My thoughts on each division: NL Central

[DC23MVP]

I posted this a couple days ago on The Batter's Eye.

Time for my favorite division and that is the NL Central.

 

Standings:

 

1. St. Louis Cardinals: 44-38

2. Milwaukee Brewers: 42-38

3. Chicago Cubs: 39-38

4. Cincinnati Reds: 39-39

5. Houston Astros: 38-39

6. Pittsburgh Pirates: 37-43

 

The NL Central has to be easily the division with all the teams basically still in the race. The Pirates, the last team in the division is only 6.5 games out of 1st. It's extremely tight, and honestly, a fun division to be in if you like good games.

 

St.Louis Cardinals

 

The St. Louis Cardinals are first in the division as of right now. They have a great team, and to me, are the second best team behind the Cubs. The only thing that concerns me, is the fact that behind Pujols and now Derosa, they really don't have the lineup that compares with the Cubs, Brewers and even the Reds. Cardinals have two hitters that are hitting near .300 or better, and only three players in double digits in home runs (Pujols, DeRosa, and Ludwick)

 

The Cardinals best strength has to be their pitching. Chris Carpenter is nearly unhittable right now, with an ERA of 2.42 and a WHIP of under 1. Cardinals are going to be getting Kyle Lohse back soon which would provide another good pitcher for them, then there other rotation guys of Wainright, Pineiro all have ERA's of under 4. So you would have a rotation of: Carpenter, Wainright, Lohse, Pinerio and Wellemeyer which is easily 2nd best in the division.

 

Bullpen wise I really like the Cardinals as well. Ryan Franklin is dominating once again with 20 saves and a ERA of 0.87 and WHIP of under 0.75. Trevor Miller is having a solid year once again, and then you have McClellan and Boggs who are solid RP for the Cardinals. I would give the Cardinals a B on the bullpen.

 

Overall, if the Cardinals can add another bat with the addition of DeRosa, then I feel the Cardinals have the best team in the division, if they can't, I still feel the Cubs are the better team, due to the fact they have the talent in their lineup, and they have a great rotation.

 

Milwaukee Brewers

 

Next we will take a look at the Milwaukee Brewers. Yes, they are my favorite team so I may be biased. Hopefully not though.

 

We will take a look at the Brewers offense first, which is ranked 24th in team BA, 11th in OBP, 12th in runs scored, and 9th in HR's. I think the Brewers have the 2nd best lineup in the division, with the Cubs being the only team better. When the Brewers are on offensively, they are REALLY tough to beat. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are probably one of the better 3-4 hitters in baseball, with both batting over .300 and they are combined in hitting 37 HR's with an OBP of .419. They are the key part in the Brewers offense easily.

 

The Brewers hitters have six hitters with 8 HR's or more, and they have 4 hitters hitting .290 or better. IF Mike Cameron, JJ Hardy, and Corey Hart start hitting up, you can bet that the Brewers will be scoring a lot more runs then they have.

 

Starting Pitching wise, the Brewers are dread awful. Yovani Gallardo is the only reliable starting pitcher, and right now they have Seth McClung staring (who is not a SP) and Mike Burns from AAA in the rotation. Manny Parra has lost it, Jeff Suppan is below-average, and Braden Looper is average if not below average. If the Brewers can fix this via the trade market, and get someone like Doug Davis, you can expect them to be in contention towards the end of the season.

 

Bullpen wise, the Brewers are very good. Trevor Hoffman has blown one save the whole year, and has 18 on the year. He has given up 5 runs in 23.1 IP which is just below a 2 ERA. Mark DiFielce has a 1.97 ERA, Mitch Stetter is another pleasent surprise, and Todd Coffey is doing outstanding. If the Rotation can at least be decent the rest of the way, the bullpen will continue to put up solid work if they are not overworked.

 

Overall, I see the Brewers as being the third best team in the division, and if they can fix the rotation issues, I see them ending up 2nd. IF not, you can expect the Brewers to be up and down.

 

Chicago Cubs

 

The Cubs are in third right now, but have won three straight, and maybe they are turning the corner.

 

Let's take a look at their offense. Alfonso Soriano is doing dread-awful, Milton Bradley is also doing dread-awful but somehow they are only within three games or so. The Cubs offense has been up and down, they are ranked 27th in team BA, 12th in HR, and 26th in runs scored. I honestly think that Soriano, Lee, Soto will turn it around in the second half. They are way to talented not to. The Cubs offense will be much, much improved in the second half, and when they get hot, watch out for the Cubs.

 

Pitching Wise: I feel the Cubs have the best rotation in the division. Zambrano and Harden going back to back is deadly for the other team. This season they aren't doing the greatest (Zambrano: 3.50 ERA, Harden: 4.57 ERA) but when they are on their game, they have the chance to do a shutout. Then you add Ryan Dempster, and Ted Lilly, and you have a great rotation. Randy Wells has easily been the Cubs best SP this season, and the Cubs have found another great gem in him. He's 3-3 with a WHIP of 1.08 which is outstadning.

 

Bullpen: The Cubs have a very good bullpen as well, and a great SU-CL combo in Greg and Marmol. I still feel Marmol should be the Cubs closer, but I do understand why he is the set up man. Angel Guzman is another great RP for them.

 

The only weakness that I do see for the Cubs is if the offense can't get going. What if Soriano, Bradley, and Soto don't get going, what do you do with them? Koyie Hill isn't going to get the job done, maybe they found a great player in Sam Fuld, only time will tell. They need to get Soriano, Soto, and Bradley going though, otherwise, the Cardinals may be a bit better.

 

Cincinatti Reds

 

The Reds are surprising some people, but I don't feel they will be in it for long, espically if one of the top three teams can get going.

 

Hitting: I don't like the Reds lineup at all to be honest. Jay Bruce is doing terrible (.216 BA, .296 OBP) they have no power really, Bruce has 18 HR's, Phillips 11, Votto 9. They don't have the tools to be a good offensive team. Although I still like Phillips, Votto and Bruce, if they can get going, besides that, they don't really have anyone.

 

Rotation: Reds have two good pitchers this season in Johnny Cueto, and Aaron Harang, both of which have ERA's under 3.5, although Harang has a WHIP of 1.36. Arroyo and Owings both are doing terrible as well. The rotation is pretty bad.

 

Bullpen: The Reds bullpen is doing solid, and to me, is the main reason why they are where they are. Cordero is a solid closer, Masset has a 1.69 ERA, Rhodes has a WHIP of 0.98, and Weathers has a WHIP of 1.10. Four solid RP for the Reds that they can use at any time.

 

Overall, I don't think the Reds will be in it for long due to their lack of rotation depth, and their offense.

 

I don't have time to do the Astros or Pirates right now, but I'll add them later on.

 

Best Offense (This year)

 

1. Milwaukee Brewers

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Chicago Cubs

4. Houston Astros

5. Cincinnati Reds

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Best Pitching

 

1. St. Louis Cardinals

2. Chicago Cubs

3. Cincinnati Reds (Bullpen mainly)

4. Houston Astros

5. Milwaukee Brewers

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Final Standings

 

1. St. Louis Cardinals

2. Chicago Cubs (1st if offense can get going, or trade for another bat)

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Houston Astros

5. Cincinnati Reds

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

 

 

 

Thoughts?

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

I still think the Reds will make a run, they just need to get healthy. Votto is back, Encarnacion is back, they just need Volquez now. Hopefully Homer Bailey will keep pitching like he did Friday night. He's always had the talent, and supposedly he just added a splitter that has really been helping him.

[greg775]

I just got to believe the Cubs will win the division.

We need to get our ass in gear and win ours so the dream of an all Chicago WS remains alive.

Cubs are the best team in the Central.

[kev211]

I just got to believe the Cubs will win the division.

We need to get our ass in gear and win ours so the dream of an all Chicago WS remains alive.

Cubs are the best team in the Central.

Since when is that a dream? I want to keep the cubs as far away from the World Series as possible. Plus an all Chicago world series would probably take years off my life due to the stress.

[Milkman delivers]

What a spectacularly terrible division. The Astros and Pirates are just barely under .500, and they are two of the worst teams I have ever seen.

[Balta1701]

How many games do the Cubs and Cardinals have left against each other?

[greg775]

Since when is that a dream? I want to keep the cubs as far away from the World Series as possible. Plus an all Chicago world series would probably take years off my life due to the stress.

 

I think it's worth the risk of possibly losing.

The whole country would be so bored. It'd be an all Chicago thing.

And we'd probably win it.

It'd be great for the city.

[chw42]

The Reds are a better team than Houston.

 

They will get Volquez back and a rotation of Volquez, Cueto, Harang, Arroyo, and Owings isn't too shabby. Plus, that offense should hit. Votto's back now and I really don't expect Bruce to hit .215 all year long.