Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the best division in the National League. That’s right, I’m talking about the NL East. The East is by far the strongest division in the NL this season, containing three teams that have legitimate playoff hopes (and no, Washington is not included). It seems this division race goes down to the wire every season, and so it wouldn’t surprise me if this were a 2 or 3 team race deep into September. So without further ado, here are the rankings.

1. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES. The defending NL champs and 2008 World Series Champions certainly haven’t gotten any worse. The Fightin’ Phils basically swapped aces in the offseason, exchanging Cliff Lee for Roy “Doc” Halladay. Cliff Lee was the Phillies’ savior last season after his acquisition, going 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA down the stretch. However, Philadelphia is not taking a step down by bringing in Halladay, who had a 2.79 ERA in 2009, hasn’t had an ERA over 4 since 2004, and consistently leads the majors in complete games. Halladay is a workhorse; and more than that, HE HAS A DESIRE TO WIN. Halladay has been toiling in the obscurity that is Canadian baseball his entire career, and he realizes that now is his chance to get his hands on a World Series ring. The rest of the rotation has returned, notably young studs Cole Hamels and JA Happ, to go along with a solid back end in Joe Blanton and the ageless Jamie Moyer. Moreover, unlike many other teams in MLB in the offseason, the Phillies lineup has ultimately remained intact. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, and Placido Polanco know how to get on base, and Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth know how to drive in runs. If there is a flaw in Philadelphia, it lies with their bullpen. Brad Lidge fell off the table last season after a near-perfect 2008, accumulating a 7.21 ERA and blowing 11 saves. So which Brad Lidge will we see? He certainly has the fastball and sinker to bounce back, but if he doesn’t Ryan Madson will be there to step in. The point is: Philadelphia is a city notorious for booing their sports teams, but in 2010 they shouldn’t have much need.

2. ATLANTA BRAVES. 2010 will be Bobby Cox’s final year as Braves manager, after 73 seasons with the club. Actually it’s only been 23 seasons, but either way Cox has been a staple on the Atlanta bench (when he’s not being ejected, which he has been more than any manager in history). So can the Braves return to winning form and take back the NL East division as part of Cox’s last hurrah? If they’re going to do it, their rotation will have to be the key. Jair Jurrjens is a solid starter to head the rotation, but the Braves have some question marks beyond that. Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson both need to have bounce-back seasons, after Lowe posted an uncharacteristic 4.67 ERA and Hudson started only 7 games due to injury. Atlanta needs both of those veterans to put up the consistent numbers they have produced in the past. As far as the back end of the rotation, Tommy Hanson is a great prospect with an uncanny curveball that needs to avoid a sophomore slump, and Kenshin Kawakami needs to prove himself in his first full season in the majors. As far as the lineup goes, Atlanta has an excellent on base percentage throughout, but the weakness lies in their ability to drive runners in. Brian Mccann led the team in homers in 2009 with a mere 21, so the team will be looking for someone (maybe newcomer Troy Glaus) to fill the power void. The bullpen should be improved in 2010, with Billy Wagner jumping teams in the NL East to solidify the closer position. If Atlanta’s veteran pitchers get back on stride and the lineup puts up enough runs the Braves can push Philadelphia in the decision and make a play for the wild card.

3. NEW YORK METS. Meet the Mets, shall we? Well, there aren’t many new faces, but Jason Bay is the one big acquisition that should bring a big bat into an already powerful lineup. However, it is a lineup that suffered a number of key injuries in 2009, with Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran spending significant time on the DL. Jerry Manuel is counting on both of those players to come back in a big way in 2010, as well as David Wright, who had a huge power shortage last year with only 10 HRs and 72 RBIs. The major problem facing the team from Queens this season lies with their pitching. Johan Santana is the team’s ace and one of the best pitchers in the game, but beyond him their rotation is for the most part unproven. Mike Pelfrey and Oliver “Ball Four” Perez had sub-par seasons in 2009, and John Maine was injured for most of the season. Not only that, but they lack a definite 5th starter, holding a competition this spring between Fernando Nieve and Jon Niese. To sum up in one word, yikes. The Mets are going to have to outscore their opponents to win, and if all of their stars play to their potential they have the power to do that. But it’s very unlikely that they win the division. In essence, don’t expect the “Miracle Mets” to make another appearance in 2010.

4. FLORIDA MARLINS. 20 years ago many of the Marlins players were in diapers. Just look at them now. The Marlins are the youngest team in baseball, just as they are seemingly every season, due to the ownership’s love of dismantling the team just as they start to gel. They have debatably the best player in baseball in 5 tool star Hanley Ramirez, who hit .342 in 2009 with 24 HRs, 106 RBIs and 27 stolen bases as well. Florida also gets power from Dan Uggla (all power but no average), Cody Ross and 3B Jorge Cantu. Going along with the earlier theme, Florida’s rotation is also very young but also very capable, with 6’7” mammoth Josh Johnson being the ace. Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez have also had success at a young age and are trying to reach their potential in 2010. Chris Volstad has great stuff but disappointed last season and is capable of improving this year, and Sean West showed some nice flashes as a rookie and is looking to be a capable 5th starter. Leo Nunez is the team’s closer, and he had a solid season overall in 2009 in his first season with the team. However, he seemed to wear down a little down the stretch, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep the job into August and September. Overall, the Marlins will be fun to watch, despite only averaging about 13 fans per game to watch them. I think they have a lot of young talent, but they may be a year or two away from putting it all together.

5. WASHINGTON NATIONALS. President Obama did more in Washington in the offseason than the Nationals did. And that’s not saying much. The Nats were terrible last year and they appear to be terrible again, as fans wait eagerly for Steven Strasburg to save the franchise. Strasburg is a great talent, but he will likely start the year in the minors and then receive very little run support when he reaches the big club. Washington signed Ivan Rodriguez in the offseason, but that makes little difference, as at this point he’s a shell of his past self. Ryan Zimmerman is a great player (.293 AVG, 33 HR, 106 RBI in 2009), but other than his presence and Adam Dunn’s big bat the team doesn’t have a lot of pop. Not only that, but their rotation looks to be perhaps the worst in major league baseball. Their “ace” is Jason Marquis, who produced a fluke of a mediocre season last year after four terrible efforts from 2005-2008 in St. Louis and Chicago. John Lannan has some potential as a #2, but Scott Olsen, JD Martin, and Garrett Mock wouldn’t be starters any place else but Washington. I feel really sympathetic for Washington fans, which have to endure the mediocrity of the Nationals, Wizards, and Redskins on a yearly basis. My advice- become a Capitals fan. Alexander Ovechkin is the best athlete on any team in that city. Who knows, maybe he can pitch.