NL Central Focus: 6/21/16

After a few weeks on the disabled list, NL Central Focus returns to recap everything going on around the division.

Here are the updated NL Central Standings:

Chicago Cubs

If the Chicago Cubs are in first place in the NL Central, their ego is biting at the heels in a close second. The Cubs have been swarmed so much this season with the infatuation of the fans and media, Joe Maddon could probably mount a viable campaign as a third-party candidate for President of the United States. However, it was Kris Bryant and Albert Almora who made it to the White House first. Hope they enjoyed their private tour, because if history is any indication, it will be the only way they get invited this year.

Not many people are capable of denying the Cubs their every desire, including the rest of the NL Central, but so far, Jake Arrieta may have a tough time getting his latest request approved. Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants have been campaigning for a couple years now to be in the home run derby to no avail. Unless Arrieta and Bumgarner are made the captains for this year’s teams, Arrieta would have to be the clear second choice if only one pitcher can be in the derby.

The Cubs have had such success with one former Orioles pitcher they figured they would try it again. On Tuesday, the Cubs signed Brian Matusz to a minor-league deal. The Orioles traded Matusz to the Braves along with a competitive balance pick in the draft in exchange for a pair of minor-league pitchers. Matusz was released a week later. Much like Justin Masterson, Matusz will be utilized as a starter at Triple-A for the time being.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are finally starting to seem like a team putting the pieces together, if a sweep of the beleaguered Pirates was any indication. Before the end of the season, they could be even better. Lance Lynn provides hope for the Red Birds and their chances of a wild card berth. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery this offseason. He hopes to begin throwing within the next week or two. Lynn has almost no chance of rejoining the club this season, but his determination provides inspiration to the rest of the club.

John Jaso surprised many Pirates fans with his early performance this season. Matt Carpenter set the precedent for him as the first in a new breed of leadoff hitters. The best teams know how to get runs across the plate, and if they can’t do that to the proper degree and frequency, they learn new ways. Carpenter is almost no threat to steal a base, but he will likely never be an easy out. Considering he is batting .299 for his career since taking over the spot consistently in 2013, don’t expect Matt Carpenter to be moved down in the lineup anytime soon.

On a more serious note, some things transcend the differences that make us unique as individuals. What divides us fades away in the wake of a tragedy like the one in Orlando. We recognize once again, even if only for a brief moment, what binds us together as Americans free to sympathize, free to mourn, free to celebrate difference and equality. Only one thing transcends tragedy, sports. Baseball is America’s past time. We return to it in the darkest hours. After 9/11, it was Piazza’s home run. After the Boston marathon bombing, it was David Ortiz’s passionate speech at Fenway. After Orlando, it was a St. Louis sweep of the Pirates. It was Jameson Taillon’s dominant second start. It doesn’t make us forget. It helps give us the opportunity to escape, just for a moment, from the grief, from death to remember what it feels like to be alive.

Milwaukee Brewers

Nearing the halfway point of the season, James Hutterer with Brew Crew Ball decided to give in and hand out some early mid-season awards because just about everyone in the NL Central, besides the Cubs, have given up on this season. It’s actually a rather in-depth look at the Brewer’s state of affairs, and it makes a good case for some of the players who won’t get much recognition next month when the Cubs and Royals square off in San Diego in a one game series where the winner gets home field advantage for their league in the World Series.

The fact that the case can be made at the mid-season point that Jonathan Villar and not Ryan Braun or Jonathan Lucroy has been the team’s MVP, thus far, bodes well for the future of the franchise, but the Brewers’ future could be at a critical phase. For years, the Pirates refused to go all in on the rebuilding process, and it resulted in an extra decade of futility. The Brewers have to decide whether to sell high on key franchise players and veteran major leaguers to trust a poor track record of developing prospects or retain Lucroy and Braun in hopes of being able to build a competent team around them by the time they possibly leave at the end of their contracts.

During the first month of the season, Jimmy Nelson was putting up stellar numbers for a pitcher with little to work with in the way of support, but as to be expected, Nelson, who is by no means a top-of-the-rotation starter with a contender, has come back down to earth. In the month of June, Nelson is 0-3 with a 9.69 ERA. To make matters worse, the Brewers have seemingly all but given up with Nelson on the mound, playing poorly defensively and barely providing any run support. Nelson could be a key part of any Brewers resurgence in the next few years, but if he is to fill that role, he has to find greater consistency.

Cincinnati Reds

This Saturday, Pete Rose will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Cincinnati Reds’ Hall of Fame that is. It is almost inevitable that Rose will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but it can’t be overlooked how big of a step it is for a team, even the team he played the majority of his career with, to recognize the man who has been ostracized by the three commissioners to hold the power of reinstatement over his head after Bart Giamatti placed him permanently on the ineligible list.

Ichiro Suzuki is destined for the Hall of Fame according to Pete Rose, but when Ichiro reached 4,257 career professional hits this week, Rose was quick to denounce any doubt surrounding his only real claim to fame. In an interview with the Associated Press, Rose said, “If you’re talking about professional hits, I’ve got 4,683 of them.” Rose was counting his minor league hits in comparison with Suzuki’s hits in Japan. While Rose certainly has a point, it would be nice for baseball to have an untainted hits king, and with Suzuki promising to play for at least a few more years, even 4,683 may not be safe.

While Pete Rose has returned to the center of the spotlight nearly two decades after being banned permanently from baseball, Raisel Iglesias will be returning to the field and the spotlight. Iglesias suffered from shoulder strength issues throughout spring training until he was sidelined by the issue on April 25. He will be utilized out of the bullpen initially, but the team acknowledged that Iglesias will get another chance at the starting rotation if he proves his shoulder problems are in the past up through the All-Star game break.

That’s a wrap for this week. Be sure to check back next week for the latest news concerning the NL Central.

Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Please make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!