2013 NL Central Projections

The
St. Louis Cardinals are one of the model franchises in Major League
Baseball. Since 2000, St. Louis has only had one losing season while
they have won two World Series Championships over that span. The
Cardinals came up a little short last year of repeating as World Series
Champs. After overcoming a 6-0 hole in Game 5 of The National League
Divisional Series against The Washington Nationals, The Cards were
leading The San Francisco Giants three games to one in The National
League Championship Series before losing the final three games. It was
still a very productive season for first year manager Mike Matheny who
replaced a legend in Tony La Russa. Matheny dealt with a slew of
injuries and replacing Albert Pujols at first base.

The Cardinals were hopeful to have a healthy Chris Carpenter this
season, but Carpenter’s career might be in jeopardy as he is still
feeling the effects of a nerve injury as he will not pitch this season. The
Cardinals pitching staff won’t earn style points, but they know how to
get the job done as they were tied for second in The National League in
quality starts with 99. Starting pitcher Lance Lynn led St. Louis with
18 wins as he was one of four Cardinal pitchers to post double-digits in
victories last season.

All-Star Catcher Yadier Molina has transitioned into the leader of this
team. Aside from calling games behind the plate, Molina led The
Cardinals in batting average at .315 and he was one of five Cardinals to
hit more than 20 homers last year. Outfielder Matt Holliday is expected
to once again be his usual self which means that you can expect a .290
batting average with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Age and bad
knees are starting to catch up with outfielder Carlos Beltran, but he
still managed to lead the club in home runs last year with 32. If
Matheny can get Beltran to play in between 130-140 games this season he
can preserve his legs; especially during The Cardinals interleague games
where Matheny can use him in the designated hitter spot in American
League parks.

The names on the back of the jerseys in St. Louis may change, but the machine keeps on rolling.

Last
season, The Reds were one game away from advancing to The NLCS for the
first time since 1995, but they couldn’t seal the deal in three
consecutive home games against The Giants. The Reds have indeed turned
things around in the five seasons that current manager Dusty Baker has
been at the helm as they have won The NL Central twice since 2010.

Since The Reds began playing at The Great American Ballpark in
2003, they have been one of the top hitting teams in The National League as they blasted 172 home runs last season. 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto only
hit 14 homers last season as he was limited to 111 games due to a knee
injury, but The Reds expect him back to his typical form where he can
bang out 30-plus home runs. In Votto’s place outfielder Jay Bruce led
the club with 34 home runs. The combination of Votto, Bruce, and second
baseman Brandon Phillips will once again put fear in the hearts of
pitchers in The NL Central.

As The Great American Ballpark has built a reputation as a
launching pad, The Reds pitching hasn’t been great until last season.
At 3.34, Cincinnati tied for second in The National League with The Los
Angeles Dodgers for earned run average. Starting pitchers
Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey, and Bronson Arroyo all logged
over 200 innings last season as The Reds starting rotation was one of
the most durable in baseball.

Baker and Reds general manager Walt Jocketty could be flirting with
disaster in their handling of pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Chapman was tied
for third in The NL last season in saves with 38 as his electric
fastball regularly clocked in at over 100 miles per hour, but The Reds want
make him a starter. Like the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, then
don’t fix it”. It can be difficult for pitchers to make the adjustment
from the bullpen to the rotation. Chapman was lights out for The Reds
last season and he should remain in that role.

In baseball’s latest version of The Hatfields and McCoys, The Reds
will slug it out with The Cardinals down to the wire in The NL Central.

After
a 96-win season in 2011, The Milwaukee Brewers took a step back in 2011
as they hovered around .500 for most of the season. The Brewers led The
National League in home runs with 202, but their pitching staff’s 4.22
earned run average was 13th in The NL.

The Brewers will once again be paced by All-Star outfielder Ryan
Braun. Braun’s 202 career home runs currently place him in fifth place
on The Brewers all-time list for homers, but by the season’s end he
should be second on the list as he would only trail Hall of Famer Robin
Yount. Outfielder Corey Hart is recovering from a knee injury that might
keep him out of action to start the season as he offers protection to
Braun in the lineup. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez is always a perennial
25 home run/.300 batting average candidate as The Brewers should once
again launch a ton of baseballs into the Wisconsin summer sky.

Starting pitcher Yovanni Gallardo has all of the tools necessary
to be a 20-game winner, but he needs protection in the starting rotation
as Brewers manager Ron Roenicke must find the right combination behind
him.

The Brewers have always had hitting in their lineup which makes
them one of baseball’s most exciting teams, but if they cannot improve
on the pitching it will once again be an up and down season in
Milwaukee.

Fans by The Allegheny River in Pittsburgh are hopeful that this
will be the season in which The Pirates finally produce a winning
record. The Pirates are improving as they won 72 games in 2011 followed
by 79 games in 2012. Under manager Clint Hurdle, The Pirates are
hopeful to not only have a winning record, but to contend for The
Central Division Title.

The biggest off-season move by Pirates general manager Neal
Huntington was signing free-agent catcher Russell Martin. The Pirates
were in the middle of the pack last year as far as pitching in The
National League and a good catcher can get them over the hump. In
Martin’s two seasons with The New York Yankees, the pitching staff was
in the top five for team earned run average in The American League.
Starting pitcher A.J. Burnett was traded to The Pirates last season and he
enjoyed his best season since 2008 as he led the team with 16
victories. With Burnett in the starting rotation, combining with a full season from left-handed
starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez should make The Pirates pitching staff
very formidable.

All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen is The Pirates first
legitimate NL MVP candidate since Barry Bonds in the early 90’s.
McCutchen’s numbers have improved every year in the big leagues as I
project him to hit 35 home runs this season. McCutchen’s .327 batting
average was second in The National League as he flirted with .400 for
the first half of the season. Former first-round pick third baseman
Pedro Alvarez broke out last season with 30 home runs and The Pirates
are hopeful that he can get his batting average around .275 while
reducing his strikeout total from 180.

The Pirates will stay in contention again, but finishing with a
winning record would not only be big for The Pirates, but also the fan
base in Western Pennsylvania.

For The Chicago Cubs last season
was extremely tough to say the least. The first year under The Cubs new
president of baseball operations Theo Epstein produced the teams first
100-loss season since 1966. Epstein and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer
know that this rebuilding process will not be done overnight as this is
a complete organizational overhaul.

The Cubs finished 2012 near the bottom of most important hitting
and pitching categories in The National League as they became painful to
watch as they never won more than four games in a row at any point of
the season.

For Epstein and Hoyer they must do everything possible to trade
outfielder Alfonso Soriano. Soriano is due $36 million over the next two
seasons, but The Cubs need to get younger and they need help at
multiple positions.