PROJECTED STANDINGS:
1. St Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Houston Astros
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Pittsburgh Pirates
In my opinion, everyone but he Pirates has a shot at winning the NL Central. The reason is partly due to the fact the every team in the division was one game below .500 or better at home last season. That should help make this a close race. The Cards won it last season, and now they have Mark McGwire as hitting coach, Matt Holliday for a full season, and Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter remaining in the rotation. The Cubs didn't hurt their chances coming in, but they didn't help them either. Cutting ties with Milton Bradley was a good move, but bringing in Marlon Byrd and Xavier Nady won't exactly put them over the top. The Reds stayed mostly the same. Their big acqusition, Cuban P Aroldis Chapman, has already shown signs of being a problem, leaving a Spring Training game with back stiffness. His control hasn't exactly been perfect, either. Meanwhile, the Astros and Brewers did what small-market teams usually do: sign cheap players nobody else wants and hopes for the best. Both teams have talent, and could be competitive for most of the season, but will fall to nonfactors down the stretch.
Baseball is Dying
4 years ago
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