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| Finally something to smile about? |
The Central Division of both leagues is up for grabs.
Mythical “small market” budgets (except for Chicago) discourage owners from
spending–as if someone rich enough to own an MLB team can’t afford their toys. The
good news is that the NL Central might be the most competitive league in
baseball. On paper, any one of four teams could win it.
I am playing a hunch and picking the Cincinnati Reds to end years of
frustration and bring some joy to the Queen City. The Reds have a talent for
picking up small pieces and breathing new life into the disgruntled. On paper,
this is a very good staff: Bauer, (Sonny) Gray, Miley, and (Luis) Castillo. The
Achilles’ heel is relief pitching. Strop as the closer? Don’t be surprised if
Lorenzen wrests that away in a Queen City minute. Votto, rejuvenated Freddy Galvis, and
Moustakas anchor a strong infield. Castellanos was a great outfield addition.
Winker is another OF lock and beyond those two, who knows? Casali is an
underrated catcher.
The dark horse, as usual, is the St. Louis
Cardinals. Flaherty, (Dakota) Hudson, and the ageless Adam Wainwright are
foundations of a good staff, especially if Mikolas rebounds. (Carlos) Martinez
is the closer and the Cards hope (Andrew) Miller has something left. (Yadier)
Molina might be the best catcher in baseball and an infield of Goldschmidt and
Wong is a good foundation. DeJong had better pick it up, though, or Edman will
be the shortstop. The only outfield household name is Fowler and he’s not as
good as advertised.
Where, you might wonder, are the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee
Brewers? Each is good enough to win, but both will have to overcome
hurdles. The Cubs pitching is a combination of old (Lester), under-performing
(Quintana, Kyle Hendricks), or damaged (Darvish, Kimbrel). There is youth on
the way, but that can blow hot or cold. The roster is fearsome–Rizzo, (Javy)
Baez, (Willson) Contreas, Schwarber, and Bryant–but the latter two are
disgruntled. Would anyone be surprised if Souza takes Heyward’s job? Perhaps
new manager David Ross can settle things down; if not, the trade van will be
parked outside Wrigley Field.
The Brewers have one of the best outfields in
baseball: Cain, Braun, Yelich. There’s a reason why so many teams wanted to
pluck closer Hader from the Brew Crew. (Brett) Anderson and Woodruff are decent
hurlers and Narvaez a decent receiver. Everything else is up in the air.
Milwaukee picked up a bunch of replacements–Holt, Gyorko, Lauer, Lindblom,
Smoak–and none scream out “slam dunk.” Smoak is now the NL’s answer to Chris KKKK
Davis.
No use talking about the Pirates. I’d say they are
rebuilding, but they would have had to have been built once before for that term
to apply.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1.
Cincinnati
2.
St. Louis
3.
Chicago
4.
Milwaukee
5.
Pittsburgh
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