
NL Central Power Rankings Week 5
*please note: all stats outside of team records only include games played through 5/3/14.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (last week 1): 20-11, 1st Place, 124 RS, 113 RA (+11)
“The Brewers finished the month of April with baseball’s best record, 20-8, and for the first time in six years, a team other than the Cardinals enter May in first place in the NL Central. The Brewers, whose 20 victories were just one shy of the New York Yankees’ 2003 mark for the first month, head to Cincinnati with the biggest division lead in baseball, 5 ½ games over the Cardinals.” from
The Brewers started the month of May by losing three of four in Cincinnati. The Brewers have lost 4 of 5, and were outscored 34-23 this week. The Brewers pitching came back to Earth a little bit, entering Sunday with a 4.50 ERA over the last 7 days (including a 5.09 ERA from their bullpen). The offense was maybe worse. They posed a slash line of .211/.270/.313 over the last 7 days, which was 28th/28th/28th in the MLB. Over the last 7 days, Gomez, Lucroy, Ramirez, Davis, Gennett, and Overbay all posted an OBP of .281 or lower.
The Brewers had a rough week injury wise too. Ryan Braun and Jim Henderson were both placed on the DL, and Matt Garza had to leave a start with a thumb injury (listed day to day).
This could just be a rough patch for the Brewers, but they could also being coming a bit back down to earth. Losing Braun will really hurt, and for teams like the Reds and Cardinals, now might be the best time to gain some ground.
Brewers Starting Pitchers in April
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Yovani Gallardo |
37.2 |
32 |
8 |
25 |
10 |
1.12 |
1.91 |
0.4 |
Wily Peralta |
31.2 |
29 |
9 |
25 |
7 |
1.14 |
2.56 |
0.2 |
Kyle Lohse |
40.0 |
31 |
12 |
40 |
11 |
1.05 |
2.70 |
0.9 |
Marco Estrada |
31.1 |
24 |
10 |
28 |
6 |
0.96 |
2.87 |
0.3 |
Matt Garza |
36.0 |
36 |
20 |
30 |
12 |
1.33 |
5.00 |
0.4 |
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Francisco Rodriguez |
16.0 |
7 |
0 |
23 |
4 |
0.69 |
0.00 |
0.8 |
Tyler Thornburg |
14.2 |
6 |
1 |
17 |
5 |
0.75 |
0.61 |
0.4 |
Zach Duke |
13.1 |
9 |
2 |
18 |
3 |
0.90 |
1.35 |
0.3 |
Will Smith |
12.1 |
7 |
1 |
18 |
8 |
1.22 |
0.73 |
0.2 |
Jim Henderson |
10.2 |
10 |
4 |
16 |
3 |
1.22 |
3.38 |
0.1 |
Martin Maldonado |
1.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
Brandon Kintzler |
7.0 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0.71 |
1.29 |
0.0 |
Rob Wooten |
4.1 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
1.62 |
8.31 |
0.0 |
Alfredo Figaro |
3.0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0.67 |
3.00 |
-0.1 |
Wei-Chung Wang |
6.0 |
13 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
2.50 |
15.00 |
-0.2 |
Name | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | WAR |
Carlos Gomez | 128 | 7 | 4 | .293 | .352 | .569 | 152 | 1.3 |
Ryan Braun | 97 | 6 | 3 | .318 | .361 | .591 | 154 | 0.9 |
Jonathan Lucroy | 105 | 1 | 1 | .295 | .362 | .432 | 119 | 0.7 |
Mark Reynolds | 86 | 6 | 2 | .224 | .302 | .500 | 118 | 0.6 |
Scooter Gennett | 95 | 1 | 3 | .302 | .341 | .407 | 105 | 0.6 |
Aramis Ramirez | 106 | 3 | 1 | .277 | .340 | .394 | 102 | 0.6 |
Lyle Overbay | 50 | 1 | 1 | .279 | .380 | .395 | 116 | 0.2 |
Jean Segura | 96 | 1 | 5 | .244 | .277 | .344 | 67 | 0.0 |
Khris Davis | 105 | 3 | 0 | .238 | .267 | .416 | 85 | -0.1 |
Rickie Weeks | 35 | 0 | 0 | .188 | .257 | .219 | 34 | -0.1 |
Jeff Bianchi | 40 | 0 | 0 | .184 | .225 | .184 | 11 | -0.1 |
Logan Schafer | 30 | 0 | 0 | .214 | .241 | .357 | 60 | -0.2 |
This Weeks Schedule
- Mon (8:10), Tues (8:10), Wed (1:10) vs Arizona
- Fri (8:10), Sat (7:10), Sun (2:10) vs NY Yankees
2. St. Louis Cardinals (last week: 2): 16-16, 2nd Place, 5.0 GB, 115 RS, 104 RA, (+11)
The Cardinals had a tough week. They lost two of three to Milwaukee, and lost two of three at Wrigley Field to the Cubs. The Cardinals offense continues to struggle. They entered Sunday 26th in the MLB in runs scored (110). The bright spot of their offense has been Yadier Molina, who is hitting .348/.368/.528 with 4 HR, 150 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR.
The Cardinals pitching has been outstanding. Their team 3.00 ERA entering Sunday was good for 2nd best in the MLB. Adam Wainwright (2.16 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) is leading the way, but Michael Wacha isn’t far behind (2.55 ERA, 1.16 WHIP).
Outside of losing Joe Kelly to the 15-day DL a few weeks back, the Cardinals have been blessed with good health.
Cardinals Starting Pitchers in April
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Adam Wainwright |
45.0 |
24 |
6 |
42 |
11 |
0.78 |
1.20 |
1.2 |
Michael Wacha |
36.1 |
31 |
10 |
44 |
10 |
1.13 |
2.48 |
1.0 |
Lance Lynn |
35.0 |
33 |
14 |
40 |
11 |
1.26 |
3.60 |
0.4 |
Joe Kelly |
15.1 |
15 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
1.24 |
0.59 |
0.3 |
Tyler Lyons |
12.0 |
10 |
6 |
11 |
5 |
1.25 |
4.50 |
0.2 |
Shelby Miller |
34.1 |
29 |
12 |
26 |
21 |
1.46 |
3.15 |
-0.6 |
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Kevin Siegrist |
11.2 |
10 |
5 |
11 |
2 |
1.03 |
3.86 |
0.4 |
Carlos Martinez |
15.1 |
12 |
5 |
13 |
6 |
1.17 |
2.93 |
0.3 |
Pat Neshek |
12.2 |
6 |
2 |
16 |
3 |
0.71 |
1.42 |
0.2 |
Randy Choate |
9.1 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
0.54 |
0.96 |
0.1 |
Trevor Rosenthal |
13.1 |
8 |
7 |
18 |
7 |
1.13 |
4.73 |
0.1 |
Eric Fornataro |
4.2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1.07 |
3.86 |
0.0 |
Seth Maness |
11.0 |
15 |
5 |
10 |
3 |
1.64 |
4.09 |
0.0 |
Keith Butler |
2.0 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3.50 |
27.00 |
0.0 |
Tyler Lyons |
2.0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
1.00 |
4.50 |
-0.1 |
Name | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | WAR |
Yadier Molina | 106 | 4 | 0 | .350 | .377 | .540 | 156 | 1.3 |
Matt Adams | 112 | 2 | 0 | .321 | .339 | .477 | 129 | 0.6 |
Jhonny Peralta | 109 | 6 | 0 | .196 | .284 | .433 | 102 | 0.6 |
Matt Carpenter | 131 | 1 | 1 | .264 | .366 | .318 | 102 | 0.3 |
Matt Holliday | 123 | 2 | 1 | .283 | .374 | .415 | 121 | 0.2 |
Peter Bourjos | 56 | 0 | 2 | .160 | .250 | .260 | 47 | 0.2 |
Kolten Wong | 76 | 0 | 3 | .225 | .276 | .268 | 51 | 0.1 |
Jon Jay | 76 | 1 | 1 | .269 | .338 | .403 | 108 | 0.0 |
Allen Craig | 119 | 3 | 0 | .220 | .277 | .367 | 81 | -0.3 |
Mark Ellis | 35 | 0 | 0 | .133 | .229 | .133 | 10 | -0.3 |
Daniel Descalso | 35 | 0 | 1 | .125 | .176 | .188 | 0 | -0.4 |
This Week’s Schedule
- Mon (7:00), Tues (7:10), Wed (7:10) at Atlanta
- Fri (7:05), Sat (7:05), Sun (8:00) at Pittsburgh
3. Cincinnati Reds (last week: 3): 15-16, 3rd Place, 5.5 GB, 120 RS, 103 RA (+17)
The Reds had a good week. They split two games against the Cubs in a rain shorted season, but went on to win three of four over the weekend against the first place Brewers.
On an offense that has struggled (22nd in the MLB with 116 runs entering Sunday), Todd Frazier has stepped up. He is hitting .269/.356/.490 with 5 HR, 134 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR.
Johnny Cueto has headlined a great starting rotation to start the season. Cueto is the early NL Cy Young front-runner. He leads the NL in ERA (1.31), K’s (60), IP (55.0) and H/9 (4.09); and has gone at least 7.0 innings in all 7 of his starts.
The injures are really piling up for the Reds. I’ll just let you read below. Jay Bruce is the biggest blow of them all. Jerry Crasnick reported “Jay Bruce will have surgery this week to repair partially torn meniscus in left knee. Expected to miss 3-4 weeks.”
Injures haven’t been the Reds only form of bad luck in 2014. The Reds sit at 15-16 despite having the best run differential (+17) in the division. The Reds expected win-loss record is 18-13, which would be the best record in the division (using the expected win-loss record for every team in the division)
Reds Starting Pitchers in April
Johnny Cueto |
47.0 |
22 |
6 |
50 |
14 |
0.77 |
1.15 |
0.9 |
Alfredo Simon |
33.2 |
22 |
6 |
22 |
11 |
0.98 |
1.60 |
0.4 |
Tony Cingrani |
32.1 |
26 |
12 |
32 |
17 |
1.33 |
3.34 |
0.4 |
Mike Leake |
35.1 |
30 |
15 |
20 |
6 |
1.02 |
3.82 |
-0.1 |
Homer Bailey |
26.1 |
39 |
18 |
29 |
8 |
1.78 |
6.15 |
-0.2 |
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Sam LeCure |
11.2 |
7 |
1 |
11 |
5 |
1.03 |
0.77 |
0.2 |
Jonathan Broxton |
6.0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
1.00 |
0.00 |
0.1 |
Curtis Partch |
4.1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0.92 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
Sean Marshall |
3.0 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3.00 |
6.00 |
0.0 |
Logan Ondrusek |
6.1 |
12 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
2.21 |
7.11 |
-0.1 |
Trevor Bell |
0.2 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
10.50 |
67.50 |
-0.1 |
Manny Parra |
10.1 |
11 |
5 |
9 |
5 |
1.55 |
4.35 |
-0.2 |
Nick Christiani |
11.0 |
10 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
1.27 |
4.91 |
-0.2 |
J.J. Hoover |
8.1 |
10 |
9 |
11 |
8 |
2.16 |
9.72 |
-0.4 |
Name | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | WAR |
Devin Mesoraco | 53 | 3 | 1 | .468 | .509 | .787 | 256 | 1.3 |
Todd Frazier | 105 | 4 | 2 | .247 | .333 | .441 | 114 | 0.9 |
Joey Votto | 121 | 4 | 1 | .280 | .438 | .462 | 155 | 0.7 |
Chris Heisey | 46 | 1 | 3 | .256 | .289 | .372 | 82 | 0.4 |
Brayan Pena | 50 | 1 | 2 | .304 | .360 | .457 | 118 | 0.3 |
Billy Hamilton | 102 | 1 | 11 | .245 | .280 | .330 | 66 | 0.3 |
Jay Bruce | 111 | 3 | 5 | .220 | .351 | .385 | 106 | 0.2 |
Roger Bernadina | 32 | 0 | 2 | .160 | .323 | .200 | 60 | 0.1 |
Ryan Ludwick | 85 | 2 | 0 | .260 | .310 | .390 | 90 | 0.0 |
Brandon Phillips | 115 | 1 | 0 | .255 | .272 | .318 | 60 | 0.0 |
Zack Cozart | 94 | 1 | 0 | .180 | .215 | .292 | 35 | 0.0 |
This Week’s Schedule
- Tues (7:10), Wed (7:10) at Boston
- Fri (7:10), Sat (7:10), Sun (1:10) vs Colorado
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (last week: 4): 12-19, Tied-4th Place, 8.5 GB, 118 RS, 133 RA (-15)
The Pirates had a strange week. They were supposed to play a 2-game series in Baltimore on Tuesday/Wednesday, but both games were rained out. Instead, the Pirates had to play a doubleheader in Baltimore on Thursday, and they lost both games. They did go on to win two of three in Pittsburgh against the Blue Jays over the weekend.
The Pirates offense is coming around. They now have six regular players who have been average or above average: McCutchen (4 HR, .433 OBP, 167 wRC+, 1.5 WAR), Sanchez (3 HR, .339 OBP, 148 wRC+), Walker (6 HR, .357 OBP, 134 wRC+), Alvarez (7 HR, 103 wRC+), Martin (.342 OBP, 102 wRC+), and Marte (.338 OBP, 9 SB, 99 wRC+). Martin is however still on the DL with a hamstring strain.
What has killed the Pirates has been their starting pitching, as their 4.42 ERA is 23rd in the MLB. Francisco Liriano (the Pirates ace in 2013) has really struggled over his last three starts, posting a 5.68 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP.
Pirates Starting Pitchers in April
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Edinson Volquez |
31.2 |
27 |
12 |
16 |
6 |
1.04 |
3.41 |
0.2 |
Francisco Liriano |
34.0 |
30 |
15 |
34 |
14 |
1.29 |
3.97 |
0.2 |
Brandon Cumpton |
7.0 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
0.71 |
2.57 |
0.1 |
Gerrit Cole |
34.0 |
32 |
12 |
26 |
11 |
1.26 |
3.18 |
0.1 |
Charlie Morton |
31.0 |
30 |
15 |
21 |
12 |
1.35 |
4.35 |
-0.1 |
Wandy Rodriguez |
20.0 |
26 |
17 |
16 |
6 |
1.60 |
7.65 |
-0.5 |
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Mark Melancon |
12.0 |
7 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
0.67 |
1.50 |
0.3 |
Tony Watson |
11.1 |
8 |
3 |
15 |
2 |
0.88 |
2.38 |
0.3 |
Stolmy Pimentel |
11.1 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
6 |
1.32 |
2.38 |
0.2 |
Justin Wilson |
9.2 |
11 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
1.66 |
1.86 |
0.1 |
Edinson Volquez |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0.50 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
Jared Hughes |
2.1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1.29 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
Bryan Morris |
11.0 |
10 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
1.09 |
1.64 |
0.0 |
Jason Grilli |
8.0 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
4 |
1.38 |
4.50 |
-0.4 |
Jeanmar Gomez |
13.2 |
18 |
8 |
10 |
7 |
1.83 |
5.27 |
-0.4 |
Name | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | WAR |
Andrew McCutchen | 120 | 4 | 3 | .286 | .408 | .500 | 156 | 1.1 |
Russell Martin | 73 | 2 | 0 | .242 | .342 | .355 | 102 | 0.6 |
Starling Marte | 117 | 1 | 7 | .229 | .308 | .305 | 77 | 0.4 |
Gaby Sanchez | 44 | 3 | 0 | .220 | .273 | .512 | 117 | 0.2 |
Neil Walker | 111 | 6 | 1 | .235 | .291 | .431 | 103 | 0.1 |
Travis Snider | 73 | 3 | 0 | .227 | .301 | .364 | 90 | 0.0 |
Travis Ishikawa | 38 | 1 | 0 | .206 | .263 | .382 | 77 | 0.0 |
Pedro Alvarez | 107 | 6 | 2 | .172 | .280 | .387 | 87 | -0.1 |
Ike Davis | 31 | 1 | 0 | .185 | .290 | .333 | 80 | -0.1 |
Jose Tabata | 66 | 0 | 0 | .262 | .318 | .295 | 77 | -0.2 |
Jordy Mercer | 73 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .222 | .182 | 5 | -0.2 |
This Week’s Schedule
- Mon (7:05), Tues (7:05), Wed (12:35) vs San Francisco
- Friday (7;05), Saturday (7:05), Sunday (8:00) vs St. Louis
Chicago Cubs (last week: 5): 11-18, Tied-4th Place, 8.5 GB, 112 RS, 118 RA (-6)
The Cubs had their best week of 2014. They split two games in a rain-shortened series in Cincinnati, before winning their first series of 2014. The Cubs took two of three in Wrigley Field against the Cardinals.
The Cubs really haven’t been as bad as their 11-18 record might indicate. They only have been outscored by 6 runs all season. Jeff Samardzija (1.98 ERA, 1.24 WHIP), Jason Hammel (0.69 ERA, 2.08 WHIP), and Travis Wood (3.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) have all been good at the top of the Cubs rotation. The offense just hasn’t been able to help the Cubs. They entered Sunday with the 26th fewest runs in the NL (108).
The Cubs did get great offensive weeks from Starlin Castro (.500/.524/.950, 2 HR, 308 wRC+, 0.6 WAR), Anthony Rizzo (.357/.571/.1.000, 3 HR, 298 wRC+, 0.6 WAR), and Wellington Castillio (.467/.529/.733, 249 wRC+, 0.4 WAR).
Cubs Starting Pitchers in April
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Jeff Samardzija |
41 |
38 |
9 |
31 |
13 |
1.24 |
1.98 |
0.7 |
Travis Wood |
30.2 |
34 |
12 |
31 |
7 |
1.34 |
3.52 |
0.6 |
Jason Hammel |
34.2 |
17 |
8 |
27 |
7 |
0.69 |
2.08 |
0.4 |
Edwin Jackson |
34.1 |
37 |
20 |
26 |
17 |
1.57 |
5.24 |
0.4 |
Carlos Villanueva |
17.2 |
36 |
20 |
13 |
2 |
2.15 |
10.19 |
0.3 |
Name |
IP |
H |
ER |
SO |
BB |
WHIP |
ERA |
WAR |
Hector Rondon |
13.1 |
9 |
1 |
15 |
4 |
0.98 |
0.68 |
0.3 |
Justin Grimm |
11.1 |
9 |
1 |
13 |
6 |
1.32 |
0.79 |
0.2 |
Neil Ramirez |
2.0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0.50 |
0.00 |
0.1 |
Zac Rosscup |
2.2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0.38 |
0.00 |
0.1 |
Chris Rusin |
5.0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0.80 |
1.80 |
0.0 |
Wesley Wright |
9.1 |
9 |
2 |
9 |
2 |
1.18 |
1.93 |
0.0 |
Blake Parker |
1.2 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 |
16.20 |
0.0 |
Pedro Strop |
11.1 |
8 |
4 |
14 |
7 |
1.32 |
3.18 |
-0.1 |
Brian Schlitter |
7.2 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0.91 |
4.70 |
-0.1 |
Carlos Villanueva |
1.1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3.00 |
13.50 |
-0.1 |
James Russell |
5.2 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
1.94 |
4.76 |
-0.2 |
Jose Veras |
5.2 |
6 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
2.82 |
15.88 |
-0.6 |
Name | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ | WAR |
Emilio Bonifacio | 110 | 0 | 10 | .337 | .385 | .406 | 119 | 1.0 |
Anthony Rizzo | 113 | 4 | 1 | .283 | .407 | .457 | 140 | 0.7 |
Starlin Castro | 109 | 4 | 1 | .308 | .339 | .471 | 120 | 0.7 |
Welington Castillo | 84 | 4 | 0 | .276 | .329 | .474 | 120 | 0.6 |
Luis Valbuena | 69 | 1 | 0 | .218 | .377 | .327 | 101 | 0.4 |
Junior Lake | 72 | 2 | 3 | .221 | .254 | .382 | 69 | 0.1 |
Ryan Kalish | 52 | 0 | 2 | .277 | .333 | .362 | 86 | 0.0 |
Justin Ruggiano | 39 | 1 | 0 | .229 | .308 | .343 | 81 | -0.1 |
Darwin Barney | 52 | 1 | 0 | .136 | .255 | .205 | 25 | -0.1 |
Mike Olt | 66 | 4 | 0 | .164 | .212 | .377 | 54 | -0.3 |
Ryan Sweeney | 59 | 0 | 0 | .173 | .241 | .192 | 19 | -0.6 |
Nate Schierholtz | 88 | 0 | 2 | .217 | .227 | .265 | 26 | -0.8 |
This Week’s Schedule
- Wed (8:00), Thurs (8:05) at Chicago White Sox
- Fri (7:35), Sat (7:10), Sun (1:35) at Atlanta
NL Central Players of the Month: April
-
Johnny Cueto, Reds: 1.15 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 50 K, 14 BB, 0.9 WAR
-
Yadier Molina, Cardinals: .350/.377/.540, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 156 wRC+, 1.3 WAR
NL Central Players of the Week
-
Johnny Cueto, Reds: 16.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 21 K, 4 BB, 1.13 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 0.3 WAR
-
Starlin Castro, Cubs: .500/.524/.950, 2 HR, 308 wRC+, 0.6 WAR
See previous players of the week here.

Join the conversation! 11 Comments
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The fact that the Reds are even in contention, given that list of “Who’s who for the Cincinnati Reds” is a DL list, is astounding. I suppose it helps that the Cubs like to Cub and the Brewers came down with “all our sluggers are hurt”-itis during the week they played the Reds.
If the Brewers come back down to earth on their 1-run ball game luck and the Cardinals is as anaemic as the second half of April made them seem; the Reds will suddenly seem like a much more viable candidate to win the Central.
The fact that the Reds have allowed the second fewest runs in all of baseball, just shows how good the pitching and defense has been and all while having key players on the DL. If even the pitching staff can get back to full strength and maintain what they’ve done or get better, then this team will be in the hunt for the entire season.
You have to think the Brew Crew limped out of town shaking their collective heads and wondering what the future might hold for a team that has basically had good fortune seeping from every pore during the first month of the season, knowing that the only game they could salvage in the 4-game series was against the scrub team and then they could only score 2 runs.
Cards also have 3 in Atlanta coming up. Hopefully they will have the same fortune there as we did. Brew Crew going to the Yankees. I hope we can use this last series as a launching pad and make up some ground.
To heck with making up some ground. Let’s make a statement and start putting some distance between the good guys wearing the wishbone C and the rest of the NLCD.
On the other side of the coin, the Brewers were 3-0 versus the BoSox. Any losses by the Reds in Boston become games they have to pick up elsewhere against the Brewers.
Also, the versus the Reds, the Cards are playing with house money in Atlanta.
Looks like we’re still in the hunt! We can still take the central
Oh rise and shout the…opps, wrong thread. I got a little excited there.
I’d like these posts much more if you’d just rank the Reds first and get it over with.
🙂
I know….I’m a jerk
It is important (to the rest of the division) that the Brewers seem to have hit a little bit of a speed bump because they were on a pace which would have made them very hard if not impossible to catch. Even if they play .500 the for rest of this season, they will likely be in the mix to the end unless the Cards or Reds experience a 5 to 6 week run to match what the Brewers pulled off out of the gate.
By way of example, the 1990 Reds were 13-3 at the end of April and played 17-9 in May to start June at 40-12. Over the last 4 months, those eventual world champs were very much a .500 club (actually 1 under for the second half) yet were never seriously challenged for the divisional title with the final margin being 5 games. The closest anyone got after the AllStar break was 3.5 games on Sept 25 before the Reds managed to push back out to 5 with consecutive wins and go on to close the deal.
Wins are wins and there are a finite number to be had. With virtually no teams finishing significantly under .400 at season’s end, it becomes a task to over take a team which gets to 40 or greater in the first third of the season.