For Better Or For Worse 3: Revenge Of The Sith - NL East.

In this installment of FBOFW, we're jumping leagues and starting with the National League East Division.

Atlanta Braves - It's not often that a legendary career ends in a game as controversial as the newly-hailed "Infield Fly Rule Game", the first play-in Wild Card game played in NL history. But that was the last Major League Baseball game Chipper Jones will ever man third base in. As hard as it is to watch a Hall of Fame career end in such a strange scenario, the Braves haven't let that stop them this offseason, picking up two players that are essential to their future success. What's more, these two just happen to be brothers: B.J. Upton, who signed as a free agent, and his younger brother Justin, acquired in a trade from the Diamondbacks after months of speculation and rumors, will join Jason Heyward in what my good friend described as "Up, Up, And A-Hey!" This not only gives the Braves the most dangerous outfield in the game, but gives them an even higher chance of unseating the Nationals atop the NL East, a place they have occupied most seasons since 1991. They had to give up Martin Prado to get the younger Upton, a player who was pegged to be the "veteran presence" in the clubhouse, but indications are that the team will be fine without him. Their star catcher, Brian McCann, is entering his walk year, so expect some big production from the former All-Star. Dan Uggla has everything to prove, so a bounceback year from him would do wonders for the team's offense. A full season of either Andrelton Simmons or Tyler Pastornicky at shorstop will improve the defense of a team that was already spectacular in 2012: all Atlanta infielders combined for 86 errors, 5th lowest in baseball, and their fielding percentage (.986) ranked them 4th. With figures like that, we don't even have to say anything about the magnificent rotation of Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, Tim Hudson and Mike Minor. While Chipper will be missed, this is a Braves team that will do just fine in 2013.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Keeping up with the Uptons becomes impossible for the rest of the East, and Chipper is remembered fondly as the Bravos handily run away with the division title.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: B.J. and Justin bomb, McCann can't return to form, Uggla's shoddy defense allows more runs than he drives in, and the team can't look up without seeing the Nationals above them.
WHAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED: Just keep chugging out those "Up, Up, And A-Hey!" T-shirts we all know are coming.

Miami Marlins - If you really need a recap of how the last 12 months have gone for the Marlins, you must have isolated yourself completely from the baseball world. After their lavish signings of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell last offseason, all three were shipped out of town (along with nearly every other Marlin making more than $5 million) after the team finished in last with a 69-93 record, their worst since 1999. Giancarlo Stanton, their only remaining superstar, spent 40 games on the DL and still managed to hit 37 home runs (it's terrifying to think about the damage he'll do in his career, as he's barely 23). Josh Johnson also struggled to return to form and was shipped out to Toronto with Reyes and Buehrle. When you look at your team's rotation for the upcoming season, the last thing you want to see is Ricky Nolasco (coincidentally, the only Marlin making more than $5 million this year) as your number one starter. The offense will suffer mightily with the loss of Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio (also shipped north of the border), and Hanley Ramirez (traded to the Dodgers halfway through the season), and Stanton seems disinclined to do much to help. They signed Placido Polanco to man the hot corner, but he's never been an offensive powerhouse. The rotation is led by Ricky Nolasco...do I really have to say anything else about the state of the starters? While Nathan Eovaldi (acquired in the Ramirez trade) may one day become an acceptable number 2 starter, he's done nothing so far to instill confidence. The bullpen, held down by sudden closer Steve Cishek, is laughably bad following the trades of Edward Mujica and Randy Choate (both of whom are now with the Cardinals), and it doesn't appear that the team has made any moves to rectify that. Although Mike Redmond was hired to replace the fallen Ozzie Guillen, he doesn't have his work cut out for him...he has his work cut out, tossed around, beaten up, then returned to him to fix. Good luck, Mike.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Stanton hits 65 home runs and carries the club to a winning record while missing the playoffs. That's about the best that will happen for this team in 2013.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: Stanton gets injured again, LoMo is banned from Twitter and his production drops off even further, and the Fish are contracted. Congrats on ruining another franchise, Loria.
WHAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED: A new owner, a new general manager, a new city, a new fanbase.

New York Mets - Most teams celebrate a pitcher when they win the Cy Young award. Some, however, decide to trade them while their value is at its peak. The Mets chose to do the latter this offseason with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, sending him to the busy Blue Jays in return for their catcher of the future, Travis d'Arnaud. The backstop from Toronto will probably start 2013 in the minors while stopgap John Buck will hold it down behind the plate, but this deal will likely pay dividends for both teams. While the Mets brass didn't find it pertinent to extend Dickey, they did sign franchise cornerstone David Wright to a 7-year, $138 million extension that will keep him in Queens until 2020. This was a true move of necessity, as the offense is not nearly as strong as it needs to be. Ike Davis hit 32 home runs but posted a .771 OPS to go along with a .227 batting average. Kirk Nieuwenhuis made some spectacular plays in the outfield but only knocked in 28 runs in 91 games. Lucas Duda posted the lowest offensive WAR (-1.4) of his relatively short career. So, it will be upon Wright, the team's all-time leader in most offensive stats, to carry this team back to prominence. Johan Santana, the oft-injured former Cy Young winner, threw the first no-hitter in franchise history this season, a nice part of a story that's seen plenty of bumps in the road. After Dickey and Santana, though, this rotation was lacking mightily, ranking in the bottom half, except for being 1st in quality starts (101, most of which were made by Dickey). The team signed Shaun Marcum to a 1-year pact, providing them with a veteran innings-eater, which should help their bullpen mightily. While things in Queens don't appear to be getting better by next year, Wright, d'Arnaud and a healthy Santana could definitely keep them competitive. At least before the All-Star break.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Wright immediately pays dividends on his new contract and wins the MVP, Nieuwenhuis becomes the next Darryl Strawberry, and the Amazin's appear to be ready to contend in 2014.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: The rotation falls apart without their knuckler, and Wright can't stop the hemorrhaging as the team remains thankful that the Marlins exist, keeping them from falling to last place.
WHAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED: Pitching. Dickey was the only pitcher in last year's rotation that was worth a damn (literally, WAR shows that him and Jonathan Niese were the only hurlers to post anything higher than a 1.0), and now he's gone. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler will be top of the line starters, but not in 2013. Maybe Kyle Lohse would be worth giving up a draft pick.

Philadelphia Phillies - After winning 5 straight division titles, the Phillies entered 2012 on a roll. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were finally making progress on their way back from injuries, Jimmy Rollins resigned with the team, and the rotation of Halladay-Lee-Hamels was still intact, a guarantee of at least 55 wins. So what happened? Well, Utley and Howard couldn't regain their previous MVP-caliber form, Rollins was a non-factor in a lineup that desperately needed his switch-hitting prowess (23 homers and 68 RBI is nice, but his .743 OPS left a lot to be desired), and the rotation was absolutely dreadful. What was hailed as one of the greatest 3-man rotations in a long time couldn't seem to get its stuff together. Halladay's fastball dropped a full 2 miles in velocity, Lee didn't win a game until the 4th of July, and while Hamels signed an extension to keep him off this year's free agent market and posted career highs in wins and strikeouts, he still couldn't cover the ground the other two left unchecked. While Phillies pitchers managed to rank in the top half of all defensive stats, the offense ranked in the lower half. The bullpen was a particular strength, with Jonathon Papelbon notching 38 saves in his first season in the National League. The team signed John Lannan and Mike Adams to add a little more to the bullpen and rotation, after losing Vance Worley. It's doubtful that another division title is within reach for the Phils in 2013, but a Wild Card berth isn't impossible.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Halladay finds his fastball again, Lee gets his first win before July, and the offense comes alive to propel the Phils back into October.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: A team full of old hurlers and old hitters just gets a year older, and they drop even further in the standings than last year.
WHAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED: An infusion of youth. They acquired Ben Revere from the Twins, a speedy young outfielder who holds the record for most plate appearances without a home run, and signed free agent Delmon Young, normally a DH, to start in right field. Both are well under 30 (Young is 27 and Revere is 24), but with an infield that has a median age of 35 (especially after trading for Michael Young of the Rangers to man third base), this team might be getting too old to be effective. The Phils don't have a very strong farm system, so maybe a few years in the cellar will fix that.

Washington Nationals - We knew the Nationals were going to win a division title after the 2010 draft. It was just a matter of time before Stephen Strasburg (first overall pick in 2009) and Bryce Harper (first overall in 2010) would join the hapless players in the nation's capital and raise them from the depths of the division to the top. We just didn't know it would be this year, when Strasburg was shackled with an innings limit after coming back from Tommy John surgery. Of course this was the year the Nats decided to be good. It had a lot to do with the acquisition of Gio Gonzalez from the Athletics, who led baseball with 21 wins. Harper was called up near the end of the first month, and immediately his presence in the lineup boosted the likes of Jayson Werth and Michael Morse (since traded to the Mariners), both of whom unfortunately spent a while on the disabled list. Adam LaRoche was a nice surprise, as the 33 year old hit as many home runs (a career high), as well as recording 100 RBI for the second time in his unnoticed career, good enough to garner him a 2-year deal with Washington this offseason. The team traded for Denard Span, formerly of the Twins, who should add a little speed in a moderately slow lineup. The pitching was the real story for the Nats, as they ranked in the top 5 of all defensive stats. With Strasburg and Gonzalez followed by Jordan Zimmermann and a plethora of acceptable starting options behind them, no wonder they were so strong. The bullpen had a setback when closer Drew Storen hit the DL, but Tyler Clippard stepped in without missing a beat, saving 32 games. With their first division title and postseason appearance under their belts, don't be surprised if Strasburg and Harper take the Nats to the top of the baseball world, and make it look like child's play.
BEST CASE SCENARIO: Pitching without the knowledge of an innings limit, Strasburg records 250 strikeouts en route to his first Cy Young, and the bats of Harper and LaRoche get the Nats to the NLCS.
WORST CASE SCENARIO: Gonzalez is suspended 50 games for being linked to steroid usage, Werth disappoints again on his mega-deal, and the Nats prove their NLDS meltdown is what they're really about.
WHAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED: They need to stay the course. This is a Nationals team unlike any other. They've now had a taste of postseason play, and their core players are all still extremely young. With a sprinkling of vets like Werth and LaRoche, they can become a true contender as early as next year.

TBF's 2013 NL East Predictions:

Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
Miami Marlins