NL Central

The Cincinnati Reds were one of the best teams in baseball last season, which isn't half bad considering they're such a small market team.  This 2013 season will see the Reds looking to grab their third NL Central title in four years.  The talent is there.  The pieces are in place.

As good as they are, and as good as they should be, one can't help but look at the team and see a handful of weaknesses that might just keep them from being repeat NL Central victors.  

Loyal.

Humble.

Those are the first two things I thought of when I heard about Stan Musial's passing this evening. Being from the Midwest, I respected his relationship with the Cardinals organization and how popular of a team he made the Cardinals, even though they weren't flashy or in a large market.

Baseball legend Stan Musial passed away Saturday at the age of 92 (via a St. Louis Cardinals news release). The Hall of Famer spent his entire career (1941-1944, 1946-1963) with the St. Louis Cardinals. Following his retirement, he spent time in the Cardinals front office before retiring from the game altogether.

Despite news that Billy Hamilton—otherwise known as the second coming of Billy Hamilton—is invited to the Reds' Spring Training activities i

The Milwaukee Brewers salvaged what was a disappointing 2012 season by playing themselves into the NL wild-card race by the end of the season. 

The Brew Crew went 18-10 in September. That surge pushed Milwaukee to within 1.5 games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL's second wild-card spot, as of Sept. 21. 

As I mentioned last week regarding the Boston Red Sox’s farm system, there’s arguably no such thing as an "underrated" prospect. If the player has a pulse, then it’s likely he’ll become over-hyped while ascending the organizational ladder.

What have the Milwaukee Brewers done this offseason?

To an outsider looking in, it's easy to say, "not much." The Brewers went into the offseason knowing they weren't going to be big spenders in free agency, and after some ill-informed rumors regarding big-name players like Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke passed, many began to wonder if the Brewers were going to add anyone.

With spring training just around the corner, St. Louis Cardinals players old and new are putting the finishing touches on the offseason as they prepare for 2013.

Next season, the Cincinnati Reds will take a risk that everyone in baseball wants to see Aroldis Chapman as a starter.

The southpaw has already shown that he can do just about everything from the bullpen. He can be a situational pitcher, a setup man or a closer. He can go more than one inning and can go back-to-back-to-back days. He can pitch in key situations or in the postseason.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, left-handed pitcher Dontrelle Willis has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs—the team who originally drafted him in the eighth round in 2000.