NL Central

[treego14]

Don't look now!  We're only 4 games back!

[sveumrules]

If I counted right, 28 of the Brewers next 37 games between now and the next Cubs series on June 17 are against teams currently .500 or worse.

Three each atCLE, atPHI, and vsSDP are the exceptions.

Thinking they’ll need to go something like 22 W - 15 L over this stretch if they want to put themselves in a position to be players in the second half.

[rickh150]

9 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

If I counted right, 28 of the Brewers next 37 games between now and the next Cubs series on June 17 are against teams currently .500 or worse.

Three each atCLE, atPHI, and vsSDP are the exceptions.

Thinking they’ll need to go something like 22 W - 15 L over this stretch if they want to put themselves in a position to be players in the second half.

Stay a little above .500 and teams are players in the 2nd half.  Those 3 Wild Card teams keep so many teams in it….when there was only 1 WC team, not so much.  NFL preseason games in August usually meant hopes had vanished for middling teams. Now get hot in September could mean that third WC.

[Frisbee Slider]

I haven’t followed the Pirates closely. They seem disappointing even by Pirate standards.

[sveumrules]

2 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

I haven’t followed the Pirates closely. They seem disappointing even by Pirate standards.

Yeah, last year their 86 wRC+ was 28th in MLB. This year they have a 79 wRC+ so far which is 29th, saved only by the Rockies and their wait for it...60 wRC+. For context, Zach Greinke has a career 59 wRC+. Woody is at a 63 wRC+ and that doesn't even include his NLCS bomb off Kershaw.

Skenes has even slipped a little from a 46 ERA- | 61 FIP- last year to 65 ERA- | 75 FIP- to start this year, not that he or anyone else should be expected to keep up those rookie numbers over a full season. Insane to think he was just a tick behind 2008 CC at 39 ERA- | 56 FIP-.

[Jopal78]

9 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

I haven’t followed the Pirates closely. They seem disappointing even by Pirate standards.

I think Ben Cherrington likely gets fired before the season is over. 
 

Cherrington has been there 5 years and he has 33 year old journeyman Adam Frazier at 2B, 37 year old journeyman Tommy Pham in LF, and Cruz to CF to make way for journeyman Isiah Kiner-Falefa at SS.

Cherrington has his hands tied by Nutting, but 5 years in their best options are a bunch of aging vets who weren’t that good in their prime?

Although it is interesting McCutchen keeps plugging along as a slightly above league average DH. He looked absolutely washed up with the Brewers and while it was the worst season of his career, it was just an outlier.

 

 

 

 

[MoreTrife]

Glancing at the Cubs pitching roster...I'm not an expert but wow their pitchers are really uninspiring. Frustrating that they have the record they do. Have to believe that will come crashing down but maybe their offense is legit. IDK. 

[tmwiese55]

23 minutes ago, MoreTrife said:

Glancing at the Cubs pitching roster...I'm not an expert but wow their pitchers are really uninspiring. Frustrating that they have the record they do. Have to believe that will come crashing down but maybe their offense is legit. IDK. 

Yea losing a good starter for the year hurts.     The general idea among Cubs fans is they all know they need P help in all areas, but they have the money and a generally deep farm to try and improve it as the year goes by.  

[AKCheesehead]

Speaking of the cubs, their box score from yesterday is quite nice.

[Underachiever]

14 minutes ago, AKCheesehead said:

Speaking of the cubs, their box score from yesterday is quite nice.

Watching it live was even better.

[Brian]

On 5/4/2025 at 11:03 PM, treego14 said:

Don't look now!  We're only 4 games back!

We just have to keep winning and STL is right on our butt also. 

[edfunderburk]

Tight race … amazing that Milwaukee is only three games back with all their injuries & with Chicago playing quite well early in the season. 

Even though I get frustrated with the Brewers, they are capable of winning this division IF they have a few key players get hot & a few of their injured pitchers & outfielders contribute. 

I hope they find someone via trade to help on the left side of the infield. 

[Jopal78]

On 5/7/2025 at 10:24 AM, MoreTrife said:

Glancing at the Cubs pitching roster...I'm not an expert but wow their pitchers are really uninspiring. Frustrating that they have the record they do. Have to believe that will come crashing down but maybe their offense is legit. IDK. 

When you have six of your nine hitters (Kelly, Tucker, Suzuki, PCA Swanson and Busch) on pace for 30 or  more homeruns, you’ll win a lot of games. 

[Frisbee Slider]

I am bothered by the Cardinals success.

[Frisbee Slider]

Rea, Brown, Taillon, Boyd and Horton doesn’t seem like a rotation that will run away with the division. I suppose the same could be said about our rotation, too.

Brewers bullpen should outperform Chicago. 
 

[Underachiever]

Don’t look now, but thanks to a 32-18 record in their last 50 games, the NL Central has the best cumulative record in MLB, at 13 games over .500.

NL Central +13

AL East +10

AL Central +5

NL West 0

NL West -13

AL West -15

The two leagues are exactly .500 in interleague.

[wiguy94]

3 hours ago, Underachiever said:

Don’t look now, but thanks to a 32-18 record in their last 50 games, the NL Central has the best cumulative record in MLB, at 13 games over .500.

NL Central +13

AL East +10

AL Central +5

NL West 0

NL West -13

AL West -15

The two leagues are exactly .500 in interleague.

NL Central also has by far the best run differential of the divisions.

[edfunderburk]

It hurts to be in 3rd Place in the NL Central after 65 games

It hurts far more to trail the Cubs & Cardinals

[RWeeksFan23]

does anybody else think Jordan Walker looks like the blind guy from the 90s sitcom Becker?

[sveumrules]

On 5/5/2025 at 11:18 PM, sveumrules said:

Thinking they’ll need to go something like 22 W - 15 L over this stretch if they want to put themselves in a position to be players in the second half.

With today's win it looks like the Brewers went 21 W - 16 L over the aforementioned stretch.

Might not seem all that impressive at face value, but that is a 92 win pace over 162.

If they can keep that pace up over the remaining 89 games it would put them right around 89 or 90 wins at the end of the season.

[wiguy94]

47 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

With today's win it looks like the Brewers went 21 W - 16 L over the aforementioned stretch.

Might not seem all that impressive at face value, but that is a 92 win pace over 162.

If they can keep that pace up over the remaining 89 games it would put them right around 89 or 90 wins at the end of the season.

Which might be what's necessary to get into the playoffs.

[tmwiese55]

23 hours ago, sveumrules said:

With today's win it looks like the Brewers went 21 W - 16 L over the aforementioned stretch.

Might not seem all that impressive at face value, but that is a 92 win pace over 162.

If they can keep that pace up over the remaining 89 games it would put them right around 89 or 90 wins at the end of the season.

If you just take out the fluky first four games of the year where they weren't ready or were caught off guard by all the pitcher injuries, they've been on a 92 win pace since.  And thats with not all that much going right for them.  Its kind of shocking their record is as good as it is.   Especially since the team is run by the dumbest and cheapest people ever and have the worst manager in history

[yfinn6]

If only the Brewers front office and managerial staff were as smart as the one poster who can't put a sentence together and calls everyone a moron. 

If only. 

[Underachiever]

35 minutes ago, yfinn6 said:

If only the Brewers front office and managerial staff were as smart as the one poster who can't put a sentence together and calls everyone a moron. 

If only. 

I hope not talking me in about this poster of whom you speak of.

[sveumrules]

Was clicking around on some leaderboards, and noticed that a Dodgers prospect named Mike Sirota leads all of the minor leagues (minimum 200 PA) with a 194 wRC+.

Thought that name sounded familiar, and it turns out he was traded by the Reds (along with the 41st pick in this year's draft) for Gavin Lux - who Cincy has played primarily at LF (29 games of -3 DRS | -4 FRV) and DH (24 games) so far this year.