And based upon events of the last week, the Cardinals better make sure they are still within striking distance.

Both teams had a chance to fatten up nicely in the standings, and gain separation from the rest of the division this past week — with each  hosting the Chicago Cubs and what is left of the Houston Astros, who might as well been the Oklahoma City Redhawks by the time the trade deadline finally passed.

The Brewers took full advantage, winning all six. The offense did not go off in any one game, only scoring 24 times during that span; but the pitching staff more than made up for the deficiency by only conceding 10 runs, and no more than two before Sunday’s 5-4 win by the Crew.

In particular the starting pitching has stepped up, with an amazing 16-game streak in which the starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or fewer. Closer John Axford, who was a bartender in Ontario just a few short years ago, has now saved 28 consecutive games, a club record.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals went a disappointing 4-3 on the week, culminating with Sunday night’s loss to the Cubs, televised by some cable outlet out of Connecticut. Albert Pujols is swinging an incredibly hot bat along with David Freese, but it still turned out to be a week St. Louis lost precious ground, and now has the pressure squarely on, traveling to a place where they were swept in their last visit nearly two months ago. A repeat performance over the next three days would suddenly leave the Cards 5 ½ games out.

Some of the other headlines to watch as the battle for the NL Central commences…

• Rickie Weeks, not available for weeks – This was not a good time for one of the Brewers sparkplugs to be out of the lineup after severely spraining an ankle while beating out a grounder last Wednesday. The official word is that Rickie is out 3-6 weeks, which is good news for any who saw the screenshot of how badly Rickie rolled that ankle over. If Weeks is out the entire six weeks, he would likely miss all 12 games v. the Cards. If Rickie can prove to be as fast a healer as Albert Pujols and return to the lineup by the end of the month, that would be a gigantic bonus.

• Home Cooking – The home/road splits are well documented in these parts. The Crew has been nearly unbeatable at home with a 39-14 mark. However the team’s 21-35 road split is only better than the Cubs, Astros, Athletics, Mariners, Royals, and Orioles in MLB – six teams that have zero chance at the post-season. Chicago Cubs radio analyst Keith Moreland went on record during the weekend suggesting that the Brewers ‘need to go .500′ the rest of the way on the road to have a chance at winning the division. I’m not as worried about where the Brewers get their wins from here on out. Win 7-8 of the twelve games v. the Cards and finish at or near that 90 win mark and the team should be in good shape.

• The aftermath of the Trade Deadline – Nearly all of the contenders throughout MLB (with the notable exception of a certain AL team in New York) pulled the trigger at making some sort of organization makeover the past few weeks. The Brewers shot first with a huge deal the night of the MLB All-Star Game, acquiring Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets. Over the past 2 ½ weeks K-Rod has already solved the team’s most glaring weakness, which was the eighth inning. The Crew also acted immediately in response to Rickie Weeks going down, quickly making minor deals to get Felipe Lopez (his second tour of duty in Milwaukee) and Jerry Hairston, who are nice stopgaps to get needed infield depth. The Cardinals also made a number of deals, most notably shipping off Colby Rasmus to Toronto while shoring up the pitching staff, getting starter Edwin Jackson from the White Sox and relievers Mark Rzepczynski and vet Octavio Dotel from the Blue Jays. The Cards also took a last minute flier on SS Rafael Furcal, who was below the .200 line this year with the Dodgers, if he can turn his season around it would be a plus.

TALE OF THE TAPE – EACH POSITION

Catcher – Both Jonathan Lucroy and Yadier Molina have been solid offensively, both hitting above .280 along with some power, I give the Cards a very slight advantage with Molina from the defensive side and being a veteran.

First Base – Prince Fielder really did get ‘all of that one‘, launching a 475-foot HR over the weekend, the second longest recorded home run in the history of Miller Park. Albert Pujols also fattened up against the Cubs this weekend, eclipsing 2,000 hits for his career. Both resumes are well known and I’ll put the position as a push.

Second Base – Skip Schumaker hits for a nice average but nothing special from the power department. Early returns on Felipe Lopez have been good after spending most of this season at the AAA level in the Tampa Bay organization. Skip v. the Brewers patchwork job is a push.

Third Base – After spending some time on the shelf early in the season, David Freese is starting to get hot (5 HR in July) and in time projects to a 25 home run man and at least 90 RBI annually. After being a revelation the past couple of years, Casey McGehee has come crashing back to earth this year. Advantage: Cards

Shortstop – Furcal adds depth, but I don’t even know if he’s an upgrade over Ryan Theriot at this point. I would give the Cards the edge at this position except Yuniesky Betancourt has swung a hot bat (.358/.547 slugging) since the All-Star Break. Advantage: Even

Outfield – Another blow to the Brewers was when Carlos Gomez broke his collarbone a few weeks back. The pesky/irritant Nyjer Morgan handles center just fine, but don’t know if Tony Plush can handle a heavy workload down the stretch. Ryan Braun/Corey Hart v. Matt Holliday/Lance Berkman at the corners are comparable, but have a feeling Berkman’s health will be an issue going forward. Advantage: Brewers.

Starting Pitching – Even after losing Adam Wainwright during the spring, the Cards rotation remains solid, Chris Carpenter has slipped somewhat from previous years, but Jamie Garcia and Kyle Lohse have been in the low 3′s in ERA. Meanwhile Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson have both had very nice years, and they are the #4 and #5 starters. Zack Greinke has been called a disappointment this year in many circles, but is still 8-4 with 123 strikeouts in just 94 innings (11.78 K’s per 9 innings), he has a chance to absolutely roll down the stretch. Advantage: Brewers

Relief Pitching – What both teams shored up. K-Rod and the Ax Man have the 8th and 9th covered, and vet Takashi Saito recently came back from the long stint on the DL, add Kameron Loe and LaTroy Hawkins to the mix and the sixth and seventh innings should be fine. One glaring hole is having zero situational left-handers in the Milwaukee pen. Still I have to give the Brewers the edge.

Bench – Craig Counsel is a presence in the clubhouse and has played some nice defense in a couple of starts this week, but a club record 0-44 streak at the plate suggests that his career is winding down. He will resurface in a coaching/managerial capacity at some point. Mark Kotsay has done some nice work in the outfield when called upon. Advantage: slight edge to Brewers.

Manager – Ron Roenicke has played to nice reviews in his first year in Milwaukee. I’ll still give STL the edge because Tony LaRussa is still Tony LaRussa.

Those who follow Yahoo Sports may be familiar with a weekly feature by a site called Accuscore, an outfit that is supposed to project probabilities not only in MLB, but also the NFL, NBA, hockey, or almost any other competition played out. For a cool $300 annually, one can subscribe to the site’s ‘advisor’ service.

On Monday’s the site did its usual article projecting the playoff chances of all 30 Major League Baseball clubs, along with notable downward and upward trends. The piece opens with the following…

‘AccuScore provides baseball predictions and projections by calculating the precise probability teams have of winning each game, their division, and making the playoffs. Using projected starting lineups, baseball predictions are created by simulating each game of the season one play at a time, up to 10,000 to 20,000 times.’

If Accuscore is the be-all, end-all, know it all, then the Pittsburgh Pirates might as well lower the Jolly Roger.

That’s because this week’s projections give the Pirates a mere 1.0% chance of winning the National League Central.

Apparently out of Accuscore’s 10,000-20,000 simulations, the Pirates only win the NL Central 100-200 times.

Never mind that after shutting out the fast-fading Cincinnati Reds for a second straight night, the divisional standings are as follows…

If my math is correct, nearly 100 of the scheduled 162 games have now been played, and the Pirates have not only NOT gone away, but have actually picked up the pace going 16-7 in their last 23 games.

But the Pirates remain that Rodney Dangerfield team that still gets no respect.

My personal opinion on the NL Central race is like most others’: that the division will ultimately come down to the Brewers and Cardinals. Pittsburgh only has one player in double figures home run wise (Andrew McCutchen, 14), while the Brewers have three with 15 or more HRs, and would likely have four if Corey Hart had been healthy the entire season. Meanwhile the Cardinals have Lance Berkman with 25 bombs, Pujols with 20, and Matt Holliday (who has also missed time) with 14.

Then there are the pitching staffs. Kyle Lohse and Chris Carpenter have been decent while Jaime Garcia (9-4, 3.11 ERA) has had a career year. Zack Greinke’s ERA numbers have suffered but his strikeout totals (107 in just 80 innings) show that he is very capable of rebounding heading into the final two months.

Track records and less than sparkling strikeout totals suggest that the likes of Jeff Karstens (2.34 ERA), Paul Maholm, and Charlie Morton could possibly fade down the stretch. But still, they have done the job to this point and even fifth-starter James McDonald has won his last three starts. The Pirates also have one of the NL’s best closers this year (at least this side of Craig Kimbrel) in the previously unheralded Joel Hanrahan (27 saves in 28 attempts, 1.27/0.89/.197 BA against).

And then there’s something as simple as playing defense. Last year the Pirates ranked dead last in all of MLB, but this year they are ninth out of 30 teams. That in itself does as much good as smoke and mirrors, and it’s real!

Still, Pittsburgh doesn’t have the payroll firepower of the Cardinals or even the Brewers. Milwaukee fired the first salvo of the trade deadline season by acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, solving that team’s glaring set-up problems. K-Rod may be a ‘historic’ closer in the words of agent Scott Boras, but K-Rod was also a historic eighth inning guy once upon a time with the Anaheim Angels, and they won the 2002 World Series.

Meanwhile the Cardinals will be sure to up the ante by making their own deals in the next ten days. However it is not like St. Louis or Milwaukee have shown signs of going on a major tear over the past several weeks, and since this is Pittsburgh’s first divisional race in a generation, the organization may feel very compelled to pull the trigger and splurge on their own ‘rent-a-player’ for the final two months.

Then there’s this little stat. The Pirates are an incredible 2-31 in their last 33 games in Milwaukee, and the Bucs have two more trips to Miller Park, including the final three games of the regular season.

And because their recent struggles and horrible pitching staff, especially in the relief department, the Reds have quickly become more pretender than contender. Still, going into the week Accuscore was even giving Cincy, Dusty Baker and all, a 4.2% chance compared to the Bucs 1%.

The Pirates are this year’s Padres, the team that to this point has defied all preseason predictions and are in a very winnable division where 85+ wins would have them right in the hunt up to September 28. However, the stats finally did catch up with San Diego last year when they hit the wall in September.

My preseason pick was the Cardinals, and if I were to go with one team right now I would lean with the Brewers, but I would not consider them a lock by any means.

Let the record show the Pittsburgh Pirates are 51-44 in a weak division. Give me those 100-1 odds, I’ll go to the betting window with that investment.

And maybe it’s time for Manger Clint Hurdle to give his players his best Lou Brown speech while Accuscore re-thinks it’s ‘cone of probability’ models.

That, folks, is a screenshot of the current NL Central standings, taken from MLB.com, on this the 16th day of July.

And the Pittsburgh f’ing Pirates are in first f’ing place.

Somewhere, a shivering pig is flying in Hell wondering what the F is going on.

All joking aside, congrats to the Pirates and their fans, who have legitimate hope of being in a pennant race for the first time since…since…well probably since around the time Zack Morris was still at Bayside.

I, for one, hope the magic doesn’t end. It would be a great story for a fan base that deserves some happiness.

But for the record, as soon as I hit “publish” on this post I am running out to the store to stock up for Armageddon. It can’t be far behind.

Today, we preview the NL Central and predict whether it will be the Reds heading to the playoffs yet again, or if the retooled Brewers or the consistent Cardinals can take the title.

In previous posts we have taken a look at the NL East and the NL West.

Cincinnati Reds

The starting rotation will be led by Edison Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey and Travis Wood. Mike Leake could make the roster if the team decides to place Cueto on the DL as the fifth starter. Non-roster invitee Dontrelle Willis will get a chance to resurrect his career as a reliever.

The offense is full of power, led by NL MVP Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce and fan favorite Jonny Gomes. The rest of the lineup will be filled by Brandon Phillips, Drew Stubbs and Paul Janish, who will be the starter at shortstop. Stubbs and Fred Lewis will get time in centerfield, while Miguel Cairo will be the utility infielder. Edgar Renteria will also get some time at short, but has injury issues, and therefore may be used sparingly. Catchers Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan will split the duties behind the plate.

Francisco Cordero will be the closer, and Aroldis Chapman will more than likely be the setup man. Manager Dusty Baker will have this team ready.

Prediction: I look for the Reds to win at least 90-95 games and make a run at winning the Central again.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals finished five games behind the Reds last season, and really didn’t do much in the offseason to help the club out. Lance Berkman signed with the team, and at 35, will play right field. Many thought he would hook up with a team that needed a first baseman, and thus DH help in the American League. Matt Holliday and Colby Rasmus will be the other starters in the outfield.

Albert Pujols, who will not talk contract until the after the season, will start at first base. The rest of the infield will consist of Ryan Theriot, Skip Schumaker and David Freese. Tyler Green will get some time in the outfield and at shortstop. Jon Jay will fill in for the outfielders when they need rest.

The starting rotation took a big blow in the first few days of training camp, losing Adam Wainwright for the year after experiencing soreness in his throwing arm. He will miss the year, and the start of next year, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery that’ll take 12-14 months. The Cards still have a good rotation with Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse. Kyle McClellan looks to be the fifth starter, and will be counted on to keep the opponents offense in check. Non-roster invitee Miguel Batista looks like he may get a chance in the bullpen. Yadier Molina will be the starting catcher with Gerald Laird getting some spot starts. I just don’t see the offense putting up runs on a consistent basis, averaging maybe 3 to 4 runs a game.

With the Pujols distraction finished, for now, there won’t be much to talk about in St. Louis. If the team loses any of their remaining starting pitchers though, the season will be lost.

Prediction: Winning 80 games will be good for the Cardinals, which unfortunately could push them as far back as fourth place in the always surprising NL Central.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers, who finished third in the NL Central, look to make a push at winning the division after acquiring Zack Greinke (will miss at least first three starts) and Shaun Marcum to help the starting rotation. Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson will be the other starters. Mark Rogers is the front runner to cover for Greinke until he returns. John Axford, who filled in well last season for Trevor Hoffman, will be the closer.

With Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks set to be free agents at the end of the year, and looking to land big contracts with a great campaign, the time is now for the Brewers. The rest of the lineup is full of talent, with Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Casey McGehee and Carlos Gomez all young and ready for great seasons. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy will be counted on to put up good numbers at the dish, as he’ll be the teams opening day starter. Yuniesky Betancourt will start at shortstop for the Brewers, Rickie Weeks will play second, and Craig Counsell, Luis Cruz and Mark Kotsay will battle it out for two remaining spots on the opening day roster.

Manager Ron Roenicke, in his first season as manager, will look to get his team off to a fast start. He says his team will run the bases aggressively, and force the opponent to make plays.

Prediction: I believe the Brewers will win over 90 games this year, and if they don’t win the Central, they will make the playoffs as the NL Wild Card.

Houston Astros

Brad Mills, the former bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, will try and make his second year better than his first. The Astros finished 2010 at 76-86, 15 games behind the Reds. This won’t be an easy transition for Mills, as the Astros really don’t have an identity.

The starting rotation won’t be able to hold opposing offenses down enough for the offense to keep up. Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and J.A. Happ are the top three in the rotation, with Bud Norris more than likely the fourth starter, and either Aneury Rodriguez or Lance Pendleton getting the fifth spot. The Astros also have Ryan Rowland-Smith and Nelson Figueroa, who are capable of starting. Non-Roster invitee Gustavo Chacin is also capable of filling a starting role.

Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Bill Hall and Hunter Pence will be the offensive leaders. The closer going into camp is Brandon Lyon, and it will be his to lose. With the loss of Jason Castro, out until September with torn ligaments in his right knee, Humberto Quintero and Brian Esposito will split the catching duties. Jeff Keppinger (Out Indefinitely with left foot surgery, mid-May return) will be an infield reserve, and will need some AAA time to get into game shape.

This will be an interesting year in Houston, as Mills may make allot of changes to the roster after the first month, as he looks to see what all his players can do.

Prediction: The Astros will struggle to win 70 games this year, but Mills will use this season to see what he has going into next year.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs treated their fans to yet another disappointment last season, finishing sixteen games behind the Reds with a record of 75-87. Now it’s Mike Quade’s turn, after taking over for Lou Pinella in late August of last season. The Cubs signed Carlos Pena and traded for Matt Garza, both huge contributors to the success of the Tampa Bay Rays over the last three seasons.

Chicago looks good offensively, with Koske Fukudome, Aramis Ramirez, Pena, Starlin Castro, Marlon Byrd, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano all capable of getting runs across the plate.

The pitching will compete, with Ryan Dempster, Garza, Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells and Carlos Silva filling the rotation. The return of Kerry Wood will help settle things in the eighth inning, and Carlos Marmol will be the closer. Jeff Baker, Darwin Barney, Tyler Colvin and non-roster invitee Reed Johnson will all battle for two or three bench spots.

On paper the Cubs look great; it’s just getting everyone on the same page that’s the problem. If Chicago can play as a team, they will challenge the Reds and Brewers for the division, which will make the NL Central very exciting this season.

Prediction: I think, barring any injury issues (Ramirez, Silva and Pena), the Cubs can win 90 games this year.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh had the worst record in the major’s last year, finishing at 57-105, thirty four games behind Cincinnati. Clint Hurdle will take over as manager, and hope to start turning the Bucs back into a contender again. The former Colorado Rockies manager, who took the Rox to the World Series in 2007, may have the toughest job in the league.

The starting rotation will be comprised of James McDonald, Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia. Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton and Scott Olsen will use the spring to get the four and five spot figured out.

Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz were signed to try and put some pop in the lineup. Neil Walker, Ronny Cedeno, Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Garrett Jones and Chris Snyder will more than likely be the other starters. Josh Rodriguez, John Bowker and Ryan Doumit will use the spring to win a utility role.

Joel Hanrahan will be counted on to close any games that the Pirates may be leading going into the ninth. Non-roster invitee Joe Beimel (3-11, Day to Day, pain in left forearm) could make the team due to the lack of left handed relief in the bullpen. Who are these guys? Other than Overbay, Diaz, Doumit and McCutchen, I can’t say I have any idea.

Prediction: It looks like another last place finish, and another 55-60 win season.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ 2011 season already got off to a rocky, distracted start when Albert Pujols reported to camp without a contract extension. Now it looks like the Cards might have lost one of their best players for the entire season.

Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, who has blossomed into one of the best hurlers in baseball, is leaving the Cardinals’ Spring Training camp in Jupiter, Florida to have his pitching elbow examined. The prevailing opinion that I’m seeing flash across Twitter and in every article popping up on the ‘net is that Wainwright is most likely headed for Tommy John surgery.

Here is the latest from Derrick Goold STLToday.com:

General manager John Mozeliak said he believes it is a “significant injury” and the early word is “not encouraging.”

Tommy John surgery is one alternative to repair the damage for which  Wainwright is being checked.

“After his bullpen on Monday, he did feel something in his right elbow,” Mozeliak said. “I can say just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging. But before we jump to any conclusions, we’ll just wait until the re-evaluation this afternoon.”

Mozeliak said there would be an update Wednesday afternoon.

Looks like Tony LaRussa’s season just got more complicated, and the Cardinals’ chances of winning it all in what could be Pujols’ last season with the team just took a major hit. Sheesh…all this and it’s not even March yet.

Hey Cubs, maybe this really will be your year!

Haha. Yeah, right.

**********

* – Adam Wainwright photo credit: Elsa/Getty Images North America via Zimbio.com

It’s so big, in fact, that coastal elites at ESPN are actually venturing into middle America to broadcast tonight’s opener — so that, three short years into his remarkable career, people from Boston to New York to Philadelphia will finally know who NL MVP frontrunner Joey Votto is.

The two best teams in the Midwest — at least in terms of the NL — will therefore take center stage for these crucial games beginning tonight. It’s been the Reds and Cardinals basically since day one this season in the NL Central, and both teams happen to be playing some of their best baseball right here on August 9th.

Following a sweep of the pitiful Cubs in Chicago, the Redlegs are now 16 games above .500 (64-48) for the first time in over a decade, while the Redbirds are just one game back in the loss column, and two overall, at 61-49. This places both squads right in contention for a wild card berth should they fail to take the central crown.

Good pitching matchups and huge crowds are expected for the next two nights and Wednesday afternoon along the Ohio River. It does not get much better than this, as we approach the proverbial “Dog Days of August” with  Cincinnati pursuing their first playoff appearance in 15 years.

To make matters even more enticing through Wednesday, both teams are essentially lined up to throw their best hurlers:

Tonight: Chris Carpenter vs. Mike Leake

Tomorrow night: Jaime Garcia vs. Johnny Cueto

Wednesday afternoon: Adam Wainwright (for my money, the leading candidate for NL Cy Young) vs. Bronson Arroyo

This season has been thrilling thus far, and it’s been all about pitching, pitching, pitching.

As we get ready for what should be an equally as thrilling second half of the season, with dramatic pennant races shaping up around the league, it’s time to assess each team a grade; so here they are:

AL East

New York Yankees-A

The defending champs have been impressive thus far, and you can expect them to make a strong push for a repeat.

Tampa Bay Rays-A+

After a lackluster 2009, the Rays, led by young pitching sensation David Price, are back in the playoff hunt.

Boston Red Sox-A-

Despite a slow start to the season and multiple injuries, the Red Sox are right in the mix, and should improve once they start getting everyone back.

Toronto Blue Jays-B+

Toronto was supposed to be in a rebuilding stage, but they started out the year incredibly strong. They’ve now cooled off a bit, but are still just below .500.

Baltimore Orioles-F

With the worst record in the MLB, they have to get an F. They’ve fired Dave Trembley and our courting Buck Showalter, who would give them the relief they so desperately need.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox-A-

The year seemed to be lost for the South Side Sox, but they have been red hot as of late, and have grabbed hold of 1st in the AL Central.

Detroit Tigers-A-

The Tigers have been absolutely solid this season. Led by Triple Crown front runner Miguel Cabrera, they look like a team ready to make a playoff run.

Minnesota Twins-B+

Minnesota has been above average, but that won’t be good enough to win the AL Central this year.

Kansas City Royals-C

The Royals started out poor, causing them to show Trey Hillman the door. Under new manager Ned Yost, they’ve shown signs of improvement, and I think that will continue in the second half.

Cleveland Indians-F

The city is of Cleveland has fallen on to hard times when it comes to sports. LeBron does a one hour special that was equivalent to giving the entire city the middle finger, the Browns are, well the Browns, and new Indians manager Manny Acta hasn’t brought the struggling franchise back to decency.

AL West

Texas Rangers-A

Everything’s clicking for Texas this year, and this may finally be the season where they get to the playoffs.

Los Angeles Angels-B

Don’t get me wrong, the Halos are having a good season, they just don’t look like the Angels of 2009.

Oakland Athletics-C+

The A’s have a young core of good pitchers, and the team will definitely get better as those pitchers get a little more experience under their belt.

Seattle Mariners-D-

Seattle has the pieces, they just never seem to be able to put them into place. Looks like it’s going to be another miserable season for the M’s.

NL East

Atlanta Braves-A+

From the look of things, the Bobby Cox Farewell Tour may be making a stop in the playoffs. Led by young sensations Jason Heyward and Tommy Hanson, Atlanta is looking to give their legendary manager a fitting send-off.

New York Mets-A-

The Mets have looked pretty good so far, but need to be consistently good in the second half if they want to finally make the playoffs. Don’t be too surprised if they choke yet again.

Philadelphia Phillies-B

The defending NL champions have been solid, but not great. They are failing to meet high expectations that were made with the signing of Roy Halladay. Third place in the NL East isn’t anywhere close to good enough for Philly fans.

Florida Marlins-B-

The Florida Marlins are still in turmoil. They gave manager Freddie Gonzalez the boot mainly because Hanley Ramirez is a whiner, and still get very few fans. They need to bring Bobby Valentine in to attract fans and improve the team.

Washington Nationals-C-

Despite the fact that rookie superstar Stephen Strasburg is living up to the hype, and slugger Adam Dunn is having a career year, the Nationals are still cellar dwellers in the NL East. Washington will be a contender eventually, but certainly not this season.

NL Central

Cincinnati Reds-A+

The Cincinnati Reds are having an outstanding season. Dusty Baker’s squad has exceeded all expectations, and shows no signs of slowing down. The only question is whether or not the Reds’ starting rotation will be able to withstand the Lizard’s overworking.

St. Louis Cardinals-A

The Cards have been impressive this season. Their pitching and hitting is solid. The only problem is that they’re trailing the Reds in the division, when they were supposed to be dominating the Central.

Milwaukee Brewers-C

The Milwaukee Brewers had mediocre expectations coming into the season, and are playing mediocre. Fair hitting and bad pitching has them quite a bit out of first place, but as long as they finish ahead of the Cubs, we Brewer fans don’t mind.

Chicago Cubs-D

The Chicago Cub train is flying off the tracks. The not-so-loveable losers haven’t been able to put it together, and Zambrano is an epic fail. Sorry Cub fans, this most certainly is not the year.

Houston Astros-D

The Houston Astros have been flat-out bad. Nothing seems to be going right for them, and to top it all off, Roy Oswalt wants to catch the next train out of Houston.

Pittsburgh Pirates-F

What did you expect? The Pirates are still in their never-ending rebuilding stage. They surged out to a lead at the beginning of the year, but that last about as long as a Billy Martin Yankee managerial tenure.

NL West

San Diego Padres-A+

From bottom feeders to division leaders. The San Diego Padres are one of this season’s best stories. Everyone loves an inspiring story, except for soulless Communists. Anyway, we’ll see if the Padres are able to keep hold of this lead for the rest of the year.

Colorado Rockies-A

The Rockies just don’t want to go away. They are poised to make another playoff run, and turn October into the always cheesy, but still catchy, Rocktober.

Los Angeles Dodgers-A-

The Dodgers are playing good baseball; they’re just in a tough division. But you can be sure that when September rolls around, Joe Torre’s club is going to be in the playoff hunt.

San Francisco Giants-A-

Great rotation and a solid lineup. The Giants have all the tools to be a good playoff team, but are stuck in the incredibly competitive NL West. C’mon, they’re in 4th place with a 47-41 record. That’s just cruel.

Arizona Diamondbacks-C-

The NL West is like a beautiful painting, and the D-Backs are a hideous coffee stain on it. Arizona came in to the season with low expectations, and they are proving their critics right. A.J. Hinch was given the axe, and Kirk Gibson was brought into try and help revive the D-Backs, but even he won’t be able to help this hopeless club.

The Crew had just made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, but not without having a September slump that cost Yost his job.

Now, just two years later, the table has been turned.

Yost recently took over as manager of the lowly, often pathetic Kansas City Royals. Sounds like Ned’s out the door again after this season, being stuck with the Royals and all, right?

Well not so fast, my friend.

If things continue the way they’ve started in the Yost Era in Kansas City, then he just might be a permanent fixture there.

Under Neddy, the Royals are a spectacular (by their standards) 5-2. Not only that, but the team has finally fought its way to 4th in the AL Central, and forced “The Guy Who Becomes Manager of Really Bad Teams” Manny Acta and his Cleveland Indians into 5th.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers might as well make “Free Falling” their new theme song, because that’s exactly what they’re doing. The Crew has looked absolutely dead as of late.

Surem they beat the Pirates 20 to zip, but they’ve been crap against Pittsburgh and everybody else ever since. Heck, they’re even below Pittsburgh in the standings, and are in danger of falling to last in the NL Central.

As of Thursday night (I pray to God they don’t lose to the Pirates AGAIN) the Crew has a dismal record of 15-25, and have a major league-worst 4-14 record at home. That is absolutely, unforgivably awful!

I hate to say it, but they have to trade Prince Fielder for some better pitching, because there’s no way they can afford his lucrative contract that he’ll be asking for after this season.

While I think Ken Macha’s done all he can, he’ll likely be axed if the team doesn’t turn it around. This would mean Willie Randolph would likely be the new manager, though I think that Dale Sveum is spectacular managerial material (as he proved as interim manager after Ned was booted). But he won’t get that position until at least two failed tenures end with the manager meeting the axe of Doug Melvin.

Maybe we should’ve kept Ned.

**********

* – Ned Yost photo credit. SI.com

The Reds haven’t been in first place this late in a season since 2006, while the Cards had been atop the division since the final day of July 2009.

Image credit: Jamie Ramsey, Better off Red blog

While St. Louis has inexplicably dropped nine of 12, Cincinnati now boasts these impressive numbers: seven wins in eight tries, and a 14-5 record since my most recent capricious calling for Dusty Baker’s head.

My recanting will continue, as I head down after work tonight (weather permitting) to see Johnny Cueto – coming off the best start of his career — take on the Brewers at GABP.

(In other Midwest/NL Central news, though the Cubs came back late yesterday to salvage one game from the Pirates at Wrigley this weekend, Pittsburgh has beaten Chicago five times in six tries this season.  Pittsburgh remains in third place, still ahead of the Cubbies. For you “competitive balance” folks, the Pirates opened the season with a $39 million payroll. The Cubs? $144.4 million.)

Update: Follow this link for more on the jubilant first place Reds.

He also has experience as a blogger, having been a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a featured blogger for ESPN.com. Oh, and he was in the Marine Corps from 1992-2001, which makes him more of a badass than 99.9% of the people reading this and certainly more of one than the clown doing the editing here.

Ronald will be covering the Cardinals, Brewers, Packers and Badgers. His first post is below. Enjoy.]

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If the Milwaukee Brewers are going to somehow make an improbable run toward the playoffs, the final month of the season is the time to do it.

That run could start tonight when the Brewers visit NL Central leading St. Louis.

The Brewers and Cardinals tangle nine times in the next 33 days, and Milwaukee has six games against the second-place Chicago Cubs.

Follow these links to RazorGator for great deals on all MLB tickets, Brewers-Cardinals tickets and Brewers-Cubs tickets in Milwaukee, Brewers-Cardinals tickets in St. Louis, and Brewers-Cubs tickets in Chicago. Get $15 OFF baseball and/or concerts ticket orders of $200+ using promo code CJSummerDN.

Braden Looper goes tonight against his former team at Busch Stadium. He is second on the squad with 11 wins, trailing Yovani Gallardo’s 12.

The Brewers need Looper and Gallardo to be solid down the stretch. More importantly, Milwaukee needs the rest of the staff to break out of its disappointing season-long funk.

Carlos Villanueva was solid last year, but is 2-10 this season with an ERA over six. Manny Parra and Jeff Suppan both have losing records and ERAs hovering around six.

Most knew that the Brewers starters would struggle this year without Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. But after a strong start, who knew they would simply collapse around mid-May and never recover.

At this point, the playoffs are extremely unlikely, but one can hope. What should also be hoped for is simply finishing the season over .500. As it stands, the Brewers are two games below .500 (64-66) and 12 games behind first-place St. Louis.

The Cardinals, on the other hand, own a 10.5-game lead over Chicago – the largest margin of any division leader in the big leagues. The acquisitions of Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and John Smoltz have really worked out well for the Cards. Couple that with consistent starting pitching provided by Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainright and tonight’s starter, Joel Pineiro, and St. Louis has been on fire since the all-star break.

The Brewers aren’t out of it yet, and can make up some serious ground in the month of September. They’d probably have to win at least 10 of those 15 remaining games against St. Louis and Chicago to make the playoffs.

As much as I hate to say it, that just isn’t going to happen.

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Carlos Zambrano is the most recent victim of the DL for the Cubs. These things have happened a lot to the Cubs this season, but they have battled to stay close to the top of the NL Central. Aramis Ramirez has also been hurt recently. This time it’s his left shoulder. It is not, however, supposed to be serious, and Ramirez will decide Monday whether he will play the last game of the 4-game series against the Rockies.

As of Saturday the Cubs were only 1 game behind St. Louis, but that could change in a heartbeat. Holliday and Pujols are starting to hit, and if the Cubs don’t do the same thing they could see St. Louis run away with the division.

Both the Cubs pitching and batting have been very inconsistent, but as of late the two are staring to come together. Rookie Randy Wells is still having a tremendous year, and is the best pitcher on the team right now. Derek Lee has started to act like the old D Lee, hitting home runs and driving in runs.

While still not playing like he should, Milton Bradley is hitting better. With an average still under .250, Bradley hasn’t shown a great performance after the All-Star break but he has made some improvement.

The bullpen still remains a mystery. Sometimes they perform well, and other times they just plain suck. Carlos Marmol isn’t showing the same dominance that he had last year.

Kevin Gregg has been decent, but fans still don’t trust him when the Cubs have a slim lead heading into the ninth. No one in the bullpen has become a sleeper. No one has really stood out, and I think that has really hurt the Cubs’ bullpen.

It’s a mystery to me how this team is still very close to making the playoffs. I don’t know if it’s because of the Cards not playing well, the overall mediocrity of the division, or just that the Cubs are playing well when they need to.

The last month and a half will prove what team can play better ball in the closing stages of the season. My pick is St. Louis.

1.St. Louis Cardinals – The division leader for most of the season has just recently been tested by the Chicago Cubs. The acquisition of Matt Holliday has paid off. With Ankiel and Ludwick not performing like last year, Holliday was a must pick-up to add offense to the outfield. The return of Carpenter has also helped the Cardinals stay atop of the the division. Pitching hasn’t been the problem for the Cards since their ERA is 3.71, 3rd in the whole league.

With players like Holliday, Pujols, and Carpenter why didn’t the Cards take more firm control of the division?

The problem is their inconsistent hitting. The Cards are ranked 23rd in hitting, batting a team average of .256. The Card’s hitters are not doing as well as last year, and it is hurting them. Ankiel and Ludwick are having a tough time following up on their breakout season that they both had last year, although Ludwick has been hittin much better since the break.

Overall it has been the consistent pitching that has kept St. Louis afloat and in the race for the division title.

2.Chicago Cubs – The team picked to win the division has been the most up and down this season. There have been points in the season were the Cubs looked totally out of it, and now suddenly they are tied for first along with the Cards. The Cubs are behind the Cards in hitting and pitching, but their offense has started to pick up as of late and that is why you see them on top of their division.

The Cubs season hasn’t been without a lot of criticism of the team and the signings of certain players. Randy Wells, however, has been a revelation as the only consistent pitcher for the Cubs. Wells, a really nice catch, has produced many great starts, and has been a huge part in the Cubs staying in the race. The Cubs just might make the playoffs this year, but they need to watch out for Holliday and Pujols. If those guys start hitting on all cylinders, then the Cubs could be in trouble.

3. Milwaukee Brewers - The Brew Crew are playing at the level most people thought they would play. They have begun to dip a little in the recent weeks, but are still only 4 games out of first, which is still a very reasonable distance considering that they are 1 game below .500.

Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder are having great seasons again but it’s not the offense that is lacking. It’s the pitching. After losing CC to the Yankees, the Brewers are having trouble finding a go-to pitcher. Every one of their pitchers are having decent but not great years. Before the season started people knew the pitching was the weak point so it doesn’t come as a surprise. Look for this team to contend in a few years if they get the pitching help they need.

4. Houston Astros – A huge shocker that this team is were they are at. They have sipped the past 10 games going 3-7, but they are still hanging in there after a terrible Spring Training and start to the year. Having only three big names on the team —  Oswalt, Lee, and Berkman — the Astros are really holding their own. Almost a sleeper this year, the Astros have flown under the radar. Now I am not saying they will win the World Series or even make the playoffs, but they are doing a good job of at least keeping a possible playoff appearance within the realm of possibility.

With a few more months left in the regular season, the Central Division race should be an exciting and close race all the way to the finish. We will have to see which teams are still contending after August, and which have fallen off the playoff wagon.

Get ready to watch some great American baseball!

* – Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday photo credit: SkyNews

 

Hope has been gone since mid-April for the Cleveland Indians, and clearly, it’s only getting worse as the Tribe is looking at a 100 loss season if they don’t play decently the rest of the way. This from a team considered by many to be the favorite in the AL Central and by some to be a pennant contender. Thanks, Eric Wedge. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out — in October.

 

The Cincinnati Reds limp into the break after a disastrous 2-5 east coast trip this week, which sent them fading into 5th place at 42-45. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo need to continue pitching as well as they have recently, while Johnny Cueto needs to forget July for the Reds to compete the rest of the way.  

 

Though the loss of Jay Bruce – and the continued absence of Edinson Volquez — for an indeterminate amount of time with a wrist injury won’t help matters, Cincinnati is still just a few games behind first place St. Louis. So despite needing to leapfrog many clubs, there’s still hope in the Queen City for the first playoff games in Great American Ballpark’s history.

 

* – Indians fans photo credit: Clemson Girl Baseball

But it also means something else: it’s time to dole out some midseason awards.

Since our primary focus here at Midwest Sports Fans is, well, the Midwest, I am going to focus my award giving to just the Central divisions of the American and National League. Let’s get right to it.

NL Central 1st Half MVP: Albert Pujols, and I really don’t need to say anything else about it. His name itself is becoming hyperbole. I want to see a new version of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials featuring Pujols. They could be called “The Most Dominating Presence in Baseball” and include lines like “he once struck out, just to see what it felt like” and “he’s seen less pitches than the World Cup, yet his goatee alone has hit more home runs than Ryan Ludwick.” Albert Pujols is amazing and is not just the NL Central MVP, but the MLB MVP for the first half of 2009.

AL Central 1st Half MVP: This one is not so clear cut. Let’s take a look at a few of the candidates (stats as of July 9th):

• Joe Mauer, Twins: 60 G, 224 AB, .388 BA, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 1.118 OPS
• Justin Morneau, Twins: 84 G, 319 AB, .317 BA, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 56 R, .984 OPS
• Jermaine Dye, White Sox: 77 G, 276 AB, .297 BA, 20 HR, 54 RBI, 51 R, .940 OPS
• Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 129 K, 29 BB

Obviously I really want to say JD, or even Scott Podsednik, and I think there is an argument to be made for them as their value has been highlighted by the injury to Carlos Quentin, but I have a hard time giving it to anyone other than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer with the impressive stats both have racked up.

It certainly isn’t Zack Greinke, whose team becomes more irrelevant with each passing week. If his ERA was still 1.00, then maybe. But he hasn’t been as lights-out recently, which is to be expected since he isn’t the greatest pitcher in the history of mankind and all beings, as some have suggested.

While everyone is salivating over Mauer, and don’t get me wrong — he has been great since returning from injury, Morneau has been producing at a high level for 24 more games and over the span of almost 100 more ABs than Mauer. Plus, batting average is an overrated stat, so Mauer gets no bonus points from me because he’s making everyone dream about .400. Both are great candidates, and by the end of the year such a difference in games won’t be so magnified, but right now I have to go with Morneau, who has been the most consistent run producer in the division over the course of the entire first half.

NL Central 1st Half Cy Young: I see two primary contenders: Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee. Here are the stats:

• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: 8-6, 109.2 innings, 2.95 ERA, 120 K, 51 BB
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals: 9-5, 122.1 innings, 3.09 ERA, 110 K, 45 BB

Pretty damn close based on the numbers (and you could probably throw Ryan Franklin in the mix here too, who has been great as the Cardinals’ closer). My first instinct when comparing Gallardo and Wainwright is to go with the guy pitching for the team in first place, but it’s hard to use team record as a tie-breaker considering the Cardinals are only one game up on the Brewers in the standings. Or is it? With two pitchers this close, sometimes it comes right down to head-to-head battles.

Thus far in 2009, Wainwright has absolutely dominated Milwaukee. He is 2-0 in two starts against the Brewers, going 15.1 innings and giving up just a single run while striking out 18. Gallardo, on the other hand, has struggled somewhat against his team’s primary competition for the division title. Despite having a better overall ERA and WHIP than Wainwright, Gallardo is 0-1 against St. Louis. Sure, he pitched 8 innings of shutout ball while only giving up 2 hits in the teams’ May 25th battle, so you can’t blame him for the no decision there, but that game was not head-to-head against Wainwright like the July 7th game was. In that battle, Gallardo lasted only five innings and gave up four runs in a 5-0 loss for the Brew Crew.

So maybe that one game difference for the Cardinals is the difference between Wainwright and Gallardo. I’m giving the 1st half Cy Young for the NL Central to Adam Wainwright.

AL Central 1st Half Cy Young: Lots of legit contenders here. Let’s list them out with stats:

• Mark Buehrle, White Sox: 9-2, 3.14 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 65 K, 25 BB
• Joe Nathan, Twins: 0-1, 1.13 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 33.1 innings, 22 saves, 43 K, 7 BB
• Justin Verlander, Tigers: 9-4, 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 115.1 innings, 141 K, 35 BB
• Edwin Jackson, Tigers: 6-4, 2.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 93 K, 33 BB
• Zack Greinke, Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 127.1 innings, 129 K, 29 BB
• Fausto Carmona, Indians: 2-6, 7.42 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 60.2 innings, 36 K, 41 BB

If we were giving this out to the pitcher who has been the most generous to opposing hitters and teams, Fausto Carmona would win in a landslide. And yes, this is the same Fausto Carmona that went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007. But obviously I only listed Carmona here to throw more salt in the multitude of open wounds Cleveland’s start has given its fans. More on him later.

Back to the subject at hand. Zack Greinke obviously has the best numbers, but I just don’t believe in handing out awards to players whose teams are not in the playoff race. There is a different level of pressure when your team is expected to win and when games are meaningful. If the award were Most Outstanding Pitcher, it’s Greinke by a landslide. It’s not, and it clearly states in the fine print of my own personal Cy Young and MVP criteria that last place teams (Cleveland sucks so bad they don’t count anymore) cannot have Cy Young or MVP winners, so we’ll let Willy Wonka tell Zack Greinke what he’s won:

(By the way, credit goes to Hugging Harold Reynolds for tweeting that video yesterday. I hadn’t seen that in forever, but always loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie Bucket is a golden god.)

Honestly, I can’t find a whole lot to separate Buehrle, Verlander, and Jackson. All three have had excellent seasons. I’d give the edge to Buehrle because he owns the Tigers and Verlander sucks against the White Sox, and both have more wins than Jackson, but it’s really splitting hairs between those three.

My 1st half AL Central Cy Young goes to Joe Nathan, who has just be out-of-this-world awesome. The Twins’ pitchers (other than Nick Blackburn, who is having a very good yet under-the-radar season) have struggled this season. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey have all dealt with injuries and bouts of ineffectiveness. The one constant (throughout all the years Ray, has been baseball) has been Joe Nathan at the back end of the bullpen making sure that when the Twins do have a late lead, they do not surrender it.

I’m not a huge proponent of giving Cy Youngs to closers who typically pitch less than a third of the amount of innings a top-line starter does, but Joe Nathan has given up only 18 hits in 33.1 innings and is 22-24 in save opportunities. He has been beyond dominant and there is no way the Twins would be as close to first place as they are without him. It’s a competitive field, but Nathan is the choice.

NL Central Manager of the 1st Half: Tony LaRussa, and I don’t think it’s close. Ken Macha has done a nice job in Milwaukee keeping the Brewers in the race without C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets, but LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place with one legit hitter in his lineup. Yes, that hitter is the great Pujols, but look at the rest of the team’s offensive stats. Putrid. And it’s not like their pitching has been lights out. Ryan Franklin has been a revelation in the bullpen, and getting Chris Carpenter back has helped, but this is still a rotation that counts on guys like Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero, and Todd Wellemeyer. That LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place is a testament to his managerial genius (and to Pujols’ utter dominance, of course).

AL Central Manager of the 1st Half: I really want to say Ozzie Guillen, and I think that he’s done a great job, but my vote goes to Jimmy Leyland of Detroit. It’s not just that the Tigers are in first place, it’s that they’ve been able to rebound from last season’s disappointment with a far less potent offensive attack and without the benefit of an above-average bullpen. Leyland has navigated his way through the struggles of Dontrelle Willis and Armando Gallarraga, plus had to deal with Magglio Ordonez’s sharp decline. Leyland essentially has a lineup with only three hitters who have been consistent producers (Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson), yet there the Tigers sit, a couple games up and eight games over .500.

2009 has been an excellent rebound season for Detroit, and Leyland deserves credit as the man steering the ship. He also deserves credit for having one of the most hilarious old school baseball cards ever. The hat, the mustache, the sunburned face…I’m not sure if he’s at Spring Training, a train conductor, or working at a carnival.

And with that, let’s transition into a few “alternative” awards for the first half.

NL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Milton Bradley wins this one. Signed in the offseason after putting up terrific numbers in Texas, The Angry One has only gotten 203 ABs so far this season and hasn’t done much with them. He’s hitting .236 and, even worse, is slugging only .374. Ouch. Plus, he is being his usual distracting self and getting into public pissing matches with his manager when he’s not forgetting how many outs there are in an inning. Like most things having to do with the Cubs, you just get the feeling that this is not going to end well.

AL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Fausto Carmona of the Indians. We touched on his stats above, and they really say it all. This guy has just gone straight downhill since 2007 and the Indians have to be wondering if he’ll ever be able to recapture the ability that made him appear to be one of the bright young pitching stars in the big leagues. Despite a rough 2008, a lot was expected out of Carmona this year. Well, the Indians have gotten a lot out of him…it’s just all been bad.

AL/NL Central Worst Manager of the 1st Half: Hands down Eric Wedge. You need look no further than this site, where our very own AJ Kaufman calls for Wedge’s head in pretty much every article he writes. The Indians were expected to contend for the AL Central crown, yet they are 13.5 games out and 19 games under .500 already.

AL/NL Central Manager with the most potential to give his kids truly awful awesome names: Eric Wedge. If he had any sense of humor he would name his kids Orange, Potato, and Cheese. No such luck though. As it is, he and his wife named their kids Ava and Dalton Cash. Oh well.

Come to think of it though, Dalton Cash Wedge is a pretty sweet and unique name. The kid is either going be a scrappy middle infielder/#2 hitter in the majors or the lead actor in his generation’s version of Dawson’s Creek. Well done Eric. (See, we don’t always criticize you on Midwest Sports Fans.)

AL/NL Central Quote of the 1st Half: This one is easy and goes to (who else?) Ozzie Guillen. And there were a few of them, all of which were gloriously derogatory towards the team from the North Side.

“But one thing about Wrigley Field, I puke every time I go there. That’s just to be honest. And if Cub fans don’t like the way I talk about Wrigley Field, it’s just Wrigley Field. I don’t say anything about the fans or anything now. But Wrigley Field, they got to respect my opinion. That’s the way I feel…I don’t care if they hate me. They don’t feed my kids. If they hate me, that’s cool.”

That’s just a great quote, although the part about Ozzie not talking about Cubs fans may not be entirely true. Ozzie also had this gem:

“…our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans.”

AL/NL Central Home Run Call of the Year: Hawk Harrelson, two days ago. Hell yeah!

That’s all I’ve got. Sorry for not even mentioning your teams Reds, Astros, and Pirates fans…they’ve all been pretty uninteresting so far this year, at least as far as I’m concerned. But feel free to add your own midseason awards in the comments.

The White Sox bring out the brooms again tonight, and then play the Twins in a pivotal pre-All Star Break series. As Hawk might say, I loooove baseball.

* – Jim Leyland baseball card image credit: Vinewood Sports Cards

* – Albert Pujols photo credit: Urban Shocker

Many experts said that the Cubs had a great pitching staff, and for the most part they do. The only problem is those guys never seem to stay healthy, and when they return they don’t pitch well.

The Cubs hitters have fared much worse. The team’s batting average is .246, which is 26th in the league. While Derrek Lee has started to hit, his efforts are in vain. Kosuke has once again fallen under the .300 mark, just like he did last year after having a great start. Bradley has been a bust since he has yet to hit over .250. Soriano is their main source of power, but he is not a leadoff hitter. A leadoff hitter doesn’t bat .227 and strike out 70 times in 65 games.

The Cubs have just as many problems on the pitching side. Harden has done what he does best: getting injured. Zambrano has also gotten injured and suspended. Dempster hasn’t followed up on his breakout season of last year. Kevin Gregg has shown that he can’t be depended on to close tight games. Carlos Marmol has struggled to strike out hitters, which he did so well last year. With no clear bullpen ace, setup man, or closer, the Cubs have a bunch of problems that seem to stretch on forever.

If there is any hope this year, it’s Randy Wells and Ted Lilly. They are the only consistent pitchers on the ball club. They pitch well every start and give the team a chance to win. Lilly is 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 14 games of work. With Wells, his numbers do not tell the story at all. His 1-3 record is deceiving. His only bad start came against Minnesota, where he gave up 4 earned runs in 3.2 innings of work.

With all of their problems and inconsistencies, the Cubs will not win the Central division for a 3rd time in a row. The Cubs need a lot of revamping and rebuilding. I suggest dropping some older players and picking up younger ones that show promise. The one thing the Cubs have never really had is a good farm system. Most of their draft picks are a bust in the majors, or they never make it to the majors.

While I am a Cubs fan, I just don’t seem them pulling this off. 101 years it will be.

When does football season begin?