Madison

If I told you that you had to fill 34 starts throughout the course of a season and offered you the choice between the following stat lines, which one would you take?

11-7, 3.23 ERA, 214.1 IP, 178 H, 24 HR, 58 BB, 160 K, 1.101 WHIP, 24 Quality Starts

14-7, 5.22 ERA, 194.2 IP, 226 H, 39 HR, 64 BB, 100 K, 1.490 WHIP, 14 Quality Starts

Is there even the tiniest little chance that you'd select line two? I suppose that if you were selecting a starting pitcher for your chief rival, you might go that way.

Before the 2009 season started, there were three teams that were widely viewed as possible contenders for the National League Central crown: the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cubs were the defending NL Central champs, had the best record in the National League in 2008, and were easily the most talented team in the division.

The Cardinals had the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, several talented role players, and expected to see a return to dominance of Chris Carpenter.

I was going to spend some time today talking about the current situation with Bill Hall, but it seems as though there is much more to talk about than just Hall. I will get to his situation in a bit.

First off, Dave Bush is ALL man! I know he lost the game last night and gave up a Ruthian home run to Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson, but the toughness Bush showed after taking a line drive off his pitching arm was outstanding.

Bush continues to be a very important part of the Brewers' rotation and he continues to give the Brewers a chance to win every game he pitches.

When the rumors were flying last year of CC Sabathia becoming a Brewer, everyone wondered which young stud from the Brewers farm system would be traded: Matt LaPorta or Mat Gamel.

As we all know, LaPorta was the center piece of the trade that brought Sabathia to Milwaukee. The Brewers went on to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years and the Indians got one of the top hitters in the minor leagues.