NL East

We’re less than 96 hours away from Major League Baseball Opening Day and the hype machine is running at dangerous levels. What better time for a balls-out National League Predictions Column.

Within you’ll find predictions on everything from specific team records to precise player stat lines, from Rookie of the Year picks to playoff breakdowns for every series.

The best part? Every prediction is guaranteed to be 100 per cent spot on. You can take it to the bank.

This article is the third installment of a six-part series in which I analyze each division in baseball and tell you exactly how I believe things are going to shake out this season.

I am by no means a credible source—merely a casual fan who knows a little about baseball and would like to share his observations and thoughts.

Today we take a look at the NL East, the home of the reigning league champs for two years running.

NL East

Spring has sprung, and with it come spring training and the return of baseball.

Pitchers stretch and play catch on the fresh, green, and manicured lawns. Hitters work the cages, exchange trade secrets, and work out the kinks spawned from an idle winter.

The temperature is rising, the sun is shining, and optimism permeates throughout. For it is hard to be pessimistic during spring training—unless you're from Philadelphia.

For us, it is just too easy.

The sport of baseball has always been tightly coupled with pranks and practical jokes.

Maybe it's because players spend 162 games together, live in close quarters for nearly half a year, or that the flow of the game allows for the shenanigans of the clown.

Regardless of why it happens, baseball lends itself very well to the offbeat characters and tomfoolery of jokesters. Rookies are always subjected to pranks. The veterans describe it as earning your way to the big leagues.

This entire offseason, the biggest argument against the Braves has been their offense. I'll admit it was abysmal during the first half of the season, but everyone seems to forget their fantasic second half in which they averaged 4.9 runs-per-game (.2 better than the Phillies).

Of course, the team lost Adam LaRoche and Garret Anderson. Still, those are losses the Braves can easily overcome. Also remember that Chipper Jones was in a slump for the majority of the time.

Let's have a look and see if the Braves will be able to provide the same production.

Nelson Figueroa got his final tune-up of the spring on Wednesday against the Florida Marlins, as he took the mound to fight for his big league career.

Figueroa—his start against the Marlins five days ago aside—has looked very strong this spring, but he indicated that he may head across to Japan should he not make the 25-man roster.

Upon reading the headline of this article, you are sitting there saying to yourself that I’m an idiot.

I’m sure most are only reading this to merely find out how stupid I possibly could be that I would have the audacity to say a middle reliever leaving is going to have more impact than the loss of a former Cy Young winner.

Just hear me out on this.

If nothing, this was a sign of trust in Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman.

Because what the Tigers did on Tuesday—dealing left-hander Nate Robertson to the Florida Marlins for left-hander Jay Voss—was nothing short of a release.

Did anyone really think otherwise?

The Tigers are paying $9.6 million of his $10-million salary this year and are virtually giving the payroll-sensitive Marlins the left-handed starter that they desperately needed.  

The National League East is a beast unlike any other to Mets fans such as myself. As a kid growing up, it was the Atlanta Braves who were the team to beat, thanks to a ridiculous stretch of division titles that started in 1991 and ended with the Mets finally knocking them off the throne in 2006.

Rejoice, fellow Mets fans! It's 2000 all over again....

Well, sort of...