Harmon
07-06-2009, 01:50 AM
I'm gonna go team by team here and tell you what I think the chances are for them to win the division.
CARDINALS.. To me the Cards are an Overachieving team. Take away SP Chris carpenter and 1B Albert Pujols and the Cards are more average in real life than they are on paper.The Cardinals weren't picked to contend this year, so what do they do? they come out blazing and are now in first place in the central. they shouldn't be, but for some reason they are playing well as a team and I think they have a good chance to win the central as long as they don't fall apart in september. I pick the Cardinals to finish 3rd Behind the Cubs and Brewers
CUBS... My Favorite to win the central is the cubbies. with an Offense with the likes of Alfonso Soriano,Derek Lee,Ryan Theriot,Geovany Soto,Jake fox... and the returning from the DL Aramis Ramirez. not to mention the 3 Aces they have in the pitching rotation. Carlos Zambrano,Rich Harden and Ted Lilly. and my favorite reliever in the BIGS Jeff Samardjiza of Notre Dame. Overall the team has struggled in the first hald of the season. trading away Mark Darossa in the offseason didn't help, but the Cubs have came all the way back and are in the race as the All Star game approaches. The Cubs are my pick to win the central
BREWERS.. The brewers are a Team that is driven by offense. to be more exact, they are driven by Ryan Braun and prince Fielder. the Brewers could score 8 runs and still lose because of the horrific Pitching. the brewers have the worst E.R.A in the National League and it shows. the brewers are lucky to even be in the Race. but IMO they will fall off and not be heard from again this year. it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they traded away their best closer.. the aging Treffor Hoffman. he isn't getting any younger and the brewers would be smart to try and get some young prospects out of him. I pick the Brewers to finish 2nd in the central behind the Cubs
CINCINNATI.. The Reds are a young team with excellent young pitchers. Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are the top Pitchers on the team. both not even 3 years in the league. older pitchers Like Bronson Arroyo and Arron Harang are still serviceable but not top Flight Ptchers anymore. the Reds Offense is Loaded with Potential All Stars in Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez, Brandon Phillips, and a Player that is in Triple A.. From the University Of Miami, Yonder Alonso. who has the potential to be Like an Adam Dunn Type Player who played for the Reds in 2001-2008 before getting traded to the DiamondBacks at the trade deadline in 2008. The Reds Closer Francisco Cordero is turning into an Elite Player and will be with the Reds for years to come. Bottom Line for me is that the Reds have Talent, but wether or not it translates into winning this year remains to be seen. I pick the Reds to Finish 4th in the central
HOUSTON.. The Astros are a Team that really isn't being talked about, and for good reason. they have been outscored by 34 runs so far through 80 games and are 39-41 on the season. The only Bright spots are 1B lance Berkman and SS Miguel Tejada. Carlos Lee has struggled so far this year, but I think he can turn things around in a hurry. pitching wise they are decent. Pitcher Roy Olswalt is their best pitcher who could possible be traded if the astros don't turn things around. as a team they can be hard to beat, but if you get on top of them early they usualy panic and start trying to hit everything out of the park, which leads to strike outs. Overall I Pick the Astros to finish 5th in the Central
PITTSBURGH.. The Pirates are a team that May be in contention Next Year, But as far as this year goes, I think they are the worst team in the Central. that's ok for them right now because they are a young team. There main Offensive Players are Adam Laroche who has power but mostly is a doubles machine, Freddy Sanchez who also doesnt hit that many homeruns, but Is a consistant player who may end up gettin traded to an american League team in contention that is one player away. and maybe the most exciting young pirate, Andrew MCcutchen, who is blazing fast and has the ability to be a 20/20 type of guy if not better. he is the reason why Pirate fans come to see them. Pitching wise the Pirates are decent, but not flashy at all. Ian Snell is the second best Starting pitcher on the team behind Zack Duke who has a pretty good ERA at 3.28 runs allowed per game. Bottom line is the Pirates will Finish in last place this year while allowing young players to get experience so that they can contend next year.
I decided to do this while I was bored.. it took me about 2 hours to get this the way I wanted it. haha so if you don't agree with me on the standings..... oh well.. lol don't be too critical of my work.. :)
CARDINALS.. To me the Cards are an Overachieving team. Take away SP Chris carpenter and 1B Albert Pujols and the Cards are more average in real life than they are on paper.The Cardinals weren't picked to contend this year, so what do they do? they come out blazing and are now in first place in the central. they shouldn't be, but for some reason they are playing well as a team and I think they have a good chance to win the central as long as they don't fall apart in september. I pick the Cardinals to finish 3rd Behind the Cubs and Brewers
CUBS... My Favorite to win the central is the cubbies. with an Offense with the likes of Alfonso Soriano,Derek Lee,Ryan Theriot,Geovany Soto,Jake fox... and the returning from the DL Aramis Ramirez. not to mention the 3 Aces they have in the pitching rotation. Carlos Zambrano,Rich Harden and Ted Lilly. and my favorite reliever in the BIGS Jeff Samardjiza of Notre Dame. Overall the team has struggled in the first hald of the season. trading away Mark Darossa in the offseason didn't help, but the Cubs have came all the way back and are in the race as the All Star game approaches. The Cubs are my pick to win the central
BREWERS.. The brewers are a Team that is driven by offense. to be more exact, they are driven by Ryan Braun and prince Fielder. the Brewers could score 8 runs and still lose because of the horrific Pitching. the brewers have the worst E.R.A in the National League and it shows. the brewers are lucky to even be in the Race. but IMO they will fall off and not be heard from again this year. it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they traded away their best closer.. the aging Treffor Hoffman. he isn't getting any younger and the brewers would be smart to try and get some young prospects out of him. I pick the Brewers to finish 2nd in the central behind the Cubs
CINCINNATI.. The Reds are a young team with excellent young pitchers. Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are the top Pitchers on the team. both not even 3 years in the league. older pitchers Like Bronson Arroyo and Arron Harang are still serviceable but not top Flight Ptchers anymore. the Reds Offense is Loaded with Potential All Stars in Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez, Brandon Phillips, and a Player that is in Triple A.. From the University Of Miami, Yonder Alonso. who has the potential to be Like an Adam Dunn Type Player who played for the Reds in 2001-2008 before getting traded to the DiamondBacks at the trade deadline in 2008. The Reds Closer Francisco Cordero is turning into an Elite Player and will be with the Reds for years to come. Bottom Line for me is that the Reds have Talent, but wether or not it translates into winning this year remains to be seen. I pick the Reds to Finish 4th in the central
HOUSTON.. The Astros are a Team that really isn't being talked about, and for good reason. they have been outscored by 34 runs so far through 80 games and are 39-41 on the season. The only Bright spots are 1B lance Berkman and SS Miguel Tejada. Carlos Lee has struggled so far this year, but I think he can turn things around in a hurry. pitching wise they are decent. Pitcher Roy Olswalt is their best pitcher who could possible be traded if the astros don't turn things around. as a team they can be hard to beat, but if you get on top of them early they usualy panic and start trying to hit everything out of the park, which leads to strike outs. Overall I Pick the Astros to finish 5th in the Central
PITTSBURGH.. The Pirates are a team that May be in contention Next Year, But as far as this year goes, I think they are the worst team in the Central. that's ok for them right now because they are a young team. There main Offensive Players are Adam Laroche who has power but mostly is a doubles machine, Freddy Sanchez who also doesnt hit that many homeruns, but Is a consistant player who may end up gettin traded to an american League team in contention that is one player away. and maybe the most exciting young pirate, Andrew MCcutchen, who is blazing fast and has the ability to be a 20/20 type of guy if not better. he is the reason why Pirate fans come to see them. Pitching wise the Pirates are decent, but not flashy at all. Ian Snell is the second best Starting pitcher on the team behind Zack Duke who has a pretty good ERA at 3.28 runs allowed per game. Bottom line is the Pirates will Finish in last place this year while allowing young players to get experience so that they can contend next year.
I decided to do this while I was bored.. it took me about 2 hours to get this the way I wanted it. haha so if you don't agree with me on the standings..... oh well.. lol don't be too critical of my work.. :)