However, with the Cubs recent postseason ineptitude and the potential for many teams throughout the league to make a major jump if they can pick up another blue chip starting pitcher, the National League seems like it will feature a much more competitive and interesting playoff push.

We don’t have the same type of three-way race in the NL that is shaking out in the AL. There are only a few top-tier teams, with the Cubs topping that list and the Phillies and Mets trying to elbow their way into contention for the number two and three spots.

It appears many National League ball clubs are taking a page out of an American League strategy manual. The amount of teams that can straight out slug is kind of staggering, especially when you consider the dearth of starting pitching in the traditionally defensive-minded senior circuit.

NL East

1. New York Mets – 91-71 2. Philadelphia Phillies – 89-73 3. Florida Marlins – 86-76 4. Atlanta Braves – 81-81 5. Washington Nationals – 65-97

The NL East is nowhere close to its American League counterpart in terms of potential and powerhouse squads, there is a fair amount of talent here. I’m skeptical how the Phillies will hold up in their bid to defend the crown, especially considering how their starting rotation has only gotten shakier with Cole Hamels’ early season elbow issues and Jamie Moyer’s doctors having problems defrosting him from his cryogenic stasis chamber where he "lives" during the off-season.

I’m also not so confident in awarding the "choke-artist" Mets with a first-place nod, but you have to think a team that blew 29 saves last year (with 11 of them coming after Billy Wagner went down) will be able to punch in at least a couple more wins by adding the two best closers from the free-agent market.

Unfortunately, Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz won’t be able to pitch two innings a piece every night, which leaves the Mets with nearly as questionable a rotation as Philadelphia. The one team in the division who seems to have a stacked starting five is surprisingly the Florida Marlins.

Their young arms have the potential to really make a run in this division, especially with a power-hitting infield and upcoming star and leadoff man Cameron Maybin in centerfield. If Florida’s rotation can consistently show the flashes of excellence it did last season, baseball may be relevant again in South Beach this summer, even if no one is watching.

The Braves did themselves a favor by adding Derek Lowe, who did a stellar job blanking the Phills in the opener, so class-A choker and general baseball incompetent Javier Vazquez wouldn’t need to be their ace. However, there are enough holes on this team to let them slide below the upstart Marlins.

As far as the Nationals, well, my mother always taught me that if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs – 102-60 2. St. Louis Cardinals – 88-74 3. Cincinnati Reds – 87-75 4. Milwaukee Brewers – 86-76 5. Houston Astros – 74-88 6. Pittsburgh Pirates – 59-103

The Cubs, once again, are above and beyond the favorites in the central. After adding Milton Bradley to combat the universe’s most significant problem since the O-Zone layer started World War II, the Cubs found a left-handed power bat to give their lineup some balance.

The rest of the division contenders – or should I say wild card contenders – are teams chock-full of batting orders that are going to flat out belt the ball, but all of their suspect pitching issues.

The Cardinals are the front runner of this pack, as they will rely heavily on Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter to come back from injury-plagued seasons to complement a spanking new lineup featuring up-and-comers Skip Schumaker, Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick and Colby Rasmus.

The Reds actually have the starting rotation with the most potential, but also the most amount of question marks behind them in terms of defense. If strikeout wizard Aaron Harang can regain his form and join follicle-ly-challenged pitcher Bronson Arroyo and a crew of young phenoms with high ceilings (Edison Volquez, Johnny Cueto and triple-A-bound Homer Bailey), the Reds may just put up the best rotation aside from the Cubs in the league, let alone the division.

Though it hurts me to do so, I have to slot the Brew-crew into a fourth place finish. After losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, you have to imagine this young, exciting team is going to slide. Seriously, how much can Yovani Gallardo make up for a team otherwise depleted of any starting pitching?

The Astros and Pirates will duke it out for the cellar honors in the division, with the Astros having the slight edge to end up at five since they actually have players on their team that you can name. How much longer Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman can thrash the ball is up in the air, especially with minimal support from anyone but Roy Oswalt.

And in Pittsburgh they’re just celebrating that their team decided it’s going to try and sign its draft picks from now on, instead of letting them skip town on the first flight out of Pittsburgh International.

NL West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers – 88-74 2. Arizona Diamondbacks – 84-78 3. San Francisco Giants – 83-79 4. Colorado Rockies – 71-91 5. San Diego Padres – 65-97

The Dodgers will tremendously benefit from a full season of Manny, assuming he can keep focused and his legs don’t give out in the absence of a designated hitter position to spell his aging legs. Both of these are big if’s, but the Dodgers hope their farm system has produced some solid starters after losing a couple of their front-line guys who shut down the Cubs in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

The D-Backs have lost a lot of pitching behind Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, but the bigger problem out in the desert may be if Arizona’s cast of supposed young stars like Chris Young and Justin Upton continue to falter.

The Giants could be poised to make a move after adding some veteran rotation depth in area monster and future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. If rookie Pablo Sandoval can live up to comparisons to Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero, watch out NL West.

The Rockies and Padres are without a doubt in rebuilding phases, which won’t sit well with ultra-competitive Rockies shortstop Tyler Tulowitzki who is coming back from a down year. If he can show the same talent he did in his 2007 campaign, Denver fans may have something else to root for come August other than a clean-shaven Kyle Orton (Editor’s Note: Ha-ha.)

The Padres, forced to slash payroll to make the team appealing to potential buyers, will hopefully get a solid cast of young players when they no doubt trade Jake Peavy in the middle of the season. Other than that, they will be irrelevant for most of the season.