Author: Trey Johnson - Monday, June 05, 2006

Part five of our six part baseball division breakdown covers the National League Central. Now that we have reached the first of June things in the NL Central are starting to take shape. As usual the Cardinals are the cream of the crop. The Cubs have self destructed. The Astros are hanging around waiting to make a move and the Pirates are simply miserable. Some things never change.

We stated in part one of this series that you do not want to take the summer off. Baseball has the potential to be your biggest money making season and we are proving it. Even though our selections cooled off a little during May we are still producing at better than 60% to this point. Don't miss any of our money making baseball selections on this website.

Chicago Cubs

If Cubs fans were disappointed with 79 wins last season they will be furious with the win total this season. As we wrap up the first week in June only the Royals, Marlins and Pirates have fewer wins than the Cubs. At 22-33 they are one game ahead of the Pirates for last in the NL Central. They are 3-12 against the NL West, 4-8 against the NL East, 12-14 at home and 10-19 on the road. The only winning record the Cubbies own is against the NL Central where they are 14-11 on the season thanks to an improbable three game win streak against the Cardinals this past weekend.

The 2006 version of the Cubs seems to have the same problems as the 2004 and 2005 teams. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood aren't healthy. Hint to Cubs management - get rid of them!

To make matters worse the Cubs are without their only offensive producer Derrek Lee for most of June.

With the White Sox winning it all last season Cub fans are finally getting tired of excuses. Both GM Jim Hendry and manager Dusty Baker are in the final year of their contracts. It's due or die on the North Side. If things don't turn positive in a hurry the Cubs might want to consider cleaning house. The Cubs are destined to be "Cellar Dwellers" once again this season.

Cincinnati Reds

After a red hot 17-7 April Cincinnati cooled off with a 12-16 mark during the month of May. That is more in line for a team that finished 2005 in 5th place with only 73 wins.

Local Cincinnati produce magnate Robert Castellini purchased control of the Reds this off-season. The free spending Castellini will make the necessary changes to turn the Reds into a contender. Unfortunately he took over too late to make any changes this season.

Cincinnati has a young productive core of offensive players but they still lack a solid starting rotation. They desperately need to improve their staff. Until that change the Reds are destined to be in the middle of the pack.

Houston Astros

Last seasons NL Champs are struggling in 2006. As of Monday, June 5th the Astros are 3 games under .500 with a 27-30 mark. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games including 4 straight losses. Their biggest problem is on the road where they are a miserable 9-18.

Yes, they finally signed Clemens. He should be back in the rotation by the end of June but if they aren't careful they will be out of the playoff hunt before the Rocket has a chance to take the mound.

With Clemens out for half the season and huge question marks on the mound after Oswalt and Pettitte the Astros can't afford to fall much further below .500.

Houston is short on power and with their pitching staff they need to score more runs. A third straight wild card will be tough to achieve this season unless they get it going right now.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers finished last season 81-81 and in 3rd place. With their core group of talented young players I expect them to go nowhere but up.

The Brewers have one of the hottest pitching staffs in baseball with Doug Davis, Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano. Under the expert tutelage of Mike Maddux, considered to be one of the best pitching coaches in the league, the Brewers ranked second in strikeouts, third in batting average against and fifth in ERA last season.

Don't let their current slump scare you away. Prior to losing eight straight over the last two weeks the Brew Crew was 3 games over .500 and in contention for the NL Central. This young squad will bounce back. They might not be ready to knock St Louis and Houston from the top but they are headed in the right direction.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Two months into the season and the Pirates have 36 losses and a .368 winning percentage. Welcome to baseball in Pittsburgh. After 13 consecutive losing seasons did anyone really think things would be any different this year? New Manager Jim Tracy might have the right idea when he talks about instilling a winning attitude but it won't happen overnight.

In 2005 the Pirates promoted a number of minor league prospects. With a year of experience under their belts many people were thinking performance turnarounds by Wells and Perez and this year's version of the Pirates would be looking at a .500 season. Not so!

The Pirates hit the .500 mark only one time last season, June 11th. If you are a Pitt fan you might want to remember that date because it won't happen at all this season. At 21-36 their season is over and it's only the beginning of June. Better luck next year.

St Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are 35-21 this season. They have the second best record in baseball behind the Detroit Tigers and they seem to be in total control of the NL Central once again. They are unstoppable at home with a 21-10 mark.

The Cardinals are definitely the cream of the crop in the national league. They have been to the Fall Classic 16 times but have lost four of their past five World Series.

After failing to get to the series last season after winning 100 games they are hungry to get back this season.

The only thing that could possibly slow this club down would be injuries. The suffered the worst possible case earlier in the week when Pujols suffered a muscle strain. He could be out up to six weeks. Now we will see what the Cardinals are all about. I expect to see a slight drop. They will obviously miss Pujols bat but overall they will pull together and prove why they are one of the best teams in baseball year in and year out.

Related Articles:
- New NFL Head Coaches Report Card After Week 1
- NFL Handicapping - Betting On The Favorite
- The Reality Of College Football Home Field Advantage
- Handicapping The NFL - Home Field Advantage
- MLB Handicapping - Analyzing The NL East
- Baseball Handicapping - AL West Preview
- MLB American League Central Preview
- MLB American League East Breakdown

FAVORITE SPORTSBOOKS

BODOG

SPORTSINTERACTION