2011 MLB National League Central Predictions
How the Cincinnati Reds won the NL Central last season remains a mystery. For the third time, a different team won the division title, the previous winners were the St. Louis Cardinals and before that the Chicago Cubs. But the one thing that remains unchanged
is the lack of posts season success for any of the teams. Let’s see which team stands where for the 2011 season.
Basically, the six teams that battle it out on the field consist of the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros.
The Milwaukee Brewers seem to be getting it together with their pitching being led by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. They have a good offence line-up and further strengthened their rotation with the arrival of Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum. Their chances
have increased considerably from last year. Their bull-pen could have been better but hopefully they would be able to work through with their pitching and offence.
The Cardinals had a disappointing 2010, but having Albert Pujols on board gives them hope of winning. He along with Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook can actually make the Cardinals win. They should have a solid team since
Ryan Theriot and Lance Berkman joined them.
The Chicago Clubs have been disappointing since the past two seasons but they might be ready for victory this time around under the capable leadership of Mike Quade. They added to their line-up Carlos Pena, Matt Garza and Kerry Wood, all of whom are above
average as a baseman, pitcher and setup man, respectively. As long as the players steer away from injuries and work as a team, they can manage to change their reputation.
The Cincinnati Reds won the division last year with the help of a NL MVP and World Series MVP in their line-up. The pitching staff is developing with time and Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips together can score good runs. Their offence is one of
the best in NL and the starting rotation could be a hindrance. Let’s see if they can repeat their 2010 victory.
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t won since 1992 and despite a few minor changes here and there, they haven’t given much reason for anyone to believe that they won’t be just as bad this season. All the fans can do is place their hopes on the shoulders of the
young talent present in the team and hope they breakthrough.
It’s hard to expect the Houston Astros to repeat their well played performance of 2010. Even with a solid rotation of Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez and J. A. Happ, they have a very poor offence who will most probably fail to produce good runs. Carlos Lee
cannot play like he used to once and that leaves another gap in their team. It’s hard to see the group make it to the finals, let’s just hope the Astros get their act together soon and perform like they used to when they made it to the World Series in 2005.
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