NL Central

The Reds season is now one week old, and positive things are already transpiring.

To begin with, they are four up and three down, which is a real good thing, considering their first two series were against the top two finishers in the NL Central in 2009.

Scott Rolen is beginning to look like the Rolen of 2004 with the Cardinals. He finished that season with an OPS+ of 157.

There is a new young gun in town—I have named him "Iceman." When that takes off, don't forget where you saw it first.

It was a great night for St. Louis on Friday as the Cardinals defeated the Brewers 5-4 with a little help from an unlikely source.

Nick Stavinoha.

Being placed in a high pressured situation with two outs in the ninth inning, the Texas native blasted a two-run, pinch-hit home run that gave the Cardinals the lead.

It was his first plate appearance of the season.

Everybody dreams about it when they are a kid. In the ninth inning down by a certain amount of runs and one swing of the bat can win the game.

It was a dream that Stavinoha cherished.

Dec. 24, 2006: Suppan signs a four-year, $42 million contract with an option for 2011. Did Santa come early in 2006? No, but Scrooge sure did. 

Fresh off of a NL Championship series MVP award, Suppan jumped at the chance to sign a big contract with the Brewers. GM Doug Melvin explains the signing stating, "He gives us a big-game pitcher. He's shown that last year."

That quote was far-fetched considering Suppan's line from 2006: 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA.

Most Reds' fans who visit this site are already well aware of Friday evening's nail biter victory vs. the Chicago Cubs.

Let's start with Homer Bailey.

Bailey struggled through four tough innings.  His fifth and final inning of work was a rather simple one, even though he did plunk the first batter, Xavier Nady.

When all was said and done, Bailey's line read:

5 IP, 7 H (all singles), 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HBP, 2 WP, and 1 BK—29 batters faced, and 109 pitches tossed.

On a recent airing of the Mike and Mike show on ESPN Radio, Mike Greenberg (he’s the metrosexual “Mike”) revealed that he predicted the Milwaukee Brewers would win the NL Wild Card in 2010.

Mike Golic (he’s the schlub “Mike”) and whatever interchangeable ESPN baseball analyst was guesting at the time immediately set about ridiculing Greenberg for his hilariously misinformed opinion—blasting him as if he had claimed that Jim was the most talented Belushi brother.

In the middle of trading barbs about payroll with New York Yankees president Randy (I am just along for the ride) Levine, Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio decided to use some of the money that Levine says he is giving the Brewers to lock up one of the best young pitchers in the game.

Yesterday, the Brewers signed RHP Yovani Gallardo to a five-year, $31 million extension.

Here is a breakdown of the contract:

2010: $500,000

2011: $3.25 million

2012: $5.5 million

2013: $7.75 million

2014: $11.25 million

The Milwaukee Brewers were busy even on their off day on Thursday. They became the latest team to sign a young player to a long-term deal, buying out a couple free agency-eligible seasons when they signed Yovani Gallardo to a five-year, $30.1 million deal.

The contract is the richest ever for a pitcher with two-plus years of Major League service time. Gallardo passes Jon Lester, who got a $30 million contract from the Boston Red Sox last year.

When this Colorado Rockies team was put together, it was heralded as a young club with veteran leadership. The two would combine to produce fundamentally sound defense and clutch hitting on offense.

The 2010 baseball season is upon us and that means it's prediction time.

The consensus on the Cincinnati Reds is sleeper status. They have the potential to make a run with their abundance of young talent. On the other hand, a injury here or there and the Reds will be lucky to break the horrid streak of nine straight years finishing below .500.

The problem is there are too many questions.

What if Aroldis Chapman and his 100 mph fastball are called up in June and he takes the National League by storm?

With the season underway, let’s see what is going on in the world of the Houston Astros.

Lance Berkman Gets Knee Drained…Again

If once you don’t succeed, try, try, try, and try again. Berkman had his left knee drained for a fifth time yesterday. You are reading correctly—a fifth time.

However, unlike the first four times Berkman had his knee drained, this time it might have actually worked.