NL Preview:

As promised, here's a look at the Bearded One's predictions for the National League

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies:
The Phillies are the obvious choice here. Easily the best team in the NL, they are stacked. Roy Halladay andCole Hamels make a solid one-two punch in the starting rotation. The line up is deadly, with hitters like Howard and Utley, they are going to be a tough team to beat. I don't see any team in the NL that can compete with the Phillies, expect them to make a run for the World Series.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals:
It's hard to pick against the team that has the best hitter in baseball. Albert Puljos is a dominant player, by far and away the best hitter in the majors. The Cardinals will live and die with the production of the players not named Puljos. If his surrounding cast struggles, then the team will struggle. But I expect them to be just fine. Expect Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to be a deadly tandem in the rotation and lead St. Louis to the postseason.

NL West: Los Angelas Dodgers
Should be a tight race in the West this year, but I expect the Dodgers to come out on top of that division. They have a solid squad, with hitters like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and that Manny Ramirez guy. The Dodger bats are solid, but the pitching is the question mark. The hitting will make up for a few bad pitching days, but if the rotation is off, then so are the Dodgers.

NL Wild Card: New York Mets
Call me a sucker, call me whatever, but I'm buying into the Mets. They have a good squad, they just choke every year. The line up 1-8 is pretty damn solid, and can perform at a top level. New addition Jason Bay is going to be a key in the Mets season. If he can hit in the new Mets Stadium, then they should have a good all around year. Remember when everyone agreed that Johan Santana was the best pitcher in baseball? Well, he's still pretty damn good. He'll lead the Met starters to the promise land, getting them into the postseason. No choke job this year for the Mets, they'll be playing in October.