Eye on the National League

By Jessica Johnsen-Quiroli

As the winter unfolds National League followers have a few questions on their minds. Questions such as: Where will Randy Johnson end up? How competitive will the newly christened Washington Nationals be? Will they be in Washington at all? Will the New York Mets make a comeback after their disastrous 2004 season? Is Barry Bonds tainted goods now? And by how many games will the Atlanta Braves (with new ace Tim Hudson) win the National League East this time?

Part of the fun of being a National League follower and fan is that your favorite team isn't in the same division as the Yankees. It's nice.

However there is the prevailing attitude that the American League is better and truthfully they have proven it. The AL has won the World Series in 13 of the past 20 championships. When the NL takes the crown it is has usually been against the Yankees in recent years and it is considered an incredible feat for that reason alone. In 2003 the Florida Marlins were a Wild Card upset in the NLE and then took the Yankees by absolute surprise in the World Series beating them in six games. It was a brilliant feat by the young Marlins, powered by masterful pitching by Josh Beckett and offensive fireworks by Luis Castillo and Juan Pierre. The Marlins also have the distinction of winning it twice in less than a decade.

The NL last won it in 2001 when the Arizona Diamondbacks faced off against (Who else?) the Yankees. But overall the American League has dominated. So we National Leaguers look forward to when we sneak in there and get the ring. This year there is no shortage of topics within the realm of the NL.

Obviously the major topic of baseball conversation right now is Barry Bonds, leftfielder for the San Francisco Giants and his alleged steroid use. It will surely be a memorable year in the sport as everyone waits to see if he breaks Hank Aaron's homerun record under the harsh spotlight now shining brighter than ever on him. Whether or not people will celebrate his achievement or turn their backs on him it will be a fascinating and emotional drama as it unfolds over the course of the season. The rest of the Giants offense struggled last year but whatever they may improve on in the 2005 season will unfortunately be overshadowed by the Bonds fiasco. The steroid news has already pushed moves by the current NL West champions, the Dodgers, to the back page. They've managed to pick up Jeff Kent but have lost Adrian Beltre.

Last season the popular belief was that the Philadelphia Phillies were the team to beat but in the National League East there are always the Braves to beat. People were too certain that the fall of the mighty Braves had come. But the Phillies had added bullpen depth and strength with Billy Wagner as their new closer and Tim Worrell as set up man. Kevin Millwood was expected to be their ace starter. But as we all know baseball deals us the unpredictable and the Phillies struggled for most of the season then destructed completely at season's end. Injuries and key player slumps sunk their ship and in the end manager and Philadelphia favorite Larry Bowa took the fall for the failure of the club. The Mets were another team that seemed convinced they needed a change in the guard when they too fired their manager, Art Howe. Meanwhile General Manager Ed Wade made two year deals with pitcher Corey Lidle and RP lefty Rheal Cormier. Cormier was a strong arm out of the bullpen last year when he pitched in 84 games the most for a pitcher in Phillies history and gave up only one run to left handed hitters. The Phillies search for a starter for the top of the rotation ended when they acquired John Lieber from the Yankees, signing him to a three year 23 million dollar deal. If the Phillies are to contend this year, the starting pitching has got to go deeper into the game, Billy Wagner and Ryan Madson need to stay healthy and the hitting problems of Pat Burrell and Mike Lieberthal must be addressed. Phillies fans are also anticipating Chase Utley taking over at second base and it will finally be time to see what he does as an everyday player. With new pitching Coach Rich Dubee and new hitting coach Milt Thompson in place there is great pressure on the coaching staff to prove that the former staff was a big part of the Phillies failure last year.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all in the National League last season was the Marlins finish in third place behind the Phillies. Josh Beckett, 2003's World Series MVP, suffered from injury issues and the loss of catcher Ivan Rodriguez was a huge blow to the offense. The overall energy that the team was brimming with the previous year seemed to have faded. Not surprisingly though manager Jack McKeon was kept on as the club's skipper. His upbeat and offbeat attitude and deep knowledge of the game have made him a favorite of Marlins fans and baseball fans everywhere and perhaps he can set fire under the Marlins again. With the loss of Carl Pavano to the Yankees Josh Beckett will need to stay healthy and recently acquired veteran Al Leiter will need to contribute in order for the Marlins to contend once again.

Leiter's former team the Mets made a huge and hotly debated deal, signing pitcher Pedro Martinez after the free agent decided not to return to the Red Sox even though he just made history with the club winning the 2004 World Series. In doing so they have given themselves more of a competitive edge in the league and probably secured a dozen more wins for themselves next season. But they also might have created a whole other set of problems with the well known ego of Martinez and the guarantee for a fourth year in his deal. At that time he will be 37 years old. The Mets also appear to be looking for a more aggressive voice at the helm of the ship. They had tried to bring Jim Leyland on as the new manager as well as Wally Backman. There was some talk that the organization was interested in trying to get Lenny Dykstra to take the job but he apparently has only a vague interest at this point. Re-signing Kris Benson to a three year deal was another step in the right direction for the club. Benson had finished the season giving up only two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts. But I suspect a new hitting coach will be one of the major factors in the Mets improving for 2005. With new General Manager Omar Minaya in place the Mets organization is making a clear and vigorous effort to start over.

Right now all eyes are on the former Montreal Expos, now (or at least for the time being) the Washington Nationals. All promotional business was halted and the unveiling of the new uniforms was quickly cancelled after a decision was made by the DC council that at least half of the funding had to be provided privately. What looked like a done deal and an exciting new chapter in baseball appears to be falling apart. Longtime Expos devotees who mourned the loss of their baseball team and DC residents who are keeping their fingers crossed that the move will still take place are being put through a roller coaster.

There were also high hopes on the part of the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals last season. Roger Clemens was supposed to be the spark that led his home town Astros to a World Series and spectacular third baseman Scott Rolen was expected to be kissing a World Series ring himself with the Cardinals. There really was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Cardinals were going to be in the World Series and there was little doubt that they could beat the Yankees. Of course we never entertained the thought that the Yankees wouldn't be in the Fall Classic. But just as impossible to believe would be the poor showing of Rolen who went hitless in the series. While Rolen will surely recover and move on Clemens is not so sure of his return at this point. After the Astros fell to the Cardinals in game 7 of the NL championship the future Hall of Fame pitcher stated he was mentally spent and that he had to reprioritize. If he returns to play he has made clear that he will only return to play for the Astros. Another future HOF'er, Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been chased by nearly every team in baseball including the Yankees, whom he has reportedly shown the most interest in if he is traded. The Yankees had stated they were no longer interested in a trade for Johnson but the game of cat and mouse has begun again with the Yankees saying they may still be interested in working something out with the Diamondbacks. It's probably safe to assume he is thinking in terms of where he would like to retire and he has made no secret of his desire to play for the Yankees. Retiring as a Yankee is certainly not a bad thing.

Being a National League follower may not pay off again in 2005 but we are a proud bunch and we look forward to the off year whenever we can make a splash. Here's looking at you 2005 and I can't wait to see who will contend to try and beat the best team in baseball-the Boston Red Sox. The American League strikes again? I wonder.