NL East

The New York Mets are a naturally occurring source of negativity.

You’d think they’d never won a World Series—something eight other expansion teams can claim, plus seven other clubs that have not exceeded the two championships won by the Mets.

Yet here we are at the beginning of another season, and the Mets are given little chance to finish third in the NL East, much less first.

Las Vegas has the Mets as an 18-to-1 underdog. Seems like pretty good odds compared to 100-to-1.

When you evaluate the Mets chances of seriously challenging the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East this year, what is the biggest obstacle they need to overcome?

While staying healthy would be near the top of many people's lists, in my opinion it all hinges on starting pitching.

Outside of Johan Santana, just how much do you trust the two-through-five combination of Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Jonathan Maine, and Jonathon Niese?

All spring, the talk has been about how the Atlanta Braves want Bobby Cox's last season in the dugout to be a big one, hopefully leading to a World Series.

Monday's game against the Chicago Cubs showed they mean business.

The Braves smashed a few offensive Opening Day records en route to a 16-5 pummeling of the Cubbies, who some expect to contend for the NL Central, or at least the Wild Card.

Inside the numbers:

He was phenomenal throughout the minor leagues and continued to put his array of talents on display in Spring Training. At 20-years old, he has the plate discipline and eye of a veteran. He can spray the ball to every part of the outfield, steal bases, and play a superb right-field.

He has it all.

Those of you who regularly visit the Phillies’ BR page know that featured columnist Gary has appropriately analyzed the Phillies’ five “keys” to the 2010 season during the last few weeks.

Just as a refresher, here are Gary’s five keys:

1. How will the fifth starting pitcher fare?
2. Can Cole Hamels go back to the future?
3. Which Raul Ibanez will show up this season?
4. Will the bullpen sink or swim?
5. Which Brad Lidge shows up?

Tough to argue with any of them.

There was a lot of negativity surrounding the New York Mets this spring, but one of the bright spots was right-handed pitching phenom Jenrry Mejia.

Mejia burst on the scene this spring and was the talk of Mets camp. In 17 innings, Mejia had a 1.59 ERA and struck out nine while only walking three.

Mejia’s performance was so impressive that the Mets have decided to keep him on the major league roster to start the season.

It's a new season. A new beginning. A fresh start.

It's also the final opening day for one of the greatest managers to ever grace the dugout, Bobby Cox.

Cox has what is possibly his most talented team since the early 2000s.

The Braves have plenty of starting pitching. They have a lineup that has the potential to become quite dangerous. They have a bullpen with one of the all-time greatest closers.

There are still question marks within those units.

Will Troy Glaus continue his torrid pace from spring training (he hit over .400)?

The National League East should be one of the easiest divisions to predict in all of baseball.

Everyone knows the Washington Nationals are dead on arrival for at least another year so put them in the cellar and etch it in stone. The Philadelphia Phillies are almost as sure a thing at the top based on lineup, rotation, and history.

Contrarily, the New York Mets look distinctly more start-and-stop than the other three clubs so put them in fourth.

The 2010 Major League Baseball season begins Sunday night with the Yankees in Boston to play the Red Sox. Fast forward six months, and here you have it, the final standings...

American League East

During the entire offseason, the Braves rotation has been touted as one of the most solid in baseball. In the past couple of weeks, though, they have been excluded from many top lists.

MLB.com picked the Phillies to have the top rotation in the NL East. The Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti picked the Cardinals, Phillies, and Giants over the Braves in the NL. These are just a couple of examples.

It has perplexed me how the Braves' impressive pitching could be ranked so low. How does a team with few problems over spring training go from tops to glossed over?