National League Preview
East & West Divisions
By Jim Lachimia

Eastern Division

Atlanta: Has won a record 14-straight division titles, but lost in the first round of the playoffs each of the past four seasons. Andruw Jones led the majors with 51 homers and the N.L. with 128 RBI. SS Rafael Furcal left via free agency, but GM John Schuerholz deftly picked up two-time Gold Glove winner Edgar Renteria from Boston to replace him. Roger McDowell has replaced highly successful Leo Mazzone as pitching coach…Philadelphia: Won 88 games under first-year skipper Charlie Manuel and narrowly missed the playoffs. Three 100-RBI men-Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and Chase Utley-lead an offense that also includes N.L. Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard and hitting machine SS Jimmy Rollins. Tom Gordon replaces Billy Wagner at closer, which is not an upgrade. New York: Heaped millions on Carlos Beltran, then watched the five-tool CF post power numbers that weren't much better than Daryle Ward's. GM Omar Minaya made three significant acquisitions: C Paul Lo Duca, 1B Carlos Delgado and closer Billy Wagner. Starting pitching could be their downfall; Pedro Martinez is fragile, Tom Glavine is 40, Kris Benson is gone… Washington: Ended up last in this division in 2005 even though they were a .500 club behind Chad Cordero's major-league high 47 saves. Picked up multi-talented 2B Alfonso Soriano this winter and may force him to play the outfield against his will…Florida: The 2003 World champs experienced a talent drain of epic proportions. The entire starting infield is gone. So are CF Juan Pierre and pitchers Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett and Todd Jones. Slugger Miguel Cabrera and Cy Young runner-up Dontrelle Willis are the only notables left.

Western Division

San Diego: Captured the N.L. West title despite finishing only two games over .500. Six teams in the majors did not qualify for the playoffs despite posting better records. Notable additions this year are aging sluggers Mike Piazza and Vinny Castilla…Los Angeles: Grady Little replaced Jim Tracy as manager but is still answering questions about why he left Pedro Martinez in that memorable Red Sox-Yankees playoff game in 2003. New-look infield features Nomar Garciaparra at first, Rafael Furcal at SS and Bill Mueller at 3B. Closer Eric Gagne successfully bouncing back from elbow surgery would be huge, but Danys Baez was brought in from Tampa Bay just in case. …San Francisco: Last year experienced its first losing season since 1998. Barry Bonds appearing in only 14 games after having three different surgeries on his right knee didn't help matters any. The loudest noise the Giants made this winter came when they signed former Cardinals pitcher Matt Morris to a three-year, $27 million contract. He figures to be the number-two man in the rotation behind Jason Schmidt… Arizona: Improved by 26 games from 2004 to 2005 under first-year skipper Bob Melvin. And made more moves to strengthen themselves since the end of last season, bringing in C Johnny Estrada, 2B Orlando Hudson and pitchers Miguel Batista and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez…Colorado: Tied the Pirates for the worst record in the N.L. in 2005, but went 30-28 during the final two months. Used 19 rookies at one time or another, and now are counting on ex-Buccos Josh Fogg and Jose Mesa. SS Clint Barmes was the talk of the league early last season before suffering a major injury.