Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - The NL Central - The Most Boring Division in Baseball?

The NL Central - The Most Boring Division in Baseball?

Eyes, boring a way through me
Paralyse, controlling completely
Now there is a fire in me
A fire that burns

Standings as of July 6th, 2005

TEAM               W     L     PCT   GB   2WK		
St. Louis         60    33    .645   --   (7-3)
Chicago           48    45    .516  12.0  (8-3)
Houston           47    46    .506  13.0  (7-4)
Milwaukee         46    48    .489  14.5  (6-5)
Pittsburgh        40    54    .426  20.5  (4-8)
Cincinnati        38    55    .410  22.0  (5-5)

A bad week for Pittsburgh - another one of those and they'll be in last place. This is possibly the most boring division in baseball as the Cardinals keep chugging along while the Cubs, Astros, and Brewers bob around the .500 mark. The Pirates and Reds look to be sellers at the deadline. Trade speculation will be the most interesting thing to come out of the NL Central until the playoffs start.

NL Central Trades Since April 1st

July 18: OF Jody Gerut to Cubs for OF Jason Dubois

May 19:  C Pat Borders to Mariners from Brewers for cash

May 12:  OF Michael Restovich to Pirates from Rockies for PTBNL

I might be missing one or two, but that looks like it. You have to figure there's going to be more before the season is over.

Match The Player to the Destination

Here's a list of 10 Reds and Pirates players who could be dealt before the season is over. State each player's likely destination or "NOTRADE" if you think that player won't be traded. Bonus points for mentioning who he'll be traded for.

Kent Mercker   - RP - Reds -  39.0 IP   2.54 ERA   11 Holds  2 Saves
David Weathers - RP - Reds -  48.0 IP   4.13 ERA    8 Holds  5 Saves
Jose Mesa      - RP - Bucs -  34.2 IP   3.89 ERA    0 Holds 22 Saves
Salomon Torres - RP - Bucs -  46.2 IP   4.05 ERA    3 Holds  1 Save

Kip Wells      - SP - Bucs - 115.2 IP   4.82 ERA   6-10 W-L 17/59/89 HR/BB/K
Mark Redman    - SP - Bucs - 127.1 IP   4.24 ERA   4-10 W-L 10/39/67 HR/BB/K

Daryle Ward    - 1B - Bucs - 303 AB    11 HR   .254/.319/.429
Joe Randa      - 3B - Reds - 323 AB    12 HR   .288/.355/.480
Adam Dunn      - OF - Reds - 305 AB    24 HR   .239/.385/.554
Tike Redman    - OF - Bucs - 185 AB     2 HR   .265/.310/.368

So where are they going to go?

Posted by Pepper Moffatt on Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 01:29 PM EDT.

The NL Central - The Most Boring Division in Baseball? | 7 comments | Create New Account

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Magpie - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 01:53 PM EDT (#123311) #

This is possibly the most boring division in baseball

You wouldn't say that if you were responsible for the NL West. At least you've got a genuinely good team, and two legitimate Wild Card contenders. You've got the Cubs and Houston playing 7 games over the last 10 days of the season, and those could be big, big games.

Whereas the West... is not the best.

My division sucks.

Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 01:59 PM EDT (#123313) #

Heh.. maybe that should be our next poll - "Which division is the worst?". At least in the NL West there's something of a race. In the NL Central, like the AL Central, the first place team has a 12 game lead on the next best team.

Though I see what you mean about the quality of teams. The NL Central as a whole is 2 games under .500. The NL West? 48 games under - the average team is 12 games on the bad side of .500!

Magpie - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:06 PM EDT (#123315) #

At least in the NL West there's something of a race.

You use the word "race" in a way unfamiliar to me...

San Diego putters along a little above .500, while the others slide slowly towards .450, and lower. The Padres lead is every bit as safe as the Cardinals! Trust me! Whereas you might have a humdinger (that's a technical term) of a Wild Card race involving two of your teams. Once Washington does what Arizona's already done (submit to reality!)

Still, moaning aside, personally I've found it fascinating to focus on a division that I wouldn't normally give much attention to.

Mick Doherty - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:07 PM EDT (#123316) #

Randa to the Twins. Redman to the Fish as part of a trade involving Burnett. Mercker back to the Braves. And Griffey to the Yankees!

Magpie - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:13 PM EDT (#123317) #

My God, Mick. I thought you had Breaking News. My heart skipped a beat... then I remembered Pepper's query.

alsiem - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:17 PM EDT (#123318) #

Me too, I've just been to every sport related site including mlb.com trying to confirm this. Hmmm, who's looking for a diversion from work?

Jefftown - Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 04:40 PM EDT (#123340) #

Joining alsiem in diverting myself from work, I'll add another somewhat important trade to the NL Central mix...Milwaukee sends Junior Spivey to Washington for Tomo Ohka.

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