NL Central

Seems like several D.C. area sports stars are becoming fed up with the media, which is good, because New York teams are doing relatively well and its about time another major market took up the mantle of journos on the attack.

First it was a lethargic Gil , and now, Mike Sellers is just trying to live in the face of media scrutiny .

It's the middle October, which means fans of the Chicago Cubs have followed their annual calendar and started investing their time in football and hockey about three weeks ago. But this year, there's some baseball of interest being played.

In Arizona.

The Arizona Fall League is under way, and Cubs fans should at least check in to see how the "future" of the franchise is doing. Third base prospect Josh Vitters, regarded by many as the jewel of the Cubs' system, is playing for the Mesa Solar Sox.

Mat Gamel or Matt LaPorta? That was the question facing Milwaukee Brewers' GM Doug Melvin last season when it became clear that the Brewers were the front runner to obtain pitcher CC Sabathia.

Melvin and the Indians agreed to send Matt LaPorta to Cleveland and the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. Mat Gamel, along with Alcides Escobar, became 1A and 1B in the farm system's top prospect ratings.

I understand that it’s time for changes in the Houston Astros clubhouse.

But that doesn’t mean removing an icon and legend like Jose Cruz from the mix.

This latest move by the higher ups in Houston baffles me; do they really think it’s Cruz’s fault that players aren’t hustling down the first base line?

Why, exactly, are the Astros taking Cruz out of the coaching puzzle and offering him a position else where in the organization?

Am I missing something here?

Article originally posted on www.stadiumjourney.com

Miller Park is such an improvement over County Stadium that it’s hard to know where to begin.  First of all, having a retractable roof was a great idea and something that Minnesota fans will be envious of in the years to come.

Additionally, the Brewers organization has made an effort to make the experience at Miller Park as fan-friendly as possible, whether you are a kid, a casual baseball fan, or an ardent baseball fan.  All fans will have fun at Miller Park.

Rumors are swirling around Chicago that the Cubs, who fired two hitting coaches during the 2009 season, have strong interest in former Texas Rangers coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Jaramillo's resume stands on its own merits. During his 10-year tenure in Texas, 17 Rangers won Silver Slugger Awards. He gets a lot of the credit for the Rangers being an offensive powerhouse over the last decade.

But my interest in this rumor is deeper than a great hitting coach being available...

In a shocking turn of events, several members of the Washington NFL franchise are publicly stating their desire for ownership to give head coach Jim Zorn a vote of confidence.

“I wish someone upstairs would just say he’s going to be our coach for the season,” said one of the players. “That way, we don’t have to answer any more questions about it and everybody knows we’re in this boat together.”

You know: in the 1960s and 1970s there was The Carol Burnett Show and in an ongoing skit they'd do a spoof of the soap opera As The World Turns with As The Stomach Turns.

If the show were on now, they'd do a skit called As The Houston Astros' Fans' Stomachs Turn.

Phil Garner, the former Astro who managed Houston to its first and only World Series appearance, was fired and replaced by Cecil Cooper, who was fired this season. Cooper, a good hitter when in his Major League career, showed that as a manager he's, well, a good hitter.

A year removed from the team's first postseason berth in a quarter century, the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers finished a disappointing 80-82, good for third in the National League Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

Here's a look back at The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers season...