AUTHOR: brewcrew25 TITLE: 2010 NL Central Predictions DATE: 1:46:00 PM ----- BODY:

Heading into the 2010 season, the NL Central looks to be quite a race between several teams. I'll be sharing my predictions heading into the new season. 1. St. Louis Cardinals: 90-72 The St. Louis Cardinals are going to take first place again this year. They re-signed Matt Holliday, and an healthy Chris Carpenter should lead them to the NL Central title. I predict that they will end up with 90 wins. 2. Milwaukee Brewers: 87-75 The Brewers are going to take 2nd place in the central. I know that the pitching isn't good at all, but they have made major improvments in the rotation compared to what they had last year. Think about it, they won 80 games with a rotation that consisted of: Gallardo (3.73 ERA) Parra (6.36 ERA) Bush (6.38 ERA) Suppan (5.29 ERA) and Looper (5.22 ERA). They added Randy Wolf and Doug Davis. Randy Wolf pitched very well in LA last year, posting a 11-7 record, with a 3.23 ERA and a very solid 1.10 WHIP. Doug Davis, a former Brewer, posted a 9-14 record, with a 4.12 ERA. The Brewers also added to the bullpen by signing FA RP LaTroy Hawkins. Hawkins formley pitched with the Houston Astros, and posted a 2.13 ERA, and striking out 45 batters in 63.1 IP. He will be setting up Trevor Hoffman. So overall, the rotation got significantly better, and the Brewers added a dependable RP in Hawkins. I think a 7-8 win improvment over last year is defintley possible. 3. Chicago Cubs: 85-77 The Chicago Cubs are probably the hardest to predict. Last year, they finished the season with a 83-78 record, which was 2nd in the NL Central. They should improve slightly because of the injuries they had last year. It's all going to depend on how Alfonso Soriano does, can he produce good numbers, or will he continue to regress? Can Carlos Zambrano stay healthy? How about Ryan Dempster or the whole Cubs rotation? These questions are going to depend on how the Cubs will fare this upcoming season. If everything comes together right, I could see them winning nearly 90 games, but if they have injuries, or players don't play like they are capable of, then I can see them barley finishing above .500. 4. Houston Astros: 77-85 The Astros are going to be pretty bad this season. They lost Hawkins, and Valverde, and the pitching is in shambles right now. On the offensive side, they lost Miguel Tejeda, and Lance Berkman, and Carlos Lee aren't getting any younger, therefore, 77 wins is probably a stretch, but 77 wins is probably the best case sceniaro for the Astros. It's pretty sad to see a team that used to be good, continuing to get worse, but until management wakes up, I don't see the Astros getting better any time soon. It's time for them to trade Oswalt, Lee, and Berkman and rebuild the team. Pence is going to be good, and they have some talent, but they need pitching, and they need it fast. 5. Cincinnati Reds: 75-87 The Reds are another interesting story. I think if everything comes together, they can be near if not slightly above .500, but at the same time, they have Dusty Baker as manager. The pitching is going to depend on how well they do, this goes for most NL central teams. Cueto, and Vazquez need to prove why they were a high pick in the draft, and Aaron Harang needs to lead the rotation with quality innings. Offensivley, I think they are fine with Votto, and Bruce leading the club. I see 80-83 wins if everything goes as planned, but 70-75 wins if the pitching does terrible. 6. Pittsburgh Pirates 70-92 The Pirates have young talent, but aren't quite ready to contend with the big teams yet. The pitching is still developing, and the offense isn't ready to lead them to a good season. They have potential, but give them a few more years. Overall, I think the NL central is going to come down to the 3 main teams (Cardinals/Brewers/Cubs) and the other 3 teams will fight for the 4th, 5th, and 6th place spots.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Reds03 DATE:2/14/2010 02:56:00 PM Who is Vasquez? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Reds03 DATE:2/14/2010 03:00:00 PM Also, Cueto was undrafted ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: jesse5shsu DATE:2/15/2010 07:44:00 AM I think the Astros could likely be behind the Reds, and agree its time to trade at least Lee. I would be OK trading Oswalt as well, but I think the fans would be a little too outraged if they traded Berkman. He is a hometown guy that even spent his college days at Rice. I would like to see them get some pitching, but I don't think the fans would react well if they traded Berkman. ----- --------