NL Central

Besides the relatively rosy picture Cubs management paints, described in Part I, there is another view as to why the Cubs lost last year. The bottom line is that one really doesn’t have to buy into the bad luck or underachievement excuses.  There are legitimate doubts about the steps that have been taken to improve the team.

Normally a rookie third baseman who batted .308 with 11 HR and 52 RBI in only 341 at-bats is someone I target in drafts.

Chris Johnson is someone I’m avoiding.

With the Pirates likely done improving the team via free agency, there still could be a trade or two that could better the club, not only in the short-term but more importantly the long-term.

The Pirates front office has made it known to clubs that it would be open to dealing both catcher Ryan Doumit and starting pitcher Paul Maholm.

The 2010 season was full of numerous surprises, one of which was the breakout season of the Cincinnati Reds. As a team comprised of budding stars and a young pitching staff, few writers and media pendants believed the team had enough pitching to beat the Cardinals for the NL Central crown.
 

Jim Edmonds has decided to play in 2011 in what will be his 18th big league season and ninth with the Cardinals. 

Edmonds agreed to a minor league deal yesterday with the Cards and received an invitation to spring training.

Despite earlier rumors that Edmonds was seriously considering retirement, the 40-year-old is returning to the place where he made a name for himself from 2000 to 2007.

The Reds are blessed with two of the best young hitters in the game in Joey Votto (27) and Jay Bruce (24 in April).

In the 2010 season, the Reds surpassed everyone's expectations, winning 91 games in not only posting their first winning season since 2000, but also making it to the postseason for the first time since 1995.

For the first time in years, we are being sold something legitimate heading into a season. For years, it was merely a desperate hope and promise of something that seemed so vague and far away, but it's a new bill of goods now, where merely achieving respectability will no longer do the trick.  

As Brewers fans slowly thaw this spring from a cold and unforgiving winter, they will be pleasantly surprised to see a Milwaukee team that addressed a much needed weak spot this offseason: Starting pitching. 

With the additions of Zack Greinke and Sean Marcum to a rotation already consisting Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf, the Brewers may now have enough pitching to compete with division rivals St. Louis and Cincinnati. 

This is going to be an interesting season for the St. Louis Cardinals and their first baseman Albert Pujols. The team has a lot of money invested in a lot of players, and they have stretched their budget pretty thin as it is. Pujols is poised to hit free agency after this season, and he is going to get paid A LOT of money by someone.

There is little doubt when someone says that Andrew McCutchen is among the best outfielders in baseball, is there? The question is, at 24 years old, exactly how do we compare him to the rest of the field? Do we rank him based on what he has shown in the past or what we think the future holds (and realize that he could fulfill his potential as soon as 2011)?