NL Central

It's easy for us to forget just how good Chris Carpenter is.

Nobody went without noticing him in 2005, when he lit the league up with a 2.83 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 213 K, 21 win, and a four shutout season. He also had a shiny Cy Young trophy to top that off.

He didn't forget how good he was the following year, when he had just as dominant of a season, capped with a league-best WHIP of 1.06 and three shutouts.

When the Brewers signed all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman this winter, critics said it was a bad signing due to Hoffman's loss in velocity and age.

After picking up his ninth save of the season Saturday, the critics have been searching for players other than the 41-year old Hoffman to find fault with.

Alright everyone, get your payroll jokes and your “Where’s your World Series Championship trophy?” jokes out of your system before you start reading.

Yes, since the Milwaukee Brewers came to be in 1969, they have not won a World Series and have won just a single pennant in that span. And, of course, living north of Chicago, we all know the Cubs are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Filed:May 12th, 2009

Rich Harden delivers a pitch against the Padres Tuesday (Cubbie Nation/file)

Click here for the photo gallery of Tuesday's game.

He came. He pitched. He lost.

Well, not only can the Baltimore-Washington area lay claim to cultural diversity, great seafood, and the heart of American government, but it is also home to three of the worst owners in professional sports.

Peter Angelos, Ted Lerner and Daniel Snyder (not surprisingly) - are the worst owners in all of pro sports as compiled by Sports Illustrated.

Paul Maholm is arguably not a front-of-the-rotation starter. Ian Snell is certainly not a No. 2 starter, even on the weak Pirates staff. That's one reason why the Pirates have lost the last few games. But that may be exactly the point.

Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf are decidedly better than the average three and four starters, and Jeff Karstens is a legitimate No. 5. These pitchers are "coming up," bringing the Pirates to the "better" part of a still-questionable rotation.

The first thing the Milwaukee Brewers general manager said to the media about Ryan Braun upon his call-up in 2007 was, "he is a very confident young man."

In the two years since, no one is disputing that claim by Melvin.

Ryan Braun won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007, despite missing the first six weeks of the season while still in Triple-A Nashville. He followed that up last season with MVP-type numbers and led the Brewers to their first playoff appearance since 1982.