2008 St. Louis Cardinals

I agree about Wallace. I really like him. He has a chance to be a special hitter. He reminds me a little bit of Jim Thome at the plate. As for Wainwright, he is much better than most think and I think he will be one of the more dominant pitchers in the NL for years to come. Mark it down, Carpenter is not done. He will help the club this year and shine once again next year. I know and admit that the Cubs are good this year but I'm not sure they are any better than the Cardinals when healthy. The Cubs are definitely beatable. Anyway, I love how competitive the NL Central has become. I think it is the best division in baseball.

Sigma,

you refered to me as Cubsfan. Wow! What did I do to deserve a name as low as Cubsfan. Lord knows I have friends that I hope never read that name associated with me.

Acccording to official Cardinals website and STLtoday.com, it looks like Carpenter will be working from the bullpen until he is ready for the mound as a starter again.

Considering Wainwright and after talking to him on a few occassions and watching FSN interviews, the young man just seems to have that "do whatever it takes to get better" mentality. Will it lead him to being a full time ace? Time only knows. I do believe it depends on whether Carpenter is able to regain the role as ace, too. I know "likeability" does not translate into success at the major league level, but it sure does give a person a reason to want to see the player do well for one's favorite team and individually (refering to Wainwright).

Pertaining to the Brewers, it is true they have to win this year, because the team has put it all on the line to win now. Will Sabathia or Sheets have an arm left after going so many innings for the Brewers to win right now? My thoughts are I would not want to be a GM betting large salaries on either of these two players during the winter.

Jockety will turn the Reds into winners with the eventual help of LaRussa and Duncan.

All I can say about the Cubs is this. I want them win from now to the end of the regular season and lose it all in the playoffs, meaning be a typical "good" Cubs team. Recently, I have been refering to the team as the Chicago Mariners to Cubs fans. Sweet Lou bombed in Seattle with 116 wins in 2001, and I am constantly hoping he does the same with this team with 100+ wins this year. To end this, I can only say that as of now, Sigma's Angels or the TB Rays are the only hopes I see to keep that Billy Goat alive and well on the North side of Chicago.

Were there any out there that thought prior to this season the Central Division in the NL would be this tough? To forecast the CD over the next few years, it appears the division will be developing into a strong division.