Posts filed under 'NL Central'
June 23rd, 2008
People keep talking about the Cubs adding another starting pitcher, figuring they will need another one for the playoffs. That’s the only reason to talk about adding anything, because the regular season doesn’t figure to pose any problems for the best Cubs team of our lifetime (assuming you are under 90 years old). The rest of the National League is pathetic. The NL has hit far better than the AL this year, leading many to speculate that the Senior Circuit had finally caught up. Not so. Eleven of the 14 AL teams have winning records in interleague play. Even the Royals are 9-3. Overall, the AL is 25 games above .500 and the NL, obviously, 25 games below.
May 20th, 2008
 The Cubs have been, far and away, the most impressive team in the National League. Chicago (28-17) is one-half game behind Arizona (28-16) for the best record in baseball, but has played a far tougher schedule. A fan who disagrees said Arizona’s 20-5 division record against the pathetically weak NL West is more important because “the goal is to win your division.” Well, yes, but the argument here isn’t who is more likely to win their division; that would be Arizona because of the aforementioned pathetically weak NL West. The question is who is better? Think of it like the Associated Press college football poll. An 11-0 team from the Big Ten will get more votes than an 11-0 team from the MAC. Arizona is 8-11 against teams outside its division — including 0-3 against the Cubs. That .421 winning percentage would put Arizona dead LAST in the NL Central. The Cubs, you may have heard, are FIRST in that division. The Cubs are 16-11 in their division and 12-6 against everyone else. In other words, the Cubs beat everybody; the Diamondbacks pick only on the weak.
More proof of the Cubs’ dominance: Chicago has outscored its foes by a Major League-high 84 runs. Arizona is next, at plus-56 runs. The Red Sox are a distant third at plus-37 runs. And, again, the Cubs are doing this against the best teams in the National League. The NL Central, as a whole, is a plus 46 in runs scored. The NL West is minus-93 runs. Yes, I said, a minus-93 runs. The NL West is on its way to being just about the worst division in baseball history. Arizona is the Rutgers or Boise State of baseball right now: Talk to me when you beat somebody good. Until then, all hail the Cubs!Â
April 15th, 2008
I wrote that the Brewers had the best young hitters in baseball and wouldn’t go away. They promptly lost their next two games. I also mentioned that the Reds, loaded with young talent, could also contend. Cincinnati then got swept in Pittsburgh, which hadn’t won a single home game all season. So …. when do you want me to say something nice about the Cardinals?
April 10th, 2008
Hey, thanks to the two readers who pointed out my bone-headed mistake of writing the wrong first name for Brewers’ reputed closer Eric Gagne. Yes, I mixed him up with the former Twins shortstop; gee, I guess you know where my allegiances lie. I’m just surprised non-Twins fans remember him. Truth is, Greg Gagne then was about as bad as Eric Gagne is now.
April 9th, 2008
The Cubs look every bit as good as advertised, yet their chances of winning the NL Central have dipped slightly in the season’s first two weeks. That’s because one of the reasons everyone picked the Cubs — because they played in baseball’s worst division, aka Comedy Central — turns out to be a flawed premise. The Brewers have the best young lineup in baseball. Closer Greg Gagne, whom the Brewers somehow paid $10 million to after a disastrous half season with the Red Sox, has blown two of his first three saves chances. The bullpen remains the Brewers’ biggest weakness. But if Milwaukee relievers don’t fall apart and ace Ben Sheets stays healthy, the Cubs will have to win more than 90 games to win the division. From here, it looks like the supposed worst division in baseball will be the ONLY division in the NL with a pair of 90-win teams.
