It's only April, but it's already clear: Come October, as many as nine teams will be realistically vying for postseason berths in the National League.
When the 2007 regular season ended, an incredible seven NL teams found themselves in the postseason or within two games of their division's lead. Additionally, a few teams that found themselves on the outside looking in, namely the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, made enough significant improvements over the offseason to merit being mentioned amongst the league's elite.
The Braves, perennial contenders in the National League pennant race, will enjoy a full season of first baseman Mark Teixeira. With the ageless Chipper Jones at third, the young and improving Yuniel Escobar at shortstop and the RBI machine known as Jeff Francoeur in the outfield, the Braves now possess a combination of power and speed in their lineup that can compete with the best in the league.
The Dodgers are coming off of a mildly disappointing 2007 campaign with a new attitude, thanks to the hiring of manager Joe Torre. The former Yankee has an embarrassment of riches in his pitching rotation, with perennial Cy Young candidate Brad Penny headlining a rotation of Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda. A healthy return from Jason Schmidt sometime over the next few months will put a potential ace in each of the five spots in the Dodgers' starting rotation.
The seven serious contenders from last year must all be given their proper due as well. The NL East seems destined for a repeat of last year, when the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets took the race for the division title down to the final game of the regular season.
Coming off a monumental collapse in the last three weeks of the 2007 season, New York acquired stud pitcher Johan Santana during the offseason, a move that just may be enough to put the Mets over the top.
But to represent the Senior Circuit in the Fall Classic, New York will need a handful of solid performances and no surprises. Pedro Martinez must remain healthy, Oliver Perez must match the consistency he exhibited on the mound in 2007 and Jose Reyes and David Wright must post MVP-caliber seasons.
The Phillies also face questions, but the core of the team that earned the organization's first playoff berth in over a decade last season is back. Three legitimate MVP candidates - Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley - anchor a lineup that should lead the league in runs scored for a second year in a row.
Additionally, the acquisition of Brad Lidge should create more flexibility for the Phillies' pitching staff, providing a proven, lights-out closer to balance Brett Myers on the front end of the rotation.
The NL Central appears to be a two-team race yet again, with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers expected to trade punches through September. Both teams seem to have immense but inconsistent talent on offense, solid front-end pitching and deep bullpens.
It's easy to fawn over the power of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, but the true strength for the Brew Crew lies in their bullpen. Trusted setup men David Riske and Derrick Turnbow will likely bridge the gap from Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan and Carlos Villanueva to Eric Gagne, who will be eager to prove that his two months in Boston were an aberration.
The cursed but lovable North Siders, meanwhile, return the effervescent Carlos Zambrano as their staff ace. Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and newcomer Kosuke Fukudome round out a potent and balanced lineup that in the end, should keep the NL Central balance of power in Chicago's favor for another year.
The NL West is the league's most dynamic and improved division. In 2005, the San Diego Padres won the divisional title with an 82-80 record. Last year, three teams in the division exceeded that win tally by seven.
Excellent starting pitching characterizes both the Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks brought in the All-Star pitcher Dan Haren as a counterweight to their incumbent ace Brandon Webb. This transaction ought to instantly vault Arizona into the NL's pitching pantheon, a spot that was occupied solely by San Diego last year.
Not that the Padres are going anywhere. Reigning Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy, ERA champion Chris Young, 347-game winner Greg Maddux and a stingy bullpen anchored by Heath Bell and all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman all herald another competitive regular season for the Padres.
Lastly, the "lightning in a bottle" of Major League Baseball: the Colorado Rockies. While most baseball fans are still slack-jawed from the 21 of 22 wins that the Rockies reeled off before the World Series last year, the young team looks primed for another decent season.
Its lineup, arguably the most balanced in baseball, is centered around MVP hopeful Matt Holliday, budding star Troy Tulowitzki and unofficial captain Todd Helton. Even if Colorado did not play 81 games at hitter-friendly Coors Field, this lineup could still merit the moniker "Murderers' Row."
Following the scintillating culmination of the 2007 regular season, one can only expect a repeat for the upcoming year. Unlike the American League, more than half of the members of the Senior Circuit are ready succeed in 2008.
