6 Teams With Something To Prove

Which one team in each division has something to prove and why?  Read my thoughts on the NL today and my AL thoughts coming Saturday:

NL East-The easy answer is the Mets.  After the way they dropped off at the end and blew a huge lead, they need to come back and show everyone how great they are.  Of course the easy answer never seems to be the right answer, and this is no exception.  The team which needs to show something this year has to be the Phillies.  Philly finished with a flourish and then went out with a whimper in the post season.  Of course making the playoffs was a big step, but this club should have been in the playoffs the past couple of seasons and grossly underachieved.  Certainly there are questions with the bullpen, but a lineup with Rollins, Utley and Howard in it will produce runs-especially in that goofy ballpark.  This team needs to be near the front from start to finish and really rise to the top or face total breakup come the deadline.

NL Central-Certainly you could say the Brewers, but they are still a developing club so you can forgive them.  The Cardinals dominated the division for so long, and while I would like to see them atop the Central all year, there are certainly no expectations.  In the Central, I am going with the Cubs-the easy answer.  The Central is not a very good division, and the Cubs were the one team who could have really spent money this off-season, but chose not to.  Of course they did sign Fukudome, but they are still relying on pitchers who need to overachieve again, a defense that may or may not be able to catch the ball, as well as a few players who seem to like being injured more than being healthy.

NL West-For my money, without question it is San Diego.  I thought, on paper, they were the best team in the game last year.  Of course that's why I blog here and will never be inducted in the writers wing or anything.  Certainly they have a question or two, but there are few players on that roster who are not at worse, consistent.  The additions of Iguchi and Edmonds filled some hole's they had, but working Mark Prior into the rotation certainly is not going to be easy.  Additionally the West is the most difficult division in baseball for my money, even more so than the AL East simply because there is talent and balance.