The All-Realistic NL Team of 2008

So we decided to make the best starters, and put the best backup players behind them. So basically, the best realistic team of 2008. For the backup and utility players, they have to be actual backups or platooners, like Augie Ojeda, or Ruben Gotay for example. No video game rosters here.

My lineup will consist of:

2 Catchers
1 First Baseman
1 First Baseman/Third Baseman
1 Second Baseman
1 Second Baseman/Shortstop
1 Third Baseman
1 Shortstops
4 Outfielders
1 Utility Player
12 pitchers, 7 RP, 5 SP

Catcher: Brian McCann – Atlanta Braves

I made a mistake when I chose Russell Martin based on him dating Alyssa Milano on one of my older articles. Brian McCann is having the better season indeed.

Ups and downs: June 30th

Ups:

AJ Burnett had 11 strikeouts on Sunday and also won on June 24th after a stretch of terrible pitching. The Burnett situation in Toronto has been a rollercoaster of trade rumors and very streaky pitching. Looks like he is on an upswing now and will rack up the Ks.

OF Michael Bourn of the Astros has gotten is average up to .235 and keeps stealing bases. He has 31 steals this season. His numbers at the plate make it hard to justify starting him but Bourn is probably your best option if you need base stealers at this point since all the good ones are most definitely taken.

Nationals P John Lannan has a favorable matchup against the Reds on Thursday, July 3rd. He is going up against Johnny Cueto who has improved his last few starts, but still pitches for the last place Reds. Another favorable matchup on Thursday is Justin Verlander facing Carlos Silva when the Tigers visit Seattle. Verlander has been pitching very well lately and Silva and his equally large contract is a testament to the Bavasi era in Seattle.

Downs:

Braves 3B Chipper Jones may be placed on the DL and Tigers OF Magglio Ordonez was just put on the DL with a strained oblique. These are two guys you don’t want to be without, but they can be replaced for a few days. In looking for a new third baseman, look for Blue Jays 3B Scott Rolen to fill in. He is 6 of his last 12 and has 3 homers since June 22. That’s half his season total. For an outfield replacement, another Blue Jay Vernon Wells has been hitting and Tigers Gary Sheffield is on a tear since being activated from the DL.

Marlins Jorge Cantu hasn’t hit a home run since June 11th. He got off to a Chris Shelton-like start but has fizzled quite a bit lately. He did get the game-winning RBI on Sunday though in a 2-5 effort so he may be revving back up. Cantu has been disappointing with his average since June 11 below .210. Give him a few more days but be open to moving him before the deadline.

Padres Randy Wolf has gone 4, 6, and 3.1 innings in his last three starts which have been losses. His strikeout total was nice the other day (10 Ks against Detroit on June 22) but his WHIP is way high (2.3ish) in this span. The Padres have lost eight straight game so outside of Peavy and Hoffman, starting another Padre is not a good idea. Greg Maddux has been feeling the full effect of this poor play as he can’t buy a win (last win was May 10th).

National League Review: April

(Sorry about the long delay.. oops)

So, who has been good so far this year? We’ll see. Let us point out the MVP of the month, the Cy Young of the month, the most disappointing individual player, and the most disappointing team.

I like early 90s rap, so I will use old school rappers to demonstrate who has been awesome and who really, really sucks so far in the National League.

The Public Enemy award: MVP of April Chipper Jones

The Braves’ Chipper Jones in the month of April has been the “Public Enemy” for opposing teams so far this year. The switch-hitting old man of a third baseman still has a lot left in his tank. I will put Chipper on the top of my list, as he is batting a league-leading .417, while chewing many, many cans of Skoal and eating lots of Hooters wings. Chipper is simply. the. man. I also like Chase Utley, but Jones is the best player on an average team so far.

Honorable mentions: Chase Utley, Ryan Church, Hanley Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Raffy Furcal, Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman

Division Preview: NL East

After the Johan Santana trade, the New York Mets became the top of the heap in the NL East, and possibly all of the National League. The NL East has some very good teams in the Mets and the Phillies, an average-to-good team in the Braves, then it drops off to some slightly mediocre teams in the Nationals and the Marlins. Other than Cameron Maybin and othters of the Marlins, Fernando Martinez of the Mets, and several Braves prospects, this division is not really loaded with as many prospects as the other divisions.

1. New York Mets (2007: 88-74, 2nd)

Johan Santana

The Mets are easy choice for the NL East as they got obviously the best pitcher in baseball in Santana, and they also traded for a few other cogs like C Brian Schneider and OF Ryan Church from the Nationals. Church is a player who has always deserved a chance in the Nationals organization but never really got one for whatever dumb reason. He really could be the Mets’ breakout player. Their pitching, other than Santana, also has El Duque, Pedro Martinez, the average John Maine, and Oliver Perez. The bullpen is decent has Billy Wagner as closer and Joe Smith, with Matt Wise added. The offense, other than Schneider and Church, does not have many notable additions, but they should be quite good, with 3B David Wright, SS Jose Reyes, OF Carlos Beltran, 2B Luis Castillo, etc. The Mets look great.

Read more for the rest of the predictions.