Who will win the NL central

[timbdp]

St Louis

[muffin]

Still sticking with the Redlegs,

[gotmilk?]

like i said...the reds pitching staff isnt very good. Eric Milton is the only half way reliable starter they have. Danny Graves will blow his fair share of saves this year as well with that era around 4, thats just not acceptable for a closer, Wagner will probably take his job before the allstar break. The Cards will likely take the division but the Cubs will push them for the top spot. about the Cards outfielders, Edmonds is coming off of the best season of his career, Walker was hot down the stretch, and Sanders is a consistent 20-30 hr guy. maybe the Reds will take it but i just dont see it happenin without them bringing in some pitching and another big bat to go along side the strikeout machine Adam Dunn.

 

 

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Yea, but you could say the same thing for the 2003 Florida Marlins and look what they did with some live young arms and timely hitting! Or the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games with no major superstars and Freedy Garcia as the only proven pitcher on the staff. Or the 1999 Reds that won 96 games with pretty much nothing on the mound and a few big sticks!

 

Notice a trend? 1999, 2001, 2003 and now it is 2005 and I see the Reds really making some noise! thumb

[btowntigers]

Yea, but you could say the same thing for the 2003 Florida Marlins and look what they did with some live young arms and timely hitting! Or the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games with no major superstars and Freedy Garcia as the only proven pitcher on the staff. Or the 1999 Reds that won 96 games with pretty much nothing on the mound and a few big sticks!

 

Notice a trend? 1999, 2001, 2003 and now it is 2005 and I see the Reds really making some noise! thumb

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thats true but the Marlins had an awesome pitching staff...Beckett, Willis, Burnett, Penny, Leiter...yes most of them were young but these are allstar caliber guys.

 

i think i would call Arod a major superstar since he's the highest payed player in baseball, he was on the mariners team. and that was when Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone could still stroke....throw Ichiro in and that was a loaded lineup.

[Opperman]

Yea, but you could say the same thing for the 2003 Florida Marlins and look what they did with some live young arms and timely hitting! Or the 2001 Seattle Mariners who won 116 games with no major superstars and Freedy Garcia as the only proven pitcher on the staff. Or the 1999 Reds that won 96 games with pretty much nothing on the mound and a few big sticks!

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So who's the Josh Beckett on Cincinnati this year? AJ Burnett? Dontrelle Willis? Brad Penny? Florida had outstanding pitching that year, everybody knew that. Cincinnati's pitching is horrendous. And that's being kind.

[sportsradiotn]

If the Cubs pitching is damaged (Wood, Prior & Borowski), it'll be between the Cards and the Astros. Houston does have a solid rotation and Lidge in the bullpen. I think the Astros offense is a bit down, so they will be putting more pressure on the pitching staff. That's what makes the Cardinals rotation better...the offense can score runs in abundance and take some pressure off the pitchers.

Cincinnati has a good offensive lineup, but I agree with Opperman in that the Reds pitching is limited.

I'd like to see Pittsburgh surprise some people - I like Lloyd McClendon and the fire he brings to his team.

 

1. Cards

2. Astros

3. Cubs

4. Pirates

5. Reds

6. Brewers

[treefitty74]

1 Cards

2 Stros

3 Cubbies

4 Reds

5 Pirates

6 Brewers

 

The Reds have had offensive threats for awhile....but this year won't be any different from the last..they'll start out strong and fade and fade away......GO CARDS!!!

[btowntigers]

If the Cubs pitching is damaged (Wood, Prior & Borowski), it'll be between the Cards and the Astros. 

 

let me state this one more time......Kerry Wood is scheduled to start game 4 and Mark Prior is scheduled to start game 5. everyone thinks they are out for a while but really they're not even gonna miss a start, just got bumped to the back of the rotation to get them some extra rest, games 4 and 5 rather than 1 and 2. then you add Carlos Zambrano(era under 3 last year) and Greg Maddux and that is the best rotation in baseball even with Wood and Prior not being at 100%.

 

Borowski stinks anyway he wont be missed, his era was around 8 (yes 8 thats not a typo) last year.

[Opperman]

let me state this one more time......Kerry Wood is scheduled to start game 4 and Mark Prior is scheduled to start game 5. everyone thinks they are out for a while but really they're not even gonna miss a start, just got bumped to the back of the rotation to get them some extra rest, games 4 and 5 rather than 1 and 2. then you add Carlos Zambrano(era under 3 last year) and Greg Maddux and that is the best rotation in baseball even with Wood and Prior not being at 100%.

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Whether they miss a start or not, they probably aren't HEALTHY.

[gotmilk?]

So who's the Josh Beckett on Cincinnati this year?  AJ Burnett?  Dontrelle Willis?  Brad Penny?  Florida had outstanding pitching that year, everybody knew that.  Cincinnati's pitching is horrendous.  And that's being kind.

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Sure now we know they are outstanding pitchers, but before that season, no one knew who D-Train was, and Brad Penny and Beckett or Burnett had not shown nothing! So look for some of the Reds young arms to make a name for themselves just as Beckett, Penny, and D-Train did in 2003! Just wait and see! thumb

[gotmilk?]

Whether they miss a start or not, they probably aren't HEALTHY.

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The way i am hearing it, Prior will be on the DL come opening day!

[Opperman]

Sure now we know they are outstanding pitchers, but before that season, no one knew who D-Train was, and Brad Penny and Beckett or Burnett had not shown nothing! So look for some of the Reds young arms to make a name for themselves just as Beckett, Penny, and D-Train did in 2003! Just wait and see! thumb

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We knew about Willis's talent, though we didn't know what he'd do. And if you think Penny, Beckett, and Burnett hadn't shown anything, you're just as crazy as I thought.