N.L. Central

At the rate I'm going it will be the All Star Break by the time I'm done with all 30 teams, I'll breeak it down by division instead, starting with the N.L. Central:

Chicago Cubs: My pick to win the World Series being a solid team all around. Their pitching rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Sean Marshall is the best in baseball. The lineup is solid with the exception Kosuke Fukudome who was terrible last season. You know Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, and Geovany Soto, but the guy I'm watching is Mike Fontenot. He won't hit 25 home runs, but he is a smart hitter who knows the strike zone, he'll get on base by taking a walk, and he will have an obp. around .380.

Reds: A solid young team who everyone like as a sleeper. They got some real good young talent with Joey Votto and Jay Bruce leading the way. After those two I don't see much else in the line up. Brandon Phillips will hit 20 home runs, but thats about it as he doesn't get on base that often and will wind up with a below average ops+ of around 90. Pitching wise, Aaron Harang will be better this season after being pretty unlucky last year. Edinson Volquez looks to put together a complete season after tailing off towards the end of last year. Johnny Cueto showed signs of being an ace last season but he also showed signs that he was 22 and still needs to gain command of all his pitches. I did like them as a sleeper, but in the end I think they will win around 82 games and miss the playoffs.

Cardinals: Besides Albert "the greatest hitter I have ever seen live with my own two peepers" Pujols I don't see much in their line up. Ryan Ludwick was great last season but I'm of the mentality that it was one fluke year and I don't believe at 29 he finally learned how to hit. Their line-up has a bunch of guys who would look great on the bench of a contender, but when they playing everyday you won't win much. Colby Rasmus is a bright spot and he will show why he is the Cards #1 prospect.

Pirates: Reason number 2,894,261 why you can't judge a team based on the first few weeks of the season is that the Pirates are tied for first place. If the Pirates were put into a draft and contending teams like the Red Sox, Rays, Yanks, A's, Angels, Cubs and could draft anybody, I don't know who they would take that could improve their team. Even though the Nats and Padres are awful they at least they have some talented guys. This team shouldn't even be allowed to play in such a great ballpark.

Brewers: Well that was fun for Brewers fans who got to enjoy the postseason for the first time since 1982, but now return to watching other teams play in October. The good news is it won't be that long before they are back in the playoffs, it just won't happen this season. If you want a sleeper for the N.L. Cy Young go with Yovani Gallardo who seems to be at 100% after injuries the last two seasons.

Astros: They remind me of the old Red Sox teams with a bunch of hitters (Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence), one ace pitcher (Roy Oswalt) and one solid pitcher (Wandy Rodriguez) and a bullpen that is a horror show. Latroy Hawkins will end up being kidnapped by Jose Valverde so Valverde can actually get to save some games without Hawkins blowing the lead in the eighth.

Final Standings:
1. Cubs
2. Cards
3. Brewers
4. Reds
5. Astros
6. Pirates