St. Louis is jacked. Their lineup overall is below average, but when you have Pujols and Holliday batting 3-4, it automatically makes it legit. Pitching staff is outstanding, Wainwright and Carpenter each could have won Cy Young last year. Bullpen is solid, not great, but La Russa manages it very well. Rasmus and Molina could break out this year at the plate (most likely Rasmus), and Ludwick needs to produce in order for this team to win. Schumaker is not a leadoff hitter, but he will do so on this team, although I could see Rasmus there for a few games.
Our 2 Cojones of the year: Albert Pujols wins the NL Triple Crown.
Sooo gone. Sooo good.
2. Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee has one of the best lineups in baseball. Fielder and Braun are studs and the rest of the nine rounds out nicely. The Brewers brought Wolf back into the mix, which was a huge and underrated signing, and have Davis again, who is a solid #4 starter. Gallardo needs to stay healthy and consistent for Milwaukee to be a contender, but the bullpen is below average. Gomez needs to hit above .250 and Edmonds needs to stay alive throughout the season. Fielder and Braun are two of the best players in the game, but their overconfidence and overswagger could hurt the team.
Our 2 Cojones of the year: Carlos Gomez and Alcides Escobar combine for 100 stolen bases.
He is fat, but he can rake.
3. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs always underachieve, but most people think they will be around third of fourth in the Central this year. They have a stacked lineup including Lee, Ramirez, Fukudome and the newly-acquired Byrd. The rotation is solid (although Zambrano currently has a 54.00 ERA), and the bullpen is pretty good too except for the wavering control of Marmol. Soto needs to have a huge bounce-back year and Lilly needs to come back from his injury soon and strong. Hopefully Piniella and crew can keep it together until then. Expect a meltdown at some point this season.
Our 2 Cojones of the year: John Grabow has 80 relief appearances.
Michael Barrett isn't there anymore, what are you gonna go?
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have a truly solid lineup, for an NL lineup at least, with solid players through and through. The call to bat Iwamura leadoff and McCutchen second probably won't last for long, but it's interesting. Jones, Doumit and Clement 3-4-5 is actually a pretty scary middle of the lineup. Hopefully Jones and Doumit will stay healthy (and not get traded). The Pirates pitching staff really sucks, but somebody will step up, like Snell and Gorzelanny a few years ago, and have a decent year. The bullpen is pretty bad too, but a few veterans like Donnelly can Dotel can have productive seasons in the back end. Iwamura's success or failure at the top of the lineup could make or break this team, and Meek needs to be a solid seventh inning guy.
No words...
Our 2 Cojones of the year: Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit and Jeff Clement combine for 75 home runs.
5. Cincinnati Reds
Cincy has a pretty good lineup with Votto, Philips and Rolen 3-4-5, but Stubbs should be starting in center instead of Dickerson. Cabrera was a pretty good pickup to start at short and Bruce should have a much better season than last year. They have some holes as a team overall, especially in the bullpen, but the Reds are solid. However, they just don't have a mentally strong team that can stay focused the entire season. The pitching staff is pretty bad, I expect Harang and Arroyo to have poor years and Cueto to be unpredictable as always. They will miss Volquez a lot.
Our 2 Cojones of the year: Joey Votto hits 40 doubles and 40 homeruns.
If your name is "Homer" don't be a pitcher. Stupid.
6. Houston Astros
Houston just does not have a good team. The pitching staff is Oswalt and really nothing else. Myers was a worthless pickup and I expect Rodriguez to take a step backwards. Norris is a solid young guy, but he can't carry a pitching staff. Berkman has been injured so much lately, but should have a decent bounce back year (compared to last year). Lee's production is going down, partly because he is aging and also because the Astros don't have anyone hitting in front of him. Pence is a pretty good player, and he should produce this year because of his talent alone. The bullpen is decent, Lindstrom and Lyon are okay but neither is great.
Our 2 Cojones of the year: Bud Norris has a lower ERA than Wandy Rodriguez.
Whoo! There goes the season...
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