NL Central

Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro exited Tuesday's game against the National League Central division rival Milwaukee Brewers with an ankle injury.

CSNChicago.com's Patrick Mooney provided the details on Castro's condition:

The road to the majors is often a long and difficult travel.    

With only four weeks left until the much-anticipated month of October arrives, the Milwaukee Brewers have set themselves up for a chance at a run for the World Series, but it won't be easy getting there.

The Chicago Cubs are ticketed for another last-place finish in the National League Central this year, but there won’t be a more exciting team to watch over the final month of the season.

For much of the first half of the 2014 regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates looked lost as a team, falling as far out as nine games behind the Milwaukee Brewers on June 28.  

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton matched a franchise rookie record Sunday, recording his 54th stolen base of the season in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, per MLB Stat of the Day.

With only 29 games remaining in the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates trail the San Francisco Giants by just 2.0 games for the second wild-card spot.  

Currently, the organization cannot be thinking about the future, as it has a chance to win right now.  

It’s not a stretch to say the Pittsburgh Pirates’ weak September schedule could propel them into the playoffs if the team takes care of business against a trio of last-place teams.

While injuries and bullpen woes have been staples of the Cincinnati Reds' 2014 campaign, offense has been similarly woeful. We can't say for certain whether it's related to injuries to crucial players or not. Is Jay Bruce suffering his worst professional season in seven years because of the shift or because he had a knee surgery in May?

It's finally come to this, Cincinnati Reds fans. With virtually no hope remaining in what has been one of the more miserable, disappointing Reds seasons to date, we shift our focus to 2015. In Redsland, 2015 is all we have. Beyond that, very little is guaranteed. 

Anyone with even a fractional interest in this team understands where improvements need to be made.