Favored to Win?
With a Couple weeks still left of Spring Training, I decided to sit down & think bout - Who is favored to win the NL Central?
First you have the Cubs - marred in Futility, back to back Post Season First Round Sweeps - and nothing to show for it. They dumped Derosa, added Bradley, lost Kerry Wood to free agency & picked up Gregg? from the Marlins. Supposedly Marmol or Gregg will be their closer. Zambrano is on the decline & dealing with shoulder issues, Harden has arm/shoulder issues & may not be available for the start of the season, Lilly has been getting tagged in the joke known as the WBC. I honestly think the Cubs are worse off this year than last. Soriano is a 1 man Band that brings them down. He is constantly in the media saying he wants to hit lead off. For the $$ the Cubs pay him, they should be telling him where he is hitting in the line up. Bradley is as unstable as they come. Sure he had decent #'s last year but he was hitting infront/behind of Josh "the Juice" Hamilton. The Cubs are in shambles. Their outfield will be their downfall as well as their suspect pitching.
The Astro's added Mike Hampton. He had more injuries the last 3 years than he has thrown pitches. It has been reported the Astro's have signed washed up Catcher Pudge. He is past his prime & needs to hang it up. He couldn't even fill in for Posada in NY for the last month and a half of last season. Berkman is suspect. He is like a mini Adam Dunn. he can hit the ball but his defense lags & his contact lags. Same for Carlos Lee. Lee can swing but can't run or field the ball. Both need to move to the AL& DH. Would do them some good. The Astro's always seem to be a team that hangs in there & makes their move the last month of the season. The Stro's just haven't been the same since Bagwell & Biggio left the nest.
The Brew Crew. They had an outside chance last year after they landed CC... now that CC is gone so is the wind beneath their wings. I highly doubt Looper - former Cardinal- will be half the pitcher CC was. Brewers are pretty much out of the race. They will be fighting the Reds & Pirates for last place in the Central.
The Cards, well we have our own issues. Carp is back - but is he 100%? If he is then that is like signing CC as a free agent. Lohse was our #1 starter last year - if our pitching holds up - Waino, Carp & Lohse will be one of the best starting 3 in the NL if not the league. 2nd base & closer will be an issue for us. The Skip experiment may be a bust. He is struggling & will need to find his form early, if not then we need to go out & find a starting second baseman. Our bullpen will be suspect as well. Last year our bullpen cost us a playoff berth. Some low hanging fruit has been brought in to stop the bleeding. Personally I think we need a proven closer. We went with multiple closers last year & NONE of them could do the job. Now, 6 months later they can miraculously do the job?
The Cards may not be favored to win.. & that is fine with me. Everyone jump on the Cubs Bandwagon. The wheels are about to fall off & the radiator is about to blow. Cub Fans expect it, whereas Cardinal Nation won't stand for it.
This is my view - from the bleachers --- GO CARDS!
First you have the Cubs - marred in Futility, back to back Post Season First Round Sweeps - and nothing to show for it. They dumped Derosa, added Bradley, lost Kerry Wood to free agency & picked up Gregg? from the Marlins. Supposedly Marmol or Gregg will be their closer. Zambrano is on the decline & dealing with shoulder issues, Harden has arm/shoulder issues & may not be available for the start of the season, Lilly has been getting tagged in the joke known as the WBC. I honestly think the Cubs are worse off this year than last. Soriano is a 1 man Band that brings them down. He is constantly in the media saying he wants to hit lead off. For the $$ the Cubs pay him, they should be telling him where he is hitting in the line up. Bradley is as unstable as they come. Sure he had decent #'s last year but he was hitting infront/behind of Josh "the Juice" Hamilton. The Cubs are in shambles. Their outfield will be their downfall as well as their suspect pitching.
The Astro's added Mike Hampton. He had more injuries the last 3 years than he has thrown pitches. It has been reported the Astro's have signed washed up Catcher Pudge. He is past his prime & needs to hang it up. He couldn't even fill in for Posada in NY for the last month and a half of last season. Berkman is suspect. He is like a mini Adam Dunn. he can hit the ball but his defense lags & his contact lags. Same for Carlos Lee. Lee can swing but can't run or field the ball. Both need to move to the AL& DH. Would do them some good. The Astro's always seem to be a team that hangs in there & makes their move the last month of the season. The Stro's just haven't been the same since Bagwell & Biggio left the nest.
The Brew Crew. They had an outside chance last year after they landed CC... now that CC is gone so is the wind beneath their wings. I highly doubt Looper - former Cardinal- will be half the pitcher CC was. Brewers are pretty much out of the race. They will be fighting the Reds & Pirates for last place in the Central.
The Cards, well we have our own issues. Carp is back - but is he 100%? If he is then that is like signing CC as a free agent. Lohse was our #1 starter last year - if our pitching holds up - Waino, Carp & Lohse will be one of the best starting 3 in the NL if not the league. 2nd base & closer will be an issue for us. The Skip experiment may be a bust. He is struggling & will need to find his form early, if not then we need to go out & find a starting second baseman. Our bullpen will be suspect as well. Last year our bullpen cost us a playoff berth. Some low hanging fruit has been brought in to stop the bleeding. Personally I think we need a proven closer. We went with multiple closers last year & NONE of them could do the job. Now, 6 months later they can miraculously do the job?
The Cards may not be favored to win.. & that is fine with me. Everyone jump on the Cubs Bandwagon. The wheels are about to fall off & the radiator is about to blow. Cub Fans expect it, whereas Cardinal Nation won't stand for it.
This is my view - from the bleachers --- GO CARDS!
Posted by Die Hard Cards Fan at 3/17/2009 8:26 PM 
Categories: Sports
Tags: Bleachers Cards Busch Stadium Cubs NL Central
Categories: Sports
Tags: Bleachers Cards Busch Stadium Cubs NL Central
Not a bad prediction.
While I agree that the Cubs are overrated heading into the `09 season, the team to look out for is the Reds. Dusty Baker has some young talent (Votto, Bruce) to work with and as the season goes they will fine tune things a bit and start to come together. Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Micah Owings - not a bad starting 5. Owings has a boat load of talent as long as he doesn't meltdown by the all-star game.
My predictions for the central:
Cards
Mil
Cubs
Reds
Hous
Pitts
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