NL Central

The electric debut of lanky Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman lasted only seven innings into his first day as a Major Leaguer. Reds' skipper Dusty Baker said he would not use him in a tight ballgame.

With millions of goose bumps in Reds' country, ChapMania began on Tuesday night with an 8-3 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.

If the season ended today, the St. Louis Cardinals would fall short of a playoff berth.  This failure could be epic, it could be historic, and it could be something we never witness again.

The last time a pitching phenom was called up to the major leagues, he blew out his elbow three months later. The Cincinnati Reds are hoping that their pitching phenom doesn’t suffer the same fate.

Lou Piniella is home.

Sweet Lou, the manager of the Chicago Cubs and four other teams since 1986, has called it a career, and what a career it was.

Piniella ranks 14th on the all-time wins list for managers, he’s been a three-time manager of the year, and he won the World Series as manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1990.

Aroldis Chapman is coming to The Queen City. As if the Reds' biggest division lead in 15 years isn't enough to have fans in a tizzy, this is the quintuple cherry.

"Look for the city of Cincinnati to explode when Aroldis does get the call." Back on March 6, those words were written in a Bleacher Report article.

This has undoubtedly been the year of the pitcher. So far this season, baseball has seen three no-hitters, two perfect games, and five other no-hit bids have been lost in the ninth inning. Baseball has been introduced to fiery young aces such as Stephen Strasburg, Trevor Cahill, and Mat Latos, and now you can add one more to the list.

Today, the Cincinnati Reds are expected to call up left-handed Cuban sensation Aroldis Chapman.

If there are two subjects I love, they are baseball and politics. I have had various times in my life when I have been obsessed with both, and I have had various times in my life when I've had to shield my eyes from both.

Despite my interest in the two realms, I am always surprised when the two cross over. Sure, conservative political commentator George Will wrote one of the great baseball books of all time, and sure former President George W. Bush owned the Texas Rangers.

In the midst of another miserable season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's often tough to find real bright spots to talk about, but the Pirates have one in outfielder Jose Tabata.

Neil Walker gets the press, being the hometown kid, and he's deserved it. Walker is having a tremendous rookie campaign and has cemented himself as part of the future core of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A pennant race in the MLB can be affected by guys you have never even heard of. We've seen it happen before, and I'm sure it will happen again this season.

Starting on September 1, teams all around the league will reward minor leaguers with the opportunity to help the team out on the big league level. The list may include young phenoms, former stars, and underdogs who never were supposed to make it. Any of these players can impact an entire pennant race.

Washington Nationals fans were able to see their phenom Stephen Strasburg blow his arm out very early this year. Cincinnati Reds fans have been patient, and their phenom from Cuba may join the Major League baseball club on either Monday or Tuesday, according to a source close to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. 

This goes against the popular belief that Chapman would bring his 105 mph fastball to the Reds on or after September 1st. But joining the team before September 1st would make him playoff eligible.