MLB Five NL Burning Questions

Consider this our MLB Preview. I will try to do something on the National League with a focus on the Central tomorrow, and American League on Saturday with predictions on Sunday morning before the first game at 12:05 pm. We move on to the National League. 

1.) Can the Cubs win the World Series?  
Of course. Chicago Cubs are built like a team who can win 100 games this season. The expectations are really high, and I almost think it would help if the Cubs started out of the gates slow.  They were extremely healthy last season. That has to continue this year. The other thing is the young players like Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber need to adjust to how teams are pitching them this season.  Jake Arrieta will probably not be as good as last year, but the Cubs hav a nice rotation with the ability to upgrade in July.

2.)  Just how top heavy will the league be?  
This is going to depend on four teams - Miami, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Arizona. If all four of those teams are good, we will see quite the range of win/loss records. If we  don't, the National League shouldn't draw many complaints. The bigger issue might be Philadelphia and Atlanta in the same division as this will inflate the records of New York Mets and Washington. This could also be said of the Central if the Brewers and Reds are real bad.

3.) Who is winning Cy Young and National League MVP
It's an even year, right?  That must mean good things for San Francisco. Let's go with Madison Baumgarner. I feel he's one of the more underrated pitchers in the National League given what the Mets have and Clayton Kershaw. As for the MVP, Anthony Rizzo takes home the honor. He's going to have a monster season, and while Bryce Harper will be right there, Rizzo takes it home.

4.) Who is the breakout team and who will disappoint? 
With no team being a surprise, let's twist this and say would anyone be surprised if Washington wins 95 games this season?  Dusty Baker isn't a great manager, but he works well with personalities. Harper and Stephen Strasburg might actually get to live a little bit. As for disappointment, no team is more obvious than the Arizona Diamondbacks. This team set their hopes high for the quick future, and it's not going to happen with this team especially with a brutal division.

5.) What team represents the NL in the World Series?  
New York Mets will return to the World Series. On the blog, I talk all the time about 'Show me' especially with college football. I'm not convinced the Cubs can beat the Mets in a seven game series. In fact, I don't know many who can do it with the pitching staff in New York. I could also see this prediction going terribly wrong.

Charlie.