Is the National League Central the Best Division in the National League?

For years now, the National League Central Division has been touted as one of the weakest in baseball during the off season rankings.  According to the bleacherreport.com preseason power rankings, the division had 3 of the teams projected to be in the bottom 6 in baseball, the Astros, Pirates, and Cubs.  The same power rankings article ranked only two teams in the division in the top half of baseball teams this season with the top ranking as picked to be the 8^th best team in baseball.  Not exactly the cream of the baseball crop, but an interesting thing has happened since these preseason predictions.  The National League Central Division teams, at least three of them, have decided that they no longer feel like losing. 

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, who were the one team picked in the top 10 of these preseason power rankings, and even this ranking was mostly based on the idea that the World Champions have to be ranked at least that high, the division has been anything but a collection of losers and bottom six type teams in baseball.  Before the last hiccup against the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Cincinnati Reds seemed immune to whatever virus causes teams to lose.  The Pittsburg Pirates also hit the same hot streak at the same time, and the Cardinals have put together one of their best stretches of the season only to find themselves falling further behind the pack.  After hearing all about the futility of the National League Central, I am beginning to think that as so often seems to be true, these preseason predictions turned out to be just about as unrealistic as could be possible.  In fact, an argument could be made for the National League Central Division as the best division in the National League.

The Argument For: The National League Central boasts three teams who are 9 games over .500 or more.  In the National League East Division, only two teams are even above .500 and in the West Division, while three teams are over .500 at least, the third team is Arizona has only won one more game than it has lost.  The simple truth of the National League is that there are not very many good teams, and the National League Central may very well get three playoff spots this season with the second wild card team added to the playoff mix this season after last season’s playoffs saw two of the National League Central teams playing in the National League Championship Series.  Between the Brewers and Cardinals last season and the Reds, Pirates, and Cardinals this season, the National League Central has had quite the run of playoff or potential playoff teams over the past two seasons.

The Argument Against:  The National League Central and the National League in general has been experiencing an exodus of talent to the American League.  It could be argued that the top two players in the Central Division over the past 5 years left the division at the same time this last off season.  Albert Pujols and Prince Fiedler both found their ways into greener pastures where the zeros after dollar signs continue on for as far as the eye can see in the American League.  The Central Division has had quite the run for sure, but that is just looking at one half of the teams that play in the division.  At the other end of the division, the National League Central as two of the worst three teams in the National League as based on records.  With uneven schedules weighted more heavily within the division, it is impossible to ignore the reality that the Cardinals, Reds, Pirates, and even Brewers have their records boosted by games against the pathetic Cubs and Astros. 

In all reality, it would be difficult to argue for any National League Division as the best in baseball, but as far as the National League goes, the Central Division is not getting the credit that it deserves for the quality of teams that have made their ways to the top.  Maybe another couple of World Series Teams will finally show that the National League Central is much more than the laughing stock that it has been thought of as over the past few off seasons.  The loss of the Astros to the American League will also only help with the credibility of the division.  Maybe even Theo Epstein could have a hand in turning the Cubs from laughing stock to a competent team again.  Regardless, no argument can be made against the top three teams in the National League Central as being among the Leagues elite.

Welcome to St. Louis

As a student in his mid-20's (insert TommyBoy joke here), I jumped at the opportunity to move to the city of St. Louis, MO.  The official reason for moving here was to finish my last three years of education before it would be necessary for me to come up with another excuse to put off getting a real job.  To be completely honest, the prestigious school options were not the only reasons I chose to continue my education in the “Gateway To The West.”  I have been a sports fan for my entire life and spent the majority of my formative years with some kind of ball, bat, stick, or other piece of sporting equipment in my hands.  It was only in the last three years that I had to call it quits on my own athletic career after playing four years of Division I baseball.  After having the thrill of pitching in NCAA Regional, the transition to accepting my role as a fan was not easy, but it is one that has been made easier by my move to a new setting.

St Louis is a city that I visited countless times growing up.  While I did not lived within the city limits, I have made frequent trips to go to Cardinals games or to meet with family.  My first memories of a professional sporting event come from my father locking the keys in our family minivan outside an ambush game in the then Kiel Center.  I did not have to live in St. Louis to grow up wearing a Blues winter jacket, or state that my most influential baseball player for me was Bob Gibson in a team program.  I even considered myself a Rams fan, although with the exception of a few years, this had to be hidden as much as possible to escape the ridicule that comes with rooting for one of the least successful franchises in sports.

The city of St. Louis is a pleasant reminder that the present does not have to exist in isolation from the past.  At least as far as sports are concerned, St. Louis has never fully embraced the present.  Baseball is still the nation's pastime here in St. Louis.  The NFL has taken over so much of the national media coverage that stories of two coaches fighting on the sidelines of a Lions and 49ers game can be the leading story in sportscenter on the day after the completion of the NLCS.  St. Louis would hold all other news stories for the thoughts of Stan Musial if he had something to say.  The Rams are a nice distraction for a while during the winter months, but thoughts of how the Cardinals will do during the upcoming season would never be far from the consciousness of the city and its sports fans.

It was this small town mentality wrapped up in a larger city atmosphere that has drawn me to this place as a sports enthusiast.  I have grown up hearing about how pleasant St. Louis fans can be in the stands of Busch Stadium.  I have been a part of standing ovations for So Taguchi, never more than a fourth outfielder for the Cardinals but a fan favorite nonetheless after returning with another team.  I have seen Larry Walker join the Cardinals and receive standing ovations before and after striking out in his first at bat with the team.  Where else can these two things both be said?  Can you imagine Yankee fans giving a player a standing ovation after a new acquisition made his first impact on the team by striking out?

This is not to say that as a fan of St. Louis sports I am a complete push-over.  I do not fully love everything that has anything to do with Cardinal red.  I have passionately hated the likes of Kip Wells and Preston Wilson when the two decided to grace the Cardinals with their lack of ability to either throw strikes or lay off of sliders in the dirt.  I have worn a Chris Carpenter jersey behind enemy lines at Wrigley Field with pride, taunting those around me with chants of “100 years” or other inflammatory responses to comments about how badly the Cubs were going to slaughter the “hicks from Missouri.”  I even had the audacity to question the sporting allegiances of an attractive young woman from Chicago despite her being far more attractive than I should have a chance with.  Luckily for me, she passed my tests as a White Sox fan who was not as passionate about any of the other teams from her home. 

To make a long story short, I have loved this city and its sports for better or worse for as long as I can remember.  Like my father before me, I have been struck by the disease of living and dying with sports and some of the local teams more than any person should admit, and this love brings with it opinions that are difficult to keep to myself.