NL Central

This winter is going to be long and hard for Pennsylvania sports fans, as the Pittsburgh Steelers ended a promising season with a Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Pirates begin what will likely be a record setting 19th straight losing season.
 

Now, I've never considered myself a pessimist by any means. However, the Milwaukee Brewers put forth a dismal effort last season.

The 2010 season, let it be known, yielded as many question marks about the future of the franchise as positive associations. Yes, it was that kind of a year for the Brewers.

Embarrassing pitching, disappointing offensive production and questionable coaching gave way to repetitive criticism on a day-to-day basis throughout the early stages of Milwaukee's offseason.

It seems like a ridiculous statement to make, but at $100 million ($116 million since St. Louis exercised their 2011 option) over the term of his last contract, Albert Pujols was an absolute steal for the Cardinals. It is safe to assume that his next contract will not be quite the bargain for the team that winds up signing him this coming off season.

Heading into the 2011 season, catcher is one of the last things that the Chicago Cubs will need to worry about, as long as Geovany Soto is lining up behind the dish.

Soto bounced back from a very poor sophomore season in 2010. After winning Rookie of the Year in 2008, Soto hit just .218 in 2009, with only 11 homers.

The 2010 season saw Soto bounce back from that sophomore slump, posting a .280 average and parking 17 big flies. 

It’s true: The Cardinals without Albert Pujols is like Corn Flakes without the milk. It’s like the Colts without Peyton Manning. It’s like Oney Guillen without his Twitter account. 

But it could happen. Pujols has set a February 19 deadline to strike an extension deal with the Cardinals, and reports say the two sides will need a lot of steam to iron out these differences.

Yes, the word optimism and the Pittsburgh Pirates does not ordinarily fit into the same sentence, but their are a few reasons for the city of Pittsburgh to look for the light at the end of an 18-year-long tunnel.

The Pirates are coming off a 105 loss season, but with the additions of some veteran players and the continued development of the young players in the current lineup, the Pirates could be better this season. 

Albert Pujols is the face of the St. Louis Cardinals and the superstar of his era. In fact, he’s likely up there with Ozzie Smith and others who are considered Cardinals legends.  As a result, when he asked for a Spring Training deadline to negotiate a contract extension, I figured they would be able to get it done.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training next week, teams around the league are looking to shore up their rosters and prepare for the season ahead. In Houston, Astros GM Ed Wade has some big decisions not only in the next few months, but also important choices for the future of the franchise.

Wade made a lot of big deals this offseason, notably bringing in Bill Hall and Clint Barmes for veteran support in the middle of the infield and also signing veteran ace Wandy Rodriguez to a new three year, $34 million contract.

The New York Yankees were probably very disappointed this week to hear that Andy Pettitte has decided to retire instead of return for another season with the Bronx Bombers. Now heading into spring training this leaves two big holes in their starting rotation that will most likely be filled by either Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia.

Every year, I like to a have a little local flavor on my fantasy team. Yeah, I side more with the Cubs, but I don't dislike the White Sox. 

I try to find guys to put on my roster than I can actually enjoy rostering and maybe even catch them in action a few times over the course of the year. 

This year the White Sox look to be a bit stronger than the Cubs overall, but which team has more fantasy value for all of us stat heads out there?