The Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins have made waves with the players they have signed, the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos have made waves with the players they have lost, and the New York Mets have not made waves at all,
so the Question is: is the balance of power shifting in the N.L. east?, so far the Phillies have traded for Billy Wagner and Eric Milton, signed Tim Worrell, and Kevin Millwood is expected to accept Arbitration, the world champion Florida Marlins traded away 1B Derrek Lee, but re-signed 3B Mike Lowell and 2B Luis Castillo to long term contracts, even with no Pudge or Derrek Lee this is still a good young team, with a solid young pitching staff, both of these teams have made moves that should make them contenders in what might be a very interesting race in the N.L. next season,
then theres the Montreal Expos, who for the last two seasons have made strong runs in the N.L. wild card race, the Expos will come into this season without Vladmir Guerrero and Javier Vazquez, both have been key players in the teams success over the past two years, even without them this team still has a lot of good pitching, but will likely struggle offensively next season, which may make it hard to contend,
and then there is the Atlanta Braves the dominate force in the N.L. for the past 13 seasons, whose run at the top may be coming to an end, the Braves in an attempt to cut cost have let many key players such as Greg Maddux Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez go this offseason by not offering them salary arbitration, a move that may cost them more than it may help, the team also did not offer salary arbitration to most of there bullpen, meaning after John Smoltz and Kevin Gryboski it's anyone's guess who will be coming out of the pen, the Braves have been rumored to be the front runner to sign OF Jose Guillen to fill the void left in the Outfield, the team has signed P John Thomson, and in house Catcher Johnny Estrada will replace Javy Lopez behind the plate, but,
Jose Guillen is not Gary Sheffield, and John Thomson is not in the same class as a Greg Maddux, so where will that leave the Braves?, only time will tell,
the Marlins are world champs, the Phillies are the early favorites, and the Braves Expos and Mets...it could be a long season in the N.L. east next year.
so the Question is: is the balance of power shifting in the N.L. east?, so far the Phillies have traded for Billy Wagner and Eric Milton, signed Tim Worrell, and Kevin Millwood is expected to accept Arbitration, the world champion Florida Marlins traded away 1B Derrek Lee, but re-signed 3B Mike Lowell and 2B Luis Castillo to long term contracts, even with no Pudge or Derrek Lee this is still a good young team, with a solid young pitching staff, both of these teams have made moves that should make them contenders in what might be a very interesting race in the N.L. next season,
then theres the Montreal Expos, who for the last two seasons have made strong runs in the N.L. wild card race, the Expos will come into this season without Vladmir Guerrero and Javier Vazquez, both have been key players in the teams success over the past two years, even without them this team still has a lot of good pitching, but will likely struggle offensively next season, which may make it hard to contend,
and then there is the Atlanta Braves the dominate force in the N.L. for the past 13 seasons, whose run at the top may be coming to an end, the Braves in an attempt to cut cost have let many key players such as Greg Maddux Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez go this offseason by not offering them salary arbitration, a move that may cost them more than it may help, the team also did not offer salary arbitration to most of there bullpen, meaning after John Smoltz and Kevin Gryboski it's anyone's guess who will be coming out of the pen, the Braves have been rumored to be the front runner to sign OF Jose Guillen to fill the void left in the Outfield, the team has signed P John Thomson, and in house Catcher Johnny Estrada will replace Javy Lopez behind the plate, but,
Jose Guillen is not Gary Sheffield, and John Thomson is not in the same class as a Greg Maddux, so where will that leave the Braves?, only time will tell,
the Marlins are world champs, the Phillies are the early favorites, and the Braves Expos and Mets...it could be a long season in the N.L. east next year.
It may be just one signing, but it beats the hell out of at least the John Jhompson and Eric Milton signings. I agree the Braves have made moves that will cost them more than a few games, regardless of what they do to try and solve the problem. The Expos have made moves that will help them become a better and more well rounded team. Having an unbeatable right field with Vladi and a solid starter with Javier is not worth the big bucks they were asking, especially when you can get more for less. The replacements they sign might not be of the same calibur, but if they sign and trade smart like they have been doing, that won't matter. I've said it all along, they have like 8 pitchers worthy of a starting position on that roster, they have absolutely NOTHING to worry about there. For all the cash Vladi and Vasquez were taking up on the payroll, they will be able to build a more solid team, and all the signs they have given have pointed at the fact that this is indeed the direction they are headed in, a direction not unlike the Twins have taken, a direction that has gotten the Twins into the post more often than not in the past few years. To even imply that the moves they have made were foolhardy and would then cost them a chance at the division title, that seems pretty silly to me, and I just don't agree at all. They might not win the world series, or even get the title, but they will put up a decent fight if they do what they are so obviously planning to do this off season. Say what you want about their methods, get pissed off at Selig and call him an idiot, if you know anything about the sport, you know that WHOEVER is making the calls up in Montreal is making some VERY SMART decisions. I know it's fun to pick on the silly commish, but come on...if you can't see how the moves implimented by the 'Spos are making the team all that much better, you must need some pretty powerful glasses. 
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