiery youngsters in the lineup, and a diamondback is a kind of snake! Somehow these snakes feel disaster-proof- that is, bad stuff may happen, but for them it won't be a disaster. Not many teams you can say that about.
2. The Dodgers
For years, the Dodgers have been a team that I've always counted on from a distance to disappoint their fans. There may have been a time when I took pleasure in this- but now I just see it as something that happens- not necessarily good or bad. This year I expect some typical grumbling and drama, but I also expect them to be pretty good. Joe Torre will be good for the L.A. environment, so long as his nerves aren't too frayed from New York, and the team will play through his karmic reunion with Scott Proctor's arm.
3. The Padres
The Padres are always a pleasant team. They play in sunny Sandy Eggo. They seem to have nice players. Their bullpens are always really good. they have pitchers I'd like to see succeed. They even have Jim Edmonds now, and he seems like a great guy. Yeah, I like the Padres.
4. The Rockies
Who/what are the Rockies? I think they're still figuring that out, and I'm happy for them that they had a truly amazing three weeks last year before waking up in the path of the Red Sox juggernaut. They'll be good enough this year, but as the season wears on, those three weeks will feel more and more like a dream. I also have this weird feeling that Troy Tulowitski will get hurt and miss a lot of the season. I just glanced at their roster, and reading his name felt like reading one of those headlines that are never nice to see: Tulowitski injures knee, may miss 2-3 months. Good luck Rox.
5. The Giants
I love San Francisco, and this team has a couple of great young pitchers. The problem I see with the Giants, is that compared to just about every other team, they're not very good at baseball.

As for the awards:
N.L. MVP
In the conv: Wright, Beltran, Reyes, Chipper J, Fielder, Aramis, Braun, Weeks, Months, Drew/Upton (but not really either one individually), Teixiera, Andruw J. The West is so balanced it's hard to imagine one person rising above the rest. Paradigms are shifting, people! Since when is the West a place associated with balance? Now, that's when.
Who gets it: The firstbaseman of the wild card team. Hmmm... Tex or Fielder? Braves or Brewers? That has a lot more to do with each teams' starting pitching than those two (but that's how these things tend to be decided). Alright, I'll say the Dodgers hang around till the end, but get too beat up by their own division and fall short. The Brewers' bullpen falls apart, and the Braves surprise in a great race led by NL MVP: Mark Teixiera (who goes on to sign with the Yankees for 7 years, $134M).

Cy Young
Johan Santana!

Rookie of the Year
Cueto?

Random
Feel good story: Dukes/Milledge
Feel bad story: Zito/Vizquel
Feel pleasant story: The Padres
General trends: A better blending of youth and experience than we're used to seeing. Players talking even more about things like fielding practice and hitting the cutoff man, at least three teams invent their own dance.

Playoffs
Mets beat the Snakes
Cubes beat the Braves
Mets beat the Cubs with me in attendance.

Stay tuned for the A.L.