National League Central: 2008 Preview

Let’s take a look at the NL Central division and see how the teams stack up for the 2008 season as Chicago tries to defend their division crown.

National League Central

Chicago  Cubs

The Cubs’ pitching rotation will be anchored by their ace Carlos Zambrano.  Zambrano can be somewhat  temperamental and may not be a favorite in the clubhouse, but he can pitch.  They need him to perform well for them to contend and defend their title.    Ted Lilly and Rich Hill pitched well last year and will add depth to their rotation.  Lilly won 15 games and Hill won  11, and they both finished with ERA’s under 4.00.  The 4 and 5 spots in the rotation are up for grabs this spring as Lou Piniella decides between Jason Marquis, Jon Lieber, Sean Marshall and Ryan Dempster.  Marshall pitched pretty well last year and is left-handed, so if he pitches well this spring he has a good chance to get in the rotation.   However it shakes out, Chicago will be left with some depth in their starting pitching in case of injury.

A big storyline for the Cubs is whether Kerry Wood will be durable enough to handle the closer duties this year.  Lou Piniella is also considering Kevin Hart for those duties as well.  Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry, and Michael Wurtz  pitched well last year out of the bullpen, and they shouldn’t have problems getting through the middle innings.

Settling their closer situation and the back side of the rotation is key for Chicago. 

There is no shortage of power in their lineup as Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramiriz, and Alphonso Soriano pack a lot of punch.  Lee will have to find a way to stay healthy and return to his 2005 form where he hit 46 home runs vs. 22 last year.

Everyone is anxious to see how their new right field import from Japan does in his first year in the majors.  Kosuke Fukudome  has displayed good defense and a good bat  this spring and it will be interesting to see where Pinella puts him in the every day line up.  He was a career .305 hitter in Japan.

The Cubs have some unsettled issues with their starting pitching, and the closer role.  If they get those settled in a positive manner they should be fine.

Projected finish - 1st place.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals hope to bounce back after finishing 6 games under .500 last year.  They will look to Adam Wainwright and Brandon Looper to bolster the top of the rotation.  After that, they have a lot of question marks.  Matt Clement is still not all the way back yet and didn’t pitch last year, and Joel Pineiro has shoulder problems and is coming along slowly.  Brad Thompson and Todd Wellemeyer are in competition for a spot in the rotation.  Wellemeyer pitched 63 innings last year with a 3.11 ERA.  Their rotation is thin in general, and Wainwright and Looper are really not solid number 1 and 2 guys.

Jason Isringhausen will close this year and be effective as he normally is.  Ryan Franklin and Russ Springer are their best middle to late inning relievers, and there is not much depth after that.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?