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The Meaty Preview: 2009 NL Central

This division should be a fairly open and shut case this year, barring some sort of major injuries.  The Pirates again should find themselves dwelling in the cellar, with a sub-par lineup and rotation, which has been the case going on two decades now.  Down in Houston, nothing special is in the works either, having just two above average players in the starting lineup (Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee), and one respectable pitcher (Roy Oswalt).  This is also a team that could be greatly affected by a struggling economy this season, as Houston has been a particularly hard hit city (Oil ONIONS!).  This team could be in full-blown firesale mode by the trade deadline.  Another bottom-feeding punching bag in the NL Central should be none other than the Milwaukee Brewers, who lost their 2 best pitchers from last year's playoff team (CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets).  This year's opening day starter: Jeff Suppan! Anytime you can start a guy like Jeff Suppan on opening day, you make that happen.

Projected for a 3rd place finish by the Big Eisy - the St. Louis Cardinals.  I'm not particularly high on this team, because I'm not too crazy about the pitching staff or the bullpen, although a former professor of mine at NYU is the assistant GM of this team, and he's a pretty cool dude.  With a surprise 2nd place finish possible, the Cincinnati Reds will prove some people wrong this year.  This is a very young team that could be dangerous in years to come, but I believe some of this young talent has been developing quite nicely, and we should start seeing the benefits this year.  Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are 2 of the best young offensive players in baseball, and a pitching staff headed by Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, and Jonny Cueto should be a lot better than people think.  Watch out for this team if they're in it and pick up a couple of pieces around the trade deadline.  But after all is said and done, the Chicago Cubs will be sitting on top of this division.  This is a very good team with a strong rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, and Ryan Dempster, solid bullpen, and good offensive producers like Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee at the corners.  While I don't think there's a chance 100 years of misery comes home to roost in the form of a World Series title this year, the Cubbies should have no problem taking down the division.

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Big Eisy - 4.7.09