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2009 NL East Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on February 17, 2009

nl-east-217091 1st Place – Philadelphia Phillies +160 to Win NL East
The Phillies won a second straight NL East title in 2008 as the New York Mets endured another maddening collapse. But the Phillies didn’t stop there. They rode the left arm of ace Cole Hamels to a World Series title. Hamels was 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the playoffs in five starts and the Phillies were victorious in all five of his outings. Brad Lidge is as good a closer as there is in baseball and has converted 51 straight save chances dating back to 2007. As for the lineup, few teams have a three-headed monster like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard. Expect the Phillies to be working in October again.

2nd Place – New York Mets +120 to Win NL East
Since winning the division with a 97-win regular season in 2006, it’s been back-to-back disappointing second place finishes for the Mets. The Mets look strong on paper once again, but the question remains if we will see another September slump. It is good news for Mets fans that the team signed Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz to fix its greatest weakness – the pen. K-Rod racked up a record 62 saves for the Halos in 2008 and Putz has the look of an intimidating setup artist. The Mets have a three-headed monster in Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran to put up against the Phillies and anyone else in baseball. If the Mets don’t make the postseason this year, they will have no excuses to fall back on.

3rd Place – Florida Marlins +600 to Win NL East
The Fish finished third in 2008 with 84 wins and I can’t see this young team sinking in 2009. The Fish continue to win games despite the lowest payroll in the majors. What could this team do if they quit pinching pennies for a minutes? Probably win another title. Hanley Ramirez is coming off a 33 homerun season to lead a young talented offense. There are plenty of good players on this team and it is a shame that more fans don’t come out to support them.

4th Place – Atlanta Braves +450 to Win NL East
It has now been three seasons since the Braves last won the division. Two of the last three years this team hasn’t even broke 80 wins. Pitching has always been the backbone of this team and the Braves went out and got Derek Lowe, Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami, and Javier Vazquez to make a playoff run. I don’t see it happening this year but the Braves could be talking playoffs again as soon as 2010. The Braves lost 90 games in 2008, their first 90-loss season since 1990 and that leaves them with a lot of ground to make up. Without making any significant additions to a struggling offense, expect the Braves to be outslugged often this season.

5th Place – Washington Nationals +5000 to Win NL East
2008 was a miserable year for the Nats as the injury bug made sure they ended up with the worst record in baseball. There’s only one way to go and that should mean better baseball for Washington in 2009, but it doesn’t mean that it will get out of the gutter. Without bringing in any established superstars, the Nationals improvement will depend on the improvement of its young nucleus of players. Ryan Zimmerman is the brightest of Washington’s young stars and this could be the year he reaches elite status.

Beat the baseball lines this season with the help of Jimmy Boyd’s MLB betting tips. You can play with Jimmy from Opening Day through the World Series by signing up for his Season MLB picks package.

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