NL Central

Today is "Earth Hour", where people are encouraged to shut off their lights for one hour in a symbolic act to conserve energy. But in Arizona, there is nothing symbolic about the decisions Lou Piniella, Larry Rothschild and the gang have to make.

In the bullpen, only four spots are set. The closer will either be Carlos Marmol or Kevin Gregg, with the slight edge going to Marmol at this point. However, Gregg has pitched very well this spring. Either way, one will pitch in the eighth and one in the ninth.

In the past couple weeks, the hot topic of fantasy nerds and GM wanna-be's has been Jay Cutler's pending divorce from the Denver Broncos. How much is a young stud quarterback worth in a trade?

Today, maybe a bigger name wandered into the mix. Quietly, maybe one of the five best professional athletes under the age of 26 made (and subsequently backed away from) a statement of wanting out.

Here are my NL Central predictions for 2009. Remember, it's all my opinion.

This off season, Jim Hendry had the difficult task of attempting to improve a team that won 97 games the season prior. Although the Cubs won the NL Central with ease, there's always a C.C. Sabathia waiting in the wings, who could push a NL Central foe to the top of the division.

Hendry focused on making the team more athletic and flexible, signing Joey Gathright and Aaron Miles. The Cubs were also able to move Jason Marquis off the books, which left a vacancy in the Cubs rotation.

Opening day is approaching, and with all the question marks in the Cards’ lineup, there is one thing that seems to be for certain. It’s the starting rotation. For the first time in a long while, the birds have their designated rotation intact, and healthy.

The results so far this spring have most of Cardinal Nation excited about the first pitch on Monday April 6.

We are holding off on our backup catcher outlook to see if an official announcement is made.  So, as a result, today we are bringing you likely the last man to make the roster out of Spring, Joey Gathright.

The National League's top team last year will comeback and do it again. The Cubs return with Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, and Geovany Soto in their lineup. Soto is the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and plans to stay on the same course. The second-year catcher hit 23 homers with 86 runs driven in. He batted .285 in 141 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals will most likely end up second to the hated Chicago Cubs again. The Cardinals do have the lineup and the talent, but overall, the Cubs are better.

Albert Pujols is poised for a big season and we all have to watch out for Todd Wellemeyer this year as he shocked us last year with a 13-9 record and a 3.71 ERA. Adam Wainwright will head the staff as he had an 11-3 season, though mostly injured in the season, he pitched in 20 games and if was healthy would've have St. Louis a playoff push.

The Cincinnati Reds will make the greatest improvement this year. I have a feeling they will finish above .500 after a 74-88 record last year. They will do so well that they will contend for the NL Central division crown and an NL Wildcard berth but will fall short in both.