We’re back to do it again for the NL.  See what you think of our picks, and feel free to sound off in the comments.

NL East

The Phillies just lost three games and are still four games up in this race, but they’ve been up and down all year.  We think that the roller-coaster ride has made them tough enough to stick this race out.  Pedro Martinez is coming to this club, and he’s a playoff persona to be reckoned with even outside of his pitching.  The addition can fire up a team that has at times lacked fire.  We think they’ve got it.

NL Central

Sure, St. Louis is leading, and they have Pujols.  We know that, we get it, he’s perhaps the most purely talented player of all time, etc. etc.  The Cubs have a homestand coming up in which they have to play the Phillies for three.  If they get through that, they get Pittsburgh and then San Diego, and we’d love to think they’ll take advantage and take some steps to actually winning a World Series for once in their poor, benighted lives, but winning the NL Central this year just ain’t to be for the Cubs, much as we hate to agree with Cards fans.  St. Louis’ schedule for the rest of August features two sets of games with the Padres and some tilts against the Nationals.  They spend much of the rest of the year playing Pittsburgh and Houston, guys. You just can’t bet against the Cards, here. Even if you really, really want to.

NL West

The Dodgers started off the year with a fabulous record and a big, silly scandal.  Now, the scandal is over and they’re playing better ball, percentage-wise, than any team in baseball not in pinstripes.  However, they have a lot of big series coming up: Chicago, St. Louis, and Colorado for the rest of this month.  We think they’ll come through, though–in part because September is such smooth sailing.  They’ll be happy to see the Pirates, Diamondbacks and Nationals, and they’ll run away with the division, no matter how often Troy Tulowitski hits for the cycle.  End of debate.

NL Wild Card

Every year, the Astros make a run for the wild card that is miraculous in nature and takes place after the All Star break.   This year, they came roaring out of the break…and then went back to playing their usual .500 ball.  Let’s be honest: if they hadn’t made a run in each of the past few years, they wouldn’t even be in this paragraph.  Moving on.  Colorado, San Francisco, and the Cubs are the real contenders here.   We’re giving a very slight edge to the Giants–they’re hungry, which we feel is key in wild card races, they’ve got Lincecum, and even Zito is settling in.  Also, Randy Winn is playing for them.  We didn’t know he was still alive, but since he is, his veteran presence will do a lot for some of the young ‘uns.  Giants it is.