The National League’s Central division gave us the World Champions last year, much to everyone’s surprise. What would be even more surprising is if they gave us this year’s champion as well.
Chicago Cubs: The Cubs famously sunk a lot of money into their franchise this year, starting with their new manager, Lou Piniella, moving on to Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, and their most underrated free agent acquisition Mark DeRosa, with Aramis Ramirez signing an extension. In another division, I would worry about an unsightly hodgepodge like this, but really, I don’t see how they don’t win the Central. They should have an overwhelming offense, and their mediocre pitching staff will provide just enough support for them to win 90 games or so.
St. Louis Cardinals: The Cards are something of an enigma for me. How did they win the division last year? How did they win a playoff series? How on earth did they win the World Series? The first question is easy. Last year, the NL Central sucked. The Cards didn’t really do anything in the offseason, preferring to keep the roster pretty much the same as the one that got their rings last year. Fortunately for them, the Cubs were the only team that made a concerted effort to improve last year. They should still be above .500 and in second.
Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are a young, improving squad. They remind me a lot of the Twins of a few years ago. They haven’t been good for a while, but have a good batch of youngsters in Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, and Prince Fielder coming up to join a veteran, quality pitcher in Ben Sheets who is supported by a good bullpen. They had a good run last year, but trading away Doug Davis and Carlos Lee seem like huge steps back. The Brewers will make the playoffs sometime in the next five years, so you can trust me on that.
Houston Astros: Last year, the Astros offense was abysmal, so they went out and picked up Cliff Lee. And traded away a speedster from the top of the lineup. Last year, the games the Astros won were thanks to strong performances from their pitching staff. They bolstered it by adding Jason Johnson, but lost Andy Pettite and will not be getting Roger Clemens back this season. I don’t see how Houston can even contend this year.
Cincinnati Reds: The sucking sound you hear is coming from southern Ohio. Holy crap, did the Reds actually contend for a while last year? How? After perusing their roster, I felt the need to take a shower. I don’t know how they expect to win games, but it better not be with their shaky pitching staff. Or their much weaker, strikeout prone offense. Maybe Ryan Freel and his defense will win them some games.
Pittsburgh Pirates: To summarize their offseason. Their huge deal was the acquisition of Adam Laroche was much ballyhooed as a sign things were looking up for the Bucs. Sure. Thanks for trying, Pittsburgh. Of course, with their young pitchers, they may eke past the Reds.
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