NL's Top Storylines

There are plenty of sharks in the National League water intent on taking a bite out of the Phillies' run at a third consecutive league championship. The Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers are lurking and the Cubs, with manager Lou Piniella in the final year of his contract, are dangerous.

With that, here are 10 other things to ponder about the NL:

1. Can enough Mets stay out of the training room to help them hit more than 95 homers, including just 49 at home? The Phils, by the way, hit 14 homers in nine games at New York's Citi Field so the dimensions can only be blamed so much.

2. Among everyday rookies, nobody is getting ink like Atlanta's Jason Heyward. Maybe he and Phils prospect Domonic Brown can to be the Chipper Jones and Ryan Howard of this decade.

3. If the Braves don't make the playoffs, the last game for Bobby Cox as manager would be against the Phillies on Oct. 3. Cox, a major-league manager for 29 years, is retiring after the season.

4. The Rockies should be contenders again, but closer Huston Street is having arm troubles. We all know what fun having a disruptive back end of the bullpen can be for an otherwise stable team gunning for the World Series.

5. Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, whose September knee surgery might have been the highlight of his season, and No. 1 starter Carlos Zambrano both need to rebound from rough 2009s.

6. Which is more likely, the Pirates breaking their string of 17 consecutive losing seasons or a Phillies pitcher winning a Cy Young for the first time in 23 years? Hint: It's not the Pirates.

7. Too much will be written about the messy divorce involving Dodgers owner Frank McCourt . . . including that last sentence. Instead, let's keep an eye on whether, as McCourt says, things can be fun for Manny Ramirez again.

8. Stephen Strasburg might be the real thing, but it's hard to get past the fact that we're talking about the Nationals here. Just kidding. The No. 1 overall pick from a year ago will start in Double A Harrisburg, which is in Reading on April 26 to 28.

9. San Fran's Tim Lincecum is surely in the conversation to claim his third consecutive Cy Young, but the Giants need to hit the ball more consistently to break a postseason drought dating to 2003.

10. If the Cardinals dramatically improve their .263 team batting average does new hitting coach Mark McGwire get showered with credit or suspicion?