Atlanta Braves

After notching 91 wins last season I would not be surprised to see the Braves win total drop this season. Chipper Jones is trying to recover from an ACL injury. Nate McLouth couldn't even hit .200 last season. Additionally,the Braves have to make the adjustment from Bobby Cox to Freddie Gonzalez as their manager. The lower half of this lineup is a concern and the rotation relies heavily on a pair of veterans who are aging...Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe. Plus Brandon Beachy is now being asked to step up in the rotation. Slight dropoff for Atlanta this season.

Florida Marlins

The Marlins won just 80 games last season and they'll struggle to top that win total this season. Mike Stanton strikes out too much, the Marlins will miss the bat of Dan Uggla, and John Buck had a big season last year but may struggle with moving to the National League. The pitching staff is a concern as adding Javier Vazquez is not a move that impressed!

New York Mets

Only 79 wins for the Mets last season and this season New York enters even "worse off" in my opinion. The Mets Johan Santana has a long injury recovery time frame. Chris Young and Chris Capuano particularly are questionable adds for the pitching rotation. The team only hit .249 so it will be hard for them to win games with their offense. This is especially true considering Terry Collins is in his first year as a manager for the Mets and, of course, they play under the media microscope of New York. This puts even more pressure on a team that has a number of question marks. I forecast the Mets to "wilt" under the pressure early and then struggle to recover. The Santana injury makes a slow start even more likely.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies finished with 97 wins last season and they should absolutely end up in the same range this season. Yes, the Chase Utley situation is concerning but this lineup still is solid and the pitching rotation is simply insanely good. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels combine for a fearsome foursome. At the same time don't forget how many games Joe Blanton has won in a Phillies uniform. Closer Brad Lidge is currently hurt but this bullpen is one of the better ones in the league thanks to guys like Ryan Madson. Don't be surprised if the lineup gets a boost with a healthier Raul Ibanez. This is evident in how well he performed when he was healthy last season. This is definitely still the team to beat in the NL East and certainly is a World Series contender yet again.

Washington Nationals

Just 69 wins last season and a similar season appears to be on tap for 2011. Pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg is out after Tommy John surgery. In terms of the offensive production of this team, much has been made of the addition of Jayson Werth. However, I don't expect the same production here as he's now been taken out of a lineup that was stacked with hitters that were power threats like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Nats also added other hitters that are trying to rebound...guys like Rick Ankiel and Adam LaRoche. The bottom line is that this lineup has too many holes and the pitching is hurt because of Strasburg's absence.

Get Guaranteed Baseball Picks and all of Scott Rickenbach's winning sports picks and MLB picks free at Vegas Experts.