NL East

Spring training is inching closer and closer for the New York Mets. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Port St. Lucie on February 15 to begin their journey through the 2014 MLB season.

With nearly a decade gone since the Montreal Expos relocated and granted D.C. and its metropolitan area residents the gift of a professional baseball team for the third time in Major League Baseball history, the Washington Nationals have long-buried the ineptitude of their geographical predecessors.

Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks for the Atlanta Braves, marking the fast-approaching 2014 season.

This offers the first glimpse at how the players look after the offseason, although many of them will say "they are in the best shape of their lives."

Still, fans and media get a chance to see how the players look and it generally adds to the excitement for the upcoming season.

The Braves didn't overhaul their roster after winning the National League East in 2013.

The Philadelphia Phillies' offseason is mercifully coming to a close. After a winter that saw a few too many bad contracts signed, fans would like to see what this supposedly-revamped team is capable of doing.

Allow me to tell you about one thing I'm not sure of and two things I am sure of.

The thing I'm not sure of: whether Bryce Harper will be my pick for the 2014 National League MVP. It's still early for such things.

As for the two things I am sure of:

Recently, the New York Mets' 2014 hitting predictions were done, and now, it's time for the starting pitchers predictions. The Mets' present and future success will arguably be built around the rotation.

The starting pitchers will hope to do well on the mound, but other factors such as run support and the bullpen could always play a role in how many wins and losses the starters might end up having.

There are a number of dark-horse prospects who could make the New York Mets' roster on Opening Day, and with pitchers and catchers arriving to Port St. Lucie, Fla., in the next few weeks, it’s easy to get excited about them already.

The February 15 spring training report date for the New York Mets is right around the corner, which will officially kick off their mission of becoming a winning baseball team in 2014.

It was a fairly quiet winter in Atlanta. The biggest news were the few fan favorites who left for other cities, and the future home of the Braves—Cobb County. There were a couple acquisitions that will help the Braves, but none that change the look of the club.

This calm offseason taught us a few things about the Atlanta Braves. From the financial issues to the bullpen, here is what we learned.

There are a few standout shortstops in baseball. Then there is the inarguable standout shortstop on defense, Andrelton Simmons.