Posted on February 6 2011 by Brayden Dixon

St. Louis Cardinals are favored to win N.L. Central in 2011, Reds close behind

With catchers and pitchers reporting for Spring Training duty in the next week or so, there’s no better time than now to see what each team did this past off-season and see how the betting odds correspond to what was done. We’ll start the breakdowns off with the lone division comprised of six teams.



1. St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals looked to be well on their way towards securing yet another NL Central pennant midway through the 2010 season, but the wheels simply fell off as the team couldn’t score worth a lick to close out the year . Still, the Redbirds are loaded in the pitching department with Wainwright, Carpenter, Westbrook and Garcia in the fold, and it never hurts to have Pujols and Holliday in the meat of your order. Right now, it makes sense for St. Louis to be the chosen ones in this division.



2. Cincinnati Reds – The reigning NL Central champs didn’t do much to improve their team this past off-season, but instead, decided to lock down the home grown talent. Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Johnny Cueto were all lottery winners by coming up with the Reds, and Bronson Arroyo cashed in as well by going 20-13 and reeling MLB bettors in close to six units. Still, it is of my belief that the Reds took advantage of a very down NL Central with the Cardinals coming out as the only +.500 team. For them to repeat as division champs, they will no doubt need to come close to the 91 wins it had in 2010.



3. Milwaukee Brewers – In my opinion, the Brewers deserve a wager at this number considering what they did this past off-season to compliment one of the nastiest offenses the league had to offer a year ago. Yes, the Brewers only went 77-85 in 2010 and cost baseball bettors nearly seven units, but it was mostly because of bad pitching. By going out and signing Shaun Marcum and Zach Greinke to go along with stud righty Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers starting pitching woes were remedied. Now it’s up to Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and Casey McGehee to continue mashing the ball like they did a year ago . If they do, the Brew Crew just might find themselves back in the second season.



4. Chicago Cubs – Mike Quade now gets to show Cubs Nation that he was the right man for the managerial position and not Ryne Sandberg after his 24-13 run as the interim manager to close out last season. Chicago brought in Matt Garza and Carlos Pena from Tampa Bay, but one of the more unheralded signings of the offseason came in the form of Kerry Wood who simply had one of his best seasons since his glory days in his first go round at Wrigley. Still, this club is dependent upon a ton of youngsters in the pen, and if last year is any indicator, those guys aren’t ready to lock games down in the closing stages just yet. Once again, Cubs fans will be left saying, “There’s always next year” come October.



5. Houston Astros – It’s all about cutting salary and hoping for the best this season as the Astros front office looks to sell the team. Not one impressive move was made this past offseason, unless you think the duo of Clint Barmes and Bill Hall at SS and 2B respectively is enough to get your juices flowing; didn’t think so! There is some decent starting pitching on the roster and the ‘Stros did go 40-33 in the second half to finish fourth in the NL Central a year ago, but let’s be honest, Houston is going nowhere fast.



6. Pittsburgh Pirates – Four straight years and counting for the Buccos in the basement of the NL Central. It’s been brutal to be a Pirates fan for the better part of the last two decades, but the organization could be taking a turn for the better in 2011 with former Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle now leading their charge. The guy possesses an excellent baseball mind, and will no doubt get the best out of his less heralded roster more times than not. Pittsburgh won’t compete for the division crown, but it will give its opponents hell all year long and possibly not be the laughing stock of the league.



Also see the lastest odds to win the 2011 World Series and odds to win the 2011 National League Pennant.



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