NL Central

There was a time back in the days, when the Cubs were lovable losers, when the team was managed by a succession of genial incompetents who routinely traded away their best prospects for has-beens and hired equally incompetent field managers who were generally long-suffering and sympathetic counterparts of the players they directed.

With opening day only three days away, the Cincinnati Reds roster is looking more like the Walking Wounded than a defending champion.

A pitching rotation of Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood, Mike Leake and probably Sam LeCure will not strike fear into the hearts of the collective sluggers of the Milwaukee Brewers. Their combined ERA is 6.45.

After a flurry of moves today, the 25-man roster heading north with the parent club has become as clear as it's been all spring. Justin James and Mike McClendon were optioned to the minor leagues and once GM Doug Melvin traded minor leaguer Cutter Dykstra for OF Nyjer Morgan, Brandon Boggs was placed on waivers.

Catcher:

Catcher and first base are the only two positions Cardinal fans should feel comfortable with defensively. Yadier Molina is easily one of the best defensive catchers in the game. I won’t bore you with stats, but suffice it to say Molina’s defensive numbers at the end of each season consistently rank among the top 10 in the league.

I know I've hardly been a beacon glowing in the otherwise dark night of the Chicago Cubs. In fact, you might say I'm much more of a realist than most Cubs fans.

Still, always looking at the grim realities can become downright boring and so, in an attempt to liven up my day, allow me to put on the ol' rose-colored glasses and search out reasons to be hopeful that 2011 will be a better year than 2010 for us Cubs fans.

It was recently announced that the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Yankees' pitcher Sergio Mitre in a deal that sent outfielder Chris Dickerson to New York in return.

At the moment, this seems like a win-win situation for both teams: New York announced that Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia will round out the rotation, and Bartolo Colon will move to the bullpen, most likely as a long reliever, a role which Mitre possessed last season.

There hasn't been this much anticipation for a Reds season in years, but for anyone who has been paying attention to spring training, the news hasn't been very good and it continues to get worse as starting pitcher Homer Bailey was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement.

For Bailey, who has shown flashes but is still seeking consistency over the course of an entire season, it's another setback.

In 2010, veteran closer Trevor Hoffman struggled following his brilliant 2009 campaign and rookie John Axford was promoted to fill his place. Axford experienced remarkable success in relief of Hoffman.

Can Axford carry over his success from last season? Brewers fans hope so, but to do so he will have to break a recent trend of one-and-done for Brewers closers.

During the first decade of this millenium, Lance Berkman was a staple in any conversation about the best hitters in baseball.

Through almost 12 seasons in Houston he had become the face of the franchise, along with Roy Oswalt, and was a former member of the Killer Bs, taking Derek Bell’s place in 2000 alongside Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

In his first three full seasons, Berkman was 6th in Rookie of the Year voting and was a two-time All-Star:

After he struggled to produce at the plate all spring, while unable to play acceptable defense at second base, Blake DeWitt has officially lost his role as the starter.

He was never starting full-time to begin with, as Jeff Baker was the plan when lefties were on the mound. Now though, DeWitt has played at such a lackluster level that it forced manager Quade's hand in the removal process.