The 2009 baseball season is upon us and how glorious it is.. This week, we'll break down each division and who will be left standing at the bitter end.  You can check back in October to see how inaccurate these predictions were and make fun of me...

*NL East

*This should be a pretty strong division with 4 respectable teams and an improved, but not yet respectable Nationals team. The Phillies return a strong core from the championship team of last year, but new questions surrounded the health of Cole Hamels' elbow have some cause for concern in the land of the cheesesteak.  The new look Mets spent the offseason upgrading their ever-imploding bullpen, with the additions of K-Rod and the J.J. Putz, but it remains to be seen if they will get enough production from the corner OF spots to have a championship worthy offense.  A young team in Miami could provide some bright spots this year, especially from a deep pitching staff and the development of future stars such as Cameron Maybin, but it seems to me like this team is still a year or two away from actually contending.  Which brings me to my division winner - the Atlanta Braves.  An upgraded rotation featuring Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez, as well as a steady offensive core with Chipper and McCann, and some young talent in Schafer and soon-to-be called up Tommy Hanson make this team a very dangerous one.  They certainly are not the favorites in a division with 2 teams as talented as the Phillies and Mets, but this appears to be one of Bobby Cox's strongest teams in a while, and should be poised to make a playoff push if some of their younger talent produces like they can.

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