NL Central Preview

Here is the final preview for the Major Leagues and now I read Bill Simmons' column about all of the advance stats. I am intrigued by all of this and Teddy P recommended to me that I buy Baseball Prospectus which I might have to do. Anyways here are my basic opinions about the NL Central.

1. St. Louis Cardinals- KEY ACQ: SP Brad Penny  I LIKE: Colby Rasmus- Here in Brewer land, we give him a bad rap because he is a poor man's Ryan Braun yet I think he is a really good player for the Cards. I could see him having a big year.  I HATE: Chris Carpenter- Even though he is the ace of the staff, is anyone worried that he might break down again?  He never is a sure thing for an entire year so that worries me. PREDICTION: They have the ability to make the World Series and Dave Duncan is the master of reshaping guys like Penny so this could be all the making of a three pitchers dominating. Also Albert Pujols will not be pitched around anymore.

2. Milwaukee Brewers- KEY ACQ: CF Carlos Gomez, SP Randy Wolf,  C Gregg Zaun  I LIKE: Yovani Gallardo- I think Yo's numbers were bit down because his walks plus little run support. I think he could have a huge year if he doesn't nibble the corners.  I HATE: Doug Davis- Honestly, I want to see everybody do well but I worry that Davis will just nibble like a small mouse around the corners. He eats innings I like that but he is just an average pitcher. PREDICTION: I will talk more about this in the next days, but they will win the Wild Card... More to come later.

3. Cincinnati Reds- KEY ACQ: SP Aroldis Chapman, SS Orlando Cabrera. I LIKE: Jay Bruce- Still a young guy and another player who is their team version of Braun nonetheless, he could have a big year. If he works out being patient at the plate his average could go up by 15 points. I HATE: Joey Votto- No real reason for this only because my buddy Mike has the same last name and it gets pronounced Joey's way instead of him. This one for you Mike. PREDICTION: They could be flip-flopped with the Cubs because both have gaping holes in their pitching/batting. I like Cabrera, he is a great clubhouse leader and he might be able to set the table for the big bats.

4. Chicago Cubs- KEY ACQ: SP Carlos Silva, CF Marlon Byrd. I LIKE: Geovanny Soto- I cannot believe they project him hitting eighth, I don't like the guy but I think he is a valued talent poised for a big year. I HATE: Carlos Marmol- I might be the only one but I feel like teams are figuring out Marmol slowly. I cannot see him being a dominating closer for the whole year.  PREDICTION: Silva and Tom Gorzelanny as your fours/fives?  That doesn't impress me at all and I cannot see Byrd doing well hitting in the five spot, he is an upgrade only in character to Milton Bradley. 

5. Houston Astros- KEY ACQ: 3B Pedro Feliz, SP Brett Myers, RP Matt Lindstorm I LIKE: Wandy Rodriguez- He pitched so well against the Brew Crew for years and he now is pitching well against everybody. I HATE: Myers- I have no idea what this guy has left and a part of the Ed Wade All-Stars who could be awful this year for the Stros. I expect an ugly season from him.  PREDICTION: I could see the Astros possibly finishing last in the NL Central, they have a lot of questions plus a ton of guys prone for injury.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates- KEY ACQ: 2B Akinori Iwamura, RP Octovio Dotel I LIKE: Andrew McCutchen- I don't know if he qualifies for Rookie of the Year but he might be a strong nominee for that award. He does it all for their team and is the future of the Pirates. I HATE: Ronny Cedeno- I mean all of these Pirates could be woeful this season but Cedeno is notoriously bad on offense. PREDICTION: The Pirates have all young guys so they could be bad but I think they will grow as a team and like the Lions, they can be a better team in a few years.

-Charlie.

Pirates is Just Giving Up Their Roster

Maybe I was wrong when I wrote yesterday that the Pittsburgh Pirates came out a winner yesterday in the trade that brought five new prospects for only Jack Wilson. Now they have traded away their final cornerstone in Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants for prospect Tim Alderson who is rated fourth in the Giants farm system.

I really cant explain to Pirate fans whats going on with their franchise. I mean they have made four deals already this off-season and there is still a day left before the deadline so who knows what will happen. If I was Pittsburgh, I would announce that this is the last year for trades and we are going to put full faith in John Russell to see what happens with what we have. Almost comparable to the Baltimore Orioles who brought in a lot of prospects and then said we are done... No way is Nick Markakis, Luke Scott, or Adam Jones is getting traded. That has to become Pittsburgh's attitude for the next three years.

As for San Francisco, they get a lead off bat or two hitter which they desperately need. They still havent answered the questions about power hitting at all. They should try to go after the suddenly red hot Josh Willingham of the Nationals or some spark in the three through five. I dont know if this is something that will put the Giants over the top in the National League Wild Card race.

-Charlie.

Pittsburgh Trades Again... This Time They Win.

Once again the Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to trade one of their cornerstones of their franchise. This time its shortstop Jack Wilson whose been dealt to the Seattle Mariners along with disgruntled pitcher Ian Snell for prospect Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nathan Adacock. I know this probably upsets Pittsburgh but I really think you will like this deal in the long run.

Now Snell was a guy who asked to be sent down because he didnt want to play with the Pirates (I wish Bill Hall would do that) and he was guy that was expected to get traded. The Bucos were working on a deal for Wilson but they couldnt come to agreement on an extension due to the fact that Wilson didnt like that guys like Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche was traded. He didnt trust the management wouldnt trade him if he signed a long term deal.

I would vote that the Pirates this time unlike the first two trades of the year won this deal. The Marniers gave up their top prospect for Jack Wilson? He is going to be a huge upgrade in defense but he has never been a big time hitter for Pirates. In addition, he will have to adjust to the American League. The only way I give Seattle the edge is if Snell turns out to be the stud that we all expected. I am curious if they will move Garrett Jones back to left field when Clement is ready to come out. Once again, it looks like the Pirates could be knocking on the door but who really knows with Pittsburgh.

-Charlie.

BoSox Makes Less than Stellar Deals

If you havent seen the American East Standings which you probably have because well ESPN shows them about every five minutes (but they make 4 days for the Big Ben story, hmmm) the Red Sox have fallen out of first place. They got swept by the Texas Rangers now trailing the hated New York Yankees by two games. Therefore they wanted to make some deals so they got some guys who really wont help them that much.

They get Adam LaRoche who has hit twenty homers all year but he usually hits only .250 or so. I dont understand why the Red Sox feel that LaRoche is going to be a savior for Boston's offense. He will give them a couple more home runs than Mark Kotsay although he is going to give you the same production when he hits the ball. I think what it all comes down to is the Red Sox settled for LaRoche. Rumor had it according to Peter Gammons, Boston could of had Victor Martinez for only Clay Buchholz. Are you kidding me? Victor Martinez would be an awesome fit for the Red Sox and would have also made sure Jason Vartiek got quality rest plus they would get a solid first basemen. Instead, its Adam LaRoche, good luck with that one.

In addition, our friends from Pittsburgh once again made a deal for the third time this season and you can only wonder why Freddy Sanchez/Jack Wilson do not want to sign extensions with this team. Garrett Jones seems to be this unreal power hitter but why not wait til the end of the year to deal LaRoche to guarantee that this hot streak by Jones wont come to a crashing halt. I wouldnt be surprised if Pittsburgh decided to deal some more guys before the week is done.

Boston also got Chris Duncan from the St. Louis Cardinals for Julio Lugo which really is two teams trading away players that never lived up to their potential when they were brought in/up.

-Charlie.

Screw Off Pittsburgh

Well here I go taking a swing at another city and I dont really need the backlash that Lexington gave me although I really feel this is needed. I have to be honest the city of Pittsburgh in terms of sports bothers me. I have never been to Pittsburgh therefore I am not going to rip the actual city but there is something about your football especially the baseball team.

I respect the Pittsburgh Steelers for sure. They have built franchises the right way with drafting players and making them into superstars. In addition, they have paved the way for getting minority coaches a chance at getting head coaches spot in the NFL. BUT they always get on the 3:15 spot on CBS/FOX including some NBC/ESPN spots during the year. I mean it gets sickening to see them always on TV and I personally like to watch a variety of teams throughout the year. Also the Pittsburgh Penguins are fine with me with Sid "the Kid" Crosby and I was happy to see them get the title over the vaunted Detroit Red Wings.

Here is where I draw the line: the Pittsburgh Pirates, their players and fans alike are bunch of idiots. First off all, tell me the last time you guys made it to the playoffs (I know we had a long drought to but hey we were there last year!). Then I would like to ask how did you get Sloth from the Goonies(credited to Ron via Brewerfan) aka Jeff Karstens to pitch for your team? In addition why is Karstens such a baby back bitch?

If you are wondering where all this hate is coming from in the 8th inning when Karstens stepped up the plate, Chris Smith like any true American hit Karstens for plunking Ryan Braun in the ribs during April. Karstens wasnt happy and made an attempt to attack Smith until supreme badass Jason Kendall stopped him in his tracks. This led to the bullpens clearing where they discussed their weekends. Also it led to Kendall and Pirates pitching coach John Kerrigan going at it in which Prince Fielder had to drag Kendall from attacking Old Man River. Kendall in the papers today pronounced his name Dave Kerwin even after being told otherwise.

I can understand Pittsburgh being a bit upset but they have lost to the Brewers seventeen straight times before winning last night. The Crew has taken the last 19 of 21 against the Bucos as well. Why do these ass clowns continue to feel that they are the same level as the Brewers. Granted the Crew is not playing good ball and they are one lost away from .500 for the first time in a long while. But this is exactly what the Brewers needed.

They were getting punked and now they been punked by the last place team in the NL Central for the longest time. That should piss them off and the bats should awake with fury for the next couple of weeks. Alot like the Manny Parra/Fielder brawl last year, I hope it sparks a huge run for the Crew and we destroy the Pirate ship these next two days.

-Charlie.

Pittsburgh Pirates Continue to Disappoint

As Brewer fans, we have seen some bad management choices over the past twenty years and thankfully once Mark Attanasio took over the Crew which has seemed to be the answer for them to get back to the playoffs. Well the Pittsburgh Pirates havent found an owner or a general manager that has figured it out. Their recent crime was trading Nate McLouth for three prospects and these were even the top prospects in the Atlanta Braves system.

I cannot believe they traded away a guy who the Pirates just signed to a big time deal and was an all-star for them last season. The supposed reason was because the Pirates uber prospect Andrew McCutchon was ready to come up to the big leagues. Look they need to keep McLouth atleast until July before making the decision that McCutchon is the offical answer in center field. If I was a Pirate fan, I would be balled up in a corner just hoping that their general manager Neil Huffington will figure things out.

I hate to tell Pirates fans this but it might not be over. Huffington isnt afraid to get involved with trades as last year he dealt Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and Damarso Marte for no real big names minus Jeff Karstens although he hasnt been anything special in his first year and a half for the Pirates. I cannot fathom how the Pirates do not get more for Bay from the Red Sox such as Manny Delcarmen, Justin Masterson or Clay Bucholz, all three are top flight prospects that could have made difference for the Pirates.

Who knows when the Pirates will ever grow as a team because the Brewers have a ton of young players who appear to stay, same goes for the Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals. I guess I really cant hope for the Pirates to improve but you wonder if they ever will.

-Charlie.