Chicago Cubs - Long the laughingstock of Major League Baseball because of their painfully long championship drought, the Cubbies might have made two of the best moves possible this offseason: getting rid of hothead hurler Carlos Zambrano and getting whiz kid Theo Epstein from Boston to become their new president of operations. Epstein is tasked with doing the same thing he faced in Beantown: bring a World Series title to a long-suffering city. He's got his work cut out for him: 2011 was a regular season for the Cubs, which means it was bad. Their offense placed between 13th and 20th in the stats, with the most production coming from Starlin Castro (led the team with a .307 batting average and 91 runs scored), Carlos Pena (28 homers, now back with the Rays), and Aramis Ramirez (93 RBIs and an .871 OPS, now playing for the Brewers). Aside from aging outfielder Alfonso Soriano, no one provided anywhere near the numbers these 3 posted, and they would have been platooned or benched on nearly any other team. Matt Garza led the defense with 10 wins, 197 strikeouts and a 3.32 ERA, but the Cubs ranked in the low to mid-20s in all defensive stats. Carlos Marmol saved 34 games, but other than that, the bullpen faltered as well. While they picked up a few castoffs (Paul Maholm and Chris Volstad for pitching, David DeJesus and Anthony Rizzo for offense), it'll be a while before Epstein leads another World Series parade, if ever.
- 2012 Prediction: The Cubs are in full-blown rebuilding mode. Don't expect much improvement this year. Maybe down the road, they'll contend again, but not next season.
Cincinnati Reds - With the top two teams in the division both losing the players and managers that made them so dominant over the last 5 years, the window of opportunity for the Reds may be growing rapidly. After surprising everyone by winning the division in 2010, they finished a meager 2 games under .500 in 2011, and had to watch the two teams that beat them out face each other in the LCS. It wasn't all bad: first baseman Joey Votto make a strong showing (.309/29/103, leading the team in all those stats except for home runs) and is now considered the top first baseman in the division, young right fielder Jay Bruce led in home runs with 32 and could have been in the running for MVP had he not faltered down the stretch, and second baseman Brandon Phillips won his 3rd career Gold Glove and first career Silver Slugger. Both the offense and defense were quite average, ranking between 9th and 20th in all stats. The rotation and bullpen weren't very solid, with Mike Leake leading the team with 12 wins, a 3.86 ERA and only 118 strikeouts, and Francisco Cordero (now of the Blue Jays) recorded 37 saves, but with the addition of Mat Latos from the Padres (and the subtraction of Edison Volquez in the same trade), the pitching should definitely improve. If the Reds are going to make a splash, this is the year to do it: Votto walks after 2013, and it'd be a lot easier to keep him in Cincy if he has a ring.
- 2012 Prediction: Who knows? They were the team to beat heading into last season, and, well, they got beat frequently. They should do better this year without Pujols and Fielder muddying the waters.
Houston Astros - Nothing good is usually expected out of the Astros. They have no big players (unless you count Carlos Lee, and unsurprisingly, nobody really does), and the good ones they did have (Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn) were all traded in the past 2 years. However, they reached a new low of mediocrity in 2011 with the franchise's first 100-loss season. Considering how badly they've stunk since their Cinderella run to the Series in 2005, it's almost surprising that they haven't dipped to that awful plateau before now. They ranked in the mid to low 20s in every stat, offensive or defensive, except somehow ranking 10th in batting average. Lee led the club in every offensive stat...with a .275/18/94 line, numbers that would have made him a borderline bench rider on nearly any other team. Wandy Rodriguez led the rotation with an 11-11 record and 3.49 ERA, and his name has come up in trade talks with multiple teams, in true Astros fashion. Closer Mark Melancon notched 20 saves before being traded to the Red Sox this offseason. Next year, it will be hard to recognize anyone on the team, aside from pickups Jed Lowrie and Jack Cust, and rookies Jose Altuve and Jimmy Paredes look promising. The team is moving to the American League West after this year, which will necessitate an interleague game being played every day of the season, and it may be the boost they'll need to spring back to prominence...or they'll continue to crash and burn.
- 2012 Prediction: Come on. They probably won't dip to 100 losses again, but they won't touch .500 either, unless you expect some big market team to send their star player in a display of pity.
Milwaukee Brewers - The Brew Crew entered Beast Mode this past season and managed to win their first playoff berth as a member of the National League (they faced the Cardinals in the 1982 World Series, but were in the American League until 1998). With a 96-66 record, ranking in the top 10 of all defensive stats and top 11 of offensive ones, and arguably the most dominant 1-2 punch in the heart of their lineup, they were tearing down opponents left and right...until the fated postseason rematch with the Cards, where they lost in 6. Now, they've lost Prince Fielder, and reigning MVP Ryan Braun is still looking at a 50-game suspension. Those two led the team in batting average, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and OPS; no one else came close to their level of production. And, if you were wondering, filling those roster spots with newly acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez and third baseman Aramis Ramirez ISN'T going to replace the combined 71 homers, 231 RBIs and 204 runs those monsters gave the Brewers. Their rotation, one of the most solid ones in the league, might soon follow suit: Zack Greinke, who was a perfect 9-0 at Miller Park, will be a free agent after this season, and Yovani Gallardo and Shaun Marcum have yet to sign extensions. The three of them combined for 46 wins, 566 strikeouts and an average of 3.54 ERA. While closer John Axford, who posted 46 saves, is locked down for a while, the rotation could be as dismantled as the lineup.
- 2012 Prediction: They lost Fielder. They might lose Braun for a third of the season. They could lose Greinke and Marcum after this year. Good thing Milwaukee's noted for its beer, the fans will be in dire need of it.
Pittsburgh Pirates - For a team named after a kind of people who take what they want and strike fear in the hearts of many, the Pirates don't shiver many timbers. 2011 saw their 19th straight losing season, longest in American professional sports. Regardless, they were in the mix atop the division until about mid-July, the latest they've been in contention in a season since the early 90s. Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen, considered one of the best in the game, was snubbed by the All-Star voting committee, but only finished .259/23/89 (which, sadly, led the team aside from batting average). Somehow, the pitching staff, headed by offseason pickup Kevin Correia, reached 17th in ERA, but ranked in the high 20s in every other offensive and defensive stat. Closer Joel Hanrahan, the sole All-Star on the team, had 40 saves, but he was the only highlight of the bullpen. While they had a winning record until late July, a 19-inning game against the Braves that ended with a botched out call at home plate that gave Atlanta the win seemed to sap all the Bucs' momentum, and they finished with a 72-90 record, continuing their recent reputation for mediocrity. Funny how baseball works sometimes. They picked up hurler Erik Bedard and reacquired outfielder Nate McLouth, but something gives us the impression that the Pirates still won't be a contender next year.
- 2012 Prediction: Hopefully, the Buccos can somehow capture lightning in a bottle and make a more sustainable run than the one they had last year. But it seems, for now, they're doomed for another losing season.
St. Louis Cardinals - By now, we all know the story of the 2011 Cardinals. They were 10.5 games behind the Braves for the Wild Card in late August, and were 3 out with 5 to play. They leapfrogged over the Braves on the last day of the regular season, and managed to topple the heavily favored Phillies and now hated rival Brewers in the division and championship series. Then, in the World Series against the Rangers, they scrapped and fought with Texas to become victorious in 7 games in what is already considered one of the best World Series in history. So...now what? They lost legendary manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, star first baseman Albert Pujols to the Angels, and celebrated pitching coach Dave Duncan to his wife's cancer. While many pieces of the 2011 champs, such as Lance Berkman, David Freese, Chris Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Jason Motte, still remain, and with the pickup of Carlos Beltran to bolster the lineup, and the expected return of ace Adam Wainwright after he missed the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery, the question is, can the Cardinals remain a contender with Berkman expected to be the full-time first baseman and rookie manager Mike Matheny replacing LaRussa at the helm? Will Wainwright rebound, or will he still feel the pain of surgery? Can Carpenter, Holliday, Freese and catcher Yadier Molina keep the team afloat? All signs point to yes, but baseball is a tricky game.
- 2012 Prediction: The Card aren't poised to repeat, but they can still make the postseason with the lineup and rotation they have. As long as they don't succumb to injury, anything could happen.
2012 Projected Standings:
Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros
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