The baseball season is nearly here. Time to make the annual predictions on the season…and in six months see how wrong I was.

I will start out with the National League East.

1- Washington Nationals. Clearly the class of the division. A well-rounded team. I like their pitching. It appears they are done changing the diapers of Stephen Strasburg and let him become a man. I was rooting for them to do well last year until they got ridiculous and shut him down late in the season. They had a chance to win it all but they blew it. Bryce Harper is a young and rising superstar. A well rounded team. They should win the division easily. I see them winning around 95 games this year.

2. Atlanta Braves.  The Braves made some big off-season moves in acquiring the Upton Brothers who have been underachievers for the most part in their careers so far. I am not all that wild about the Braves pitching staff. This isn’t your fathers Braves pitching staff. No Maddux, Glavine or Smoltz in this bunch. Tim Hudson has a lot of wear on him. Paul Malholm is nothing special. The key to the pitching may be Julio Teheran who had a great spring. I am hoping he continues where he started [since I have him on my National League Fantasy League team} The offense should be pretty good. They need comeback seasons from McCann and Uggla. Should be an interesting team to watch. The Braves should be in the hunt for a wild card slot. I see them winning around 86 games.

3. Philadelphia Phillies. The window is closing on the Phillies. They are kind of like the National League’s version of the Yankees. They are aging and breaking down. I look for Cole Hamels to be one of the best pitchers in the league this year but who knows what the Phillies will get out of former aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee who are getting older and have battled injuries. The Phillies have made some terrible mistakes in recent years-like signing Ryan Howard. Ryan Howard is on the downside of his career. He’s the Cecil Fielder of his generation. Big guys don’t age well. The best of his career is behind him and the Phillies are stuck with his fat contract. Chase Utley was once the best second baseman in the game. He is also on the downside. Jimmy Rollins and Michael Young have also seen better days. The acquiring of Ben Revere was a good move but the Phillies are old and tired. I think they will be around .500 on the season and will not see the post-season.

4. New York Mets. The Mets are now in rebuilding mode. They still have David Wright. Ike Davis will provide some power. Johan Santana was a terrible sign. He’s been battling injuries and will never be the pitcher he was with the Twins. They do have a couple young arms in their system with Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler. The Mets will be awful but there is some hope for the future. At least they seem to be bottoming out. I see the Mets going something like 70-92.

5. Miami Marlins.  If I were a Marlins fan I wouldn’t be anymore. They dumped all their big free-agent signings from last year to Toronto. They are in another rebuilding cycle. The Marlins history has been a strange one. It is a shame that this franchise won 2 World Series. They didn’t deserve it in Miami. They do have Glancarlo Stanton-for now. I would bet this time next year he will be elsewhere. This team looks like a AAA team. 62-100 or somewhere like that. It will be a struggle to avoid a 100 loss season. Worst ownership in baseball and that is saying a lot considering Bob Nutting owns the Pittsburgh Pirates.