Post Classifieds
NL teams make offseason moves to challenge reigning division winners
By Chris Dierken
On March 13, 2013
The hot stove has finally cooled off, and the start of the Major League Baseball
season is less than three weeks away.
The off-season was filled with player movement, front office changes and even a
team changing leagues. Even with all of the changes, the National League appears to
be primed for similar results as last season.
The rich got richer throughout the NL, with the top teams all making moves to
improve.
The Washington Nationals added to their already loaded pitching staff when they
acquired Dan Haren and Rafael Soriano. The duo will help to solidify the Nationals
as a legitimate favorite to win the NL pennant.
Their rivals in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves, made a splash by signing B.J. Upton,
and later trading for his younger brother Justin. The Upton brothers will join an
already talented team, and will look to challenge Washington for the division title in
2013.
In perhaps the most surprising move of the summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers
signed free agent pitcher Zach Greinke to a $ 147 million contract. The deal was the
second most lucrative for a pitcher in MLB history, behind only C.C. Sabathia's $161
million deal with the Yankees, signed in 2009.
Greinke gives the Dodgers a legitimate starting pitcher behind their ace, Clayton
Kershaw, but he also brings a lot of baggage with him to Hollywood. Greinke might
very well become complacent and struggle now that he has secured his big contract.
Still, with the additions Los Angeles made at the trade deadline last year, the
Dodgers figure to be a player in the postseason race.
The San Francisco Giants didn't make any major moves, but the defending World
Series champions were able to maintain much of the same roster they ended last
season with. Matt Cain leads arguably the best rotation in the majors, and although
the Giants might struggle to score runs, they seem prepared for another playoff
appearance.
The most unpredictable division in the National League is the Central, with four
teams arguably having a chance at the division crown.
The Cincinnati Reds won the division last year and bolstered their lineup by
adding outfielders Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Ludwick. The ever-dangerous St. Louis
Cardinals return most of its roster, although the loss of Lance Berkman to free
agency and Chris Carpenter to injury could prove costly.
Besides the favorites in the Central, the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates
are potential dark horse candidates for the division crown. The Pirates were tied for
the division lead more than halfway through the 2012 season before faltering down
the stretch. The Brewers started off slowly, but won 32 of their last 50 games, and
return most of their roster from last season.
Despite the feeling that the standings should remain somewhat stagnant, there will
surely be a team that will come out of the woodwork and shock the entire league.
The Nationals didn't go into 2012 as the favorites to win the NL East, but they ended
the season with the best record in baseball. One team will likely fill that role this
year, and trying to predict who it will be is like throwing darts while blindfolded.
No matter how the standings shake out, the 2013 MLB season figures to be another
exciting year.
America's past time is back. Now it's time for us to sit back and enjoy the show.
Chris Dierken can be reached by email at dierken.record@live.com and on Twitter
@cdierken.
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