Midsummer MLB Predictions - NL

Well, the future of the American League for this season has been written in stone. Let's take a look at how the National League will finish, including the playoff picture and the all-important World Series pick:

NL East

The Nationals are bad and will finish last. Fair enough? Good, moving on. As much as I would like to say the Marlins will make a push to win the East, being my favorite NL team and all, the defending champion Phillies swing the bats way too well to lose their hold on first. They were hot going into the All-Star break and will be hot coming out. The Phils are stellar on the road, and that's appealing to me. It's anybody's guess how the Marlins, Braves, and Mets (currently separated by 2.5 games and all hovering around .500) will finish. I will play favorites and leave Florida in the 2-spot. I like Atlanta's McClouth addition more than New York's Francouer addition, and the Mets generate no power at the plate. Braves in third, Mets in fourth.

NL Central

This division is scary. Like, the spooky kind of scary. As it stands now, the Reds have a shot to win it currently sitting in fifth. The last place Pirates and fourth place Cubs have the division's best home records. And suddenly the Astros are back? Let's break it down. The Cardinals will win the division. They've been on top for too long now to let it slip. Just so we can set the two extremes, the Pirates won't climb out of the Central cellar. Nate McClouth and Nyjer Morgan suddenly just...aren't there anymore. Rebuilding mode? The Reds are always a tease to make something happen but never follow through. They finish in the 5-spot. At 16-25, the Cubs are horrendous on the road and play the majority of their remaining games there. They finish fourth. In my boldest National League prediction (recall the AL's "Rangers win the East" prediction from yesterday), I like Houston to push past Milwaukee and grab second place. No matter though, only St. Louis moves on to the post-season.

NL West

Ahhh, finally a division that doesn't make my head hurt. It's simple: Nothing will change. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball. There's your division winner. The D-Backs and Padres will remain 4-5. Neither club shows signs of making moves to add more punch at the plate, and Dan Haren and Mark Reynolds just may be the only ones keeping Arizona from going further under. The Giants are playing shocklingly good baseball. Between Freak Lincecum fanning 10 per game and Jonathan Sanchez's no-no, it feels good to call them a playoff-worthy team. Finally. The Rockies just aren't getting it done. Mad props to Jason Marquis for at least giving them a shot. Colorado finishes third.

Playoffs

The Wild Card round pairs division rivals Dodgers and Giants. The season series between these two clubs is extremely tight, so don't be surprised to see San Fran force a Game 6 or 7. Dodgers win though. The Phillies will have home field advantage in their series with the Cardinals, and I like them to take care of business, like the defending champions should. In the two games the Phillies played in St. Louis this year, "taking care of business" is an understatement. This year, however, a different result will come from a Dodgers-Phillies NLCS. Neither team has hardly changed in appearance since last year, but L.A. is playing far better ball.

You can't dethrone the two clear-cut best teams in baseball in the Boston Red Sox and L.A. Dodgers. They will match for the World Series (and I'll call it now: AL wins the All-Star game tonight, giving the Sox home field).

My Red Sox emerge victorious in true World Series fashion: seven games. Tim Wakefield over Clayton Kershaw. Wakefield strikes out former pal Manny with his signature knuckleball, and all of Beantown erupts. Now that's a bold prediction.

League leaders coming soon!