The National League Central could be considered the worst division in baseball. The MIlwaukee Brewers are a big surprise this year with 54-41 record. They are a good ballclub with some young talent, but even if they do hang on to win the divison, I don't expect much out of them in the playoffs. A good record nonetheless, but you can't help but think that it's a bit inflated since they play Pittsburg, Houston, St. Louis, and Cincinnati all in their own divison.
That being said, the Cubs have been rather dormant this year until their recent surge. It was hard to believe that with Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Derek Lee in the lineup, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill in the rotation, and Lou Pinella at the helm that the Cubbies could be as bad as they had shown earlier in the year.
They are starting to play somewhere near they are capable of with the kind of talent they have. Chicago is too much of a good baseball city, and there is obviously way too much tradition at Wrigley Field, to put a minor league team out on the field. They are only 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers and I think they will catch them in this race.
If the Cubs get into the playoffs, sure they probably won't be a favorite in the Division Series, but I wouldn't be surprised if they made some noise. They have plenty of leaders on that club, especially with the recent addition of Jason Kendall, and we all know Sweet Lou doesn't waste any time lighting fires under his players.
The problem with the Cubs is that the rotation is good, but it is not a proven thing. Lilly and Zambrano both have their bad days, and as good as Hill has been, he came out of nowhere this year and is on the map. It takes more than one season to be heavily relied on to win a division.
Even at 9 1/2 games back, I wasn't completely ruling out the St. Louis Cardinals if they could put their pitching staff back together, starting by getting Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter back in the rotation. Well after learning today that Carpenter will need Tommy John surgery and will miss part of 2008 as well, the season is officially done for the Cards. If that offense, Rolen and Edmonds mainly, is healthy, it can carry a ballclub like it did down the stretch last year.
Who knows where St. Louis is heading now without Carpenter coming back at all this year. Sure they have been without him for a while, but this is the final nail in the coffin and therefore officially makes the NL Central the worst division in baseball.
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