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Previewing the NL Central

Chris Pisar |
April 5, 2010 | 1:51 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Albert Pujols looks to repeat as MVP in 2010.
(Creative Commons)

NL CENTRAL

St. Louis Cardinals

2009 Record: 91-71 (First place)

2009 Recap: The Cardinals returned to form last season. With the emergence of several key players - including outfielder Colby Rasmus, shortstop Brendan Ryan and second baseman Skip Schumaker - there were people on base for Albert "The Machine" Pujols to cash in.

Pitching was a point of strength for Cardinals last season as well. They were tied for second in the league in complete games with eight and finished in the top five in wins, ERA and shutouts. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright both won more than 17 games and had ERAs under 3.00. If not for Tim Lincecum of the Giants, one of those two starters likely would have won the Cy Young award.

Despite their impressive regular season performance, the Cardinals were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Dodgers.

Key Additions:
-Brad Penny, RHP
-Felipe Lopez, 2B

Key Losses:
-Joel Piniero, RHP
-Mark DeRosa, UTIL
-Rick Ankiel, OF
-Troy Glaus, 3B
-Julio Lugo, SS

2010 Prediction: First place.
 
The re-signing of trade deadline acquisition Matt Holliday should go a long way toward protecting Pujols in the lineup. The Cardinals have a glaring hole at third base after Troy Glaus signed with the Braves, especially because his replacement, David Freese, is unproven.
But St. Louis' rotation is one of the best around. Its rotation is anchored by two Cy Young candidates in Carpenter and Wainwright.

A nice balance of pitching and hitting should have the Cardinals atop the division and thinking World Series or bust.

Chicago Cubs

2009 Record: 83-78 (Second place)

2009 Recap: The Cubs went from tops in the National League two seasons ago to missing the playoffs altogether last year. The drop was due in large part to an offense that struggled to find any sort of consistency all season long. Former Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto went through a terrible sophomore slump. His batting average dropping 67 points and his RBI total was nearly half of what it was in his first campaign.

The failure of the Milton Bradley experiment didn't help either. Bradley hit just .257 with 12 home runs and didn't even come close to living up to his three-year, $30 million dollar deal.
 
Key Additions:
-Carlos Silva, RHP
-Marlon Byrd, OF

Key Losses:
-Rich Harden, RHP
-Kevin Gregg, RHP
-Milton Bradley, OF
 
2010 Prediction: Second place.
 
The Cubs traded troublesome outfielder Milton Bradley to the Mariners for Carlos Silva in the offseason and signed Marlon Byrd to take Bradley's place. Silva helps fill the hole in the rotation created by Rich Harden's departure to Texas.
 
With Bradley in the Emerald City, team chemistry will be vastly improved. And with the talented core of Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano intact, Chicago should definitely be in the playoff hunt. But the Cubs will struggle to close games with Carlos Marmol, owner of just 23 career saves, taking over ninth inning duties from Kevin Gregg, who left via free agency. And that will prove costly.

Cincinnati Reds

2009 Record: 78-84 (Fourth place)

2009 Recap: The Reds continued their run of futility last year finishing the season under .500 for the ninth consecutive time. They were plagued by an offense that was second worst in the NL Central in both runs scored and batting average. First baseman Joey Votto was the only player able to finish the season with a .300 average.
 
Jay Bruce was unable to take the next step to stardom after a promising rookie campaign and top-of-the-rotation starters Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang were average at best.

While Cincinnati started strong, they slumped during the dog days of summer, winning just 19 games in a 53-game stretch and were out of the playoff hunt by August.

Key Additons:
-Aroldis Chapman, LHP
-Orlando Cabrera, SS

Key Losses:
-Willy Taveras, OF

2010 Prediction: Third place.
 
The Reds haven't been to the playoffs since 1995. Don't expect that to change this season, but they should be a better team.

The signing of Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman surprised a lot of people, but he won't help immediately as he is likely to start the season in the minors. The addition of Orlando Cabrera to the middle of the infield brings much-needed experience to a fairly young team, but the Reds will be hard-pressed to replace the 33 steals provided by the now-departed Willy Taveras.

Cincinnati's young talent coupled with improved performances from a few savvy veterans should be enough to overpass the Brewers in the division.
 

Milwaukee Brewers

2009 Record: 80-82 (Third place)

2009 Recap: After the loss of C.C. Sabathia to free agency and the injury to Ben Sheets, the Brewers struggled on the mound last season. They were second-to-last in the National League in both ERA, 4.83, and quality starts, 65. Only Washington's staff was worst.
While the pitching fizzled, the offense sizzled as Milwaukee, led by the powerful tandem of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, finished third in the league in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.
 
Milwaukee was in first place for a good portion of the first half of the season; but, in the end, their blockbuster hitting couldn't make up for their lackluster pitching.

Key Additions:
-Carlos Gomez, OF
-Randy Wolf, LHP
-LaTroy Hawkins, RHP

Key Losses:
-Mike Cameron, OF
-J.J. Hardy, SS

2010 Prediction: Fourth place.
 
The addition of Carlos Gomez alleviates the defensive hole created by Mike Cameron's departure and provides some added speed to a lineup that swiped 96 bases a season ago.
The Randy Wolf signing should go a long way toward solidifying a shaky Brewer rotation as well. But he'll need some help from the likes of Yovani Gallardo and Jeff Suppan if the Brewers are going to accomplish anything substantial this year.

With pop in the lineup and quality arms in the bullpen to close out games, the Brewers will once again be competitive. But don't expect anything more than that.


Houston Astros

2009 Record: 74-88 (Fifth place)

2009 Recap: The Astros were done in by subpar seasons from Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt.

Berkman was hampered by a calf injury and his power tailed off significantly last season. He hit just 25 long balls and his OPS was nearly 80 points lower than the season prior. Lee's OPS fell by over 100 points, and his power numbers away from hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park started to fade. Oswalt, the staff ace, had the worst season of his career, posting an 8-6 record and an ERA over 4.00.
 
Houston managed to get within a game of first place in July, but couldn't get over the proverbial hump and fell to fifth in the division by the end of the season.
 
Key Additions:
-Pedro Feliz, 3B
-Matt Lindstrom, RHP
-Brandon Lyon, RHP
-Bret Myers, RHP

Key Losses:
-Miguel Tejada, 3B
-LaTroy Hawkins, RHP
-Jose Valverde, RHP

2010 Prediction: Fifth place.
 
After losing two key players in Miguel Tejada and Jose Valverde to free agency, there is little reason to believe that the Astros will be better than they were last year. And last year they weren't very good.
 
Pedro Feliz will do a fine job filling in for Tejada on the defensive end, but he won't be able to match Tejada's offensive output. Houston traded for Matt Lindstrom in the hope of solidifying their bullpen. Too bad Lindstrom is coming off a season in which he had an ERA of nearly 6.00 and only managed 15 saves. Expect a fifth-place finish for the Astros.
 

Pittsburgh Pirates

2009 Record: 62-99 (Sixth place)

2009 Recap: The 2009 season was more of the same for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A 17th straight losing season and the fewest runs of any team in the majors - not to mention a bottom five finish in nearly every other offensive category - pretty much says it all.

But it wasn't all the offense's fault. Pitching was also a problem as the staff could only muster 62 wins, second only to the lowly Washington Nationals. Just one pitcher on the staff, Ross Ohlendorf, had a winning record.
 
Pittsburgh's one saving grace was its defense. The Pirates committed the fewest errors in the majors, 73, making good on nearly 99 percent of their plays.

Key Additions:
-Bobby Crosby, SS
-Ryan Church, OF
-Akinori Iwamura, 2B
-Octavio Dotel, RHP

Key Losses:
-Matt Capps, RHP

2010 Prediction: Sixth place.
 
While it appears management has a clear plan in place, there is no sign of the Pirates being good any time soon.
 
The loss of Matt Capps is a minor one considering the kind of season he had last year. Octavio Dotel should do a serviceable job in his place. The addition of second baseman Akinori Iwamura via trade gives Pittsburgh a high OBP guy who can set the table for the likes of Garret Jones, who hit 21 home runs last year in just half a season of work.

Chalk it up as another year of evaluating young talent and building for the future.



 

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