NL teams could flip MLB power balance

By Chris Winkler
Staff Writer

The balance of power in Major League Baseball for the past decade can really be summed up by one word — unbalanced. No, this isn’t a debate between the New York Yankees and the devil-less Tampa Bay Rays’ payroll, but a debate about the American League supremacy over the National League.

We all know about the All-Star Game and the Interleague play dominance, but not even last year’s Colorado Rockies, who stormed through the National League playoffs, could touch the AL’s best in the Boston Red Sox.

With a solid group of up-and-coming talent, and the addition of the best pitcher in the game, the NL may finally level out the playing field.

Start in the NL East, where the New York Mets picked up Johan Santana. Santana, the two-time Cy Young award winner and arguably best pitcher in baseball makes the Mets the pre-season favorites, even with last year’s collapse still in mind.

The Phillies, who won the East last year, look even better with the addition of closer Brad Lidge, allowing Brett Myers to move back into the starter’s role. MVPs Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, from 2006 and 2007 respectively, lead the NL’s best offense that saw them score more runs than anybody in 2007.

Then there is the Braves, after 14 straight East titles, the Braves took a back seat in the past two seasons. However, many analysts call the Braves the best team in the division this year.

Mr. Brave Chipper Jones has Mark Teixeira batting behind him, a potent punch in the middle of the order because both hit from both sides of the plate. A nightmare for opposing pitchers. The question is: Can Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton be effective for a full season?

The Nationals and Marlins both will be re-building. The Marlins dealt Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit, but did get super-prospect Cameron Maybin in return. The Nats have a new stadium and one of the best young third basemen in the game with Ryan Zimmerman.

In the central, the Cubs spent plenty of money in the off-season and look to be the favorites. With a loaded lineup featuring Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukodome, the Cubs are every analysts’ pick.

The Brewers look to be the only team capable to challenge Chicago. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are two of the most exciting young players in the game. If Ben Sheets can stay healthy, this could turn into an entertaining race.

In the loaded NL West, only the San Francisco Giants have been written off. Defending champion Arizona has the best young team in baseball. But it was the Colorado Rockies who won the wild card, then steamrolled through the NL playoffs en route to their first World Series ever.

Arizona got Dan Haren from Oakland to give them a solid one-two punch with Brandon Webb at the top. Offensively, Arizona has more young stars than any team in the league led by Stephen Drew and Justin Upton.

The Rockies benefited from playing its best baseball at the right time to get into the playoffs, and in the end, win the NL. The pitching staff is still suspect, but they can certainly count on lefty Jeff Francis. The offense is legitimately loaded, it’s not just the park factor.

The Dodgers’ best off-season pickup was Joe Torre, which was actually one of the best pickups in the NL. The Dodgers’ offense needed power, so they went out and got Andruw Jones, which should help, but they need more production from youngsters James Loney and Andre Ethier.

The San Diego Padres will also be right there in the thick of things in the west. They finished tied with the Rockies that forced a one-game playoff that was won by Colorado. They still have Jake Peavy, who now appears to be the second-best pitcher in the NL with the Mets picking up Santana.

Also Chris Young fell off a little bit in the second half of the season, but if he was the force he was in the first half, it gives the Padres the best one-two punch at the top of the rotation in the NL.

The National League is certainly more competitive. Look for two play-off teams to come out of the east with the Cubs and Diamondbacks winning the other two divisions. In the end, it may just be the hottest team in October that wins the NL again.

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