Playboy's 2008 baseball preview: a new era

New York

Last season: 88-74. Second place, one game behind the Phillies. The Mets led the majors with 200 stolen bases and were thrown out only 46 times—an HI percent success ratio. Off-season focus: The Mets worked to eradicate the ugli­ness of the late-season collapse that cost them a division title, and they hit a bonanza. Alter staying on the perimeter of the Johan Santana trade talks with Minnesota through­out the winter, they came out a winner when the Yankees and Red Sox backed out. The Twins had no choice but to accept the Mets' package, which was less than overwhelm­ing. The team also addressed concerns about its catching, allowing Paul Lo Duca to leave as a free agent and acquir­ing highly regarded Brian Schneider from Washington. In-season prognosis: The addition of Santana to the rotation gives the Mets the type of pitching depth that would lead one to expect a postseason appearance. It also fret's Aaron Heilman to fill a middle-relief void, though he would prefer to start. Now the team needs to revive 1 B Carlos Delgado, who reached career lows last season in RBI (87), average (.258), home runs (24) and slugging percentage (.448).

Oh, to be young: The left side of the Mets infield is promising, to say the least, with David Wright, 25, at third and Jose Reyes. 24, at short. If only Reyes could learn to play hard every day.

Philadelphia

'Last season: 89-73. First place, one game ahead. The Phillies were swept by the Rockies in the NL Division Series. They led the NL with 892 runs scored and 580 extra-base hits.

Off-season focus: After a late-season charge to claim the division title, the Phillies spent the off-season fine-tuning the roster. While they lost the leader­ship of Aaron Rowand, they addressed bullpen problems by acquiring closer Brad Lidge from Houston and filled a void at third base by signing free agent Pedro Feliz. Lidge's arrival allows Brett Myers to return to the rotation. In-season prognosis: The team won't fade into oblivion. It has too much offense with a lineup that not only led the league in runs scored last year but features the past two NL MVPs— Ryan Howard (2006) and Jimmy Rol­lins (2007)—with a potential future MVP, Chase Utley, at second base. The return of Myers to the rotation, where he joins the emerging LHP Cole Hamels, gives the Phillies a solid foun­dation. The key will be getting Lidge back on course after two inconsistent years with Houston and springtime knee surgery.

Oh, to be young: Hamels, 24, estab­lished himself as a key part of the division-championship rotation, going 15-5 with a 3.39 ERA in a hitter's park.

Atlanta

I Last season: 84-78. Third place, Five games behind. The Braves have had back-to-back third-place finishes on the heels of 14 straight division titles, a pro sports record. Off-season focus: The Braves wanted to regain that old feeling, so they signed a key player in their former success, LHP lorn Glavine. Making their annual payroll adjustments, they allowed CF Andruw Jones to leave as a

free agent and traded SS Edgar Ren-teria to Detroit for the promising arm of RHP Jair Jurrjens. They filled the resulting voids by picking up Mark Kotsay to play center and promoting SS Yunel Escobar from the minors. Kotsay is a favorite of GM Frank

Wren, who was in Florida when Rotsay was the Marlins' number one draft choice, but the back problems he has suf­fered in recent years are real

cause lor doubt. In-season progno­sis: The Braves are willing to write off Glavine's struggle in his final three starts for the Mets as just one of those things and not an indication he has reached the end of the line. If they are right, Glavine, along with John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and the developing arm of |urrjens. will

let the Braves regain top-line starting pitching. The lineup is solid with Chipper Jones and Mark Teixeira, last year's in-season addition, in the middle of things. However, the team doesn't have the depth to overcome the loss of anv key player. Oh, to be young: C Brian

McCann. 24, is a left-handed threat whose abilities led the Braves to give him a six-year contract last spring even though he was two years removed from arbitration.

Florida

Last season: 71-91. Fifth place,

18 games behind. Off-season focus: Another year, another off-season of freeing up pay­roll. The top two players on the Mar­lins' roster—3B Miguel Cabrera and LHP Dontrelle Willis—were shipped to Detroit for a package of prospects that includes phenoms CF Cameron May-

bin and LHP Andrew Miller. The Marlins did their usual bargain shopping and came away optimistic after landing 3B Jose Cas­tillo and LHP Mark H end rick son, who at SI .5 million is the highest-paid member of the rotation. In-season prognosis: There isn't much hope for the Marlins, either on the field or off. The team has a lot of prom-

ising young talent but no veterans to help the young players get their feet wet. And everyone has to be aware that as the young talent matures, the money won't be there to keep it. The Marlins' new-stadium is far from a sure thing, which adds to the suspicion that the franchise will eventually have to relocate. Oh, to be young: RF Jeremy Hermida. 24, is a former first-round draft pick who has grown into the big-league role and is being counted on to help less experienced teammates adjust.

Washington Last season: 73-89. Fourth place If) games behind. Off-season focus: Nationals CM ]im Bowden has long been enamored with raw athletic talent—and has shown little concern about oH-field reputations— which was underscored again when he dealt lor OFs Lastings Milledge, from the Mets, and Elijah Dukes, from the Rays. To replace C Brian Schneider, who went to the Mets in the Milledge deal, the Nation­als first signed former Met Paul Lo Duca. After Lo Duca hurt his knee, the team picked up johnny Estrada, who is headed to his fifth team in four years.

In-season prognosis: The Nationals fig­ure to turn a profit with their move into a new stadium, but the team itself doesn't have much to fill the seats. A bullpen that led the NL with an average of three and two thirds innings a game last season fig­ures to finally show the wear and tear of an inconsistent rotation. The offense has major holes, but it could benefit from getting out of RFK Stadium. Oh, to be young: 3B Ryan Zimmerman, 2'i, was in the big leagues the year after being a first-round draft choice. He has adapted quickly, hitting 44 home runs in two years despite the vastness of RKK.