Baseball Update: NL Central

The Baseball Update is an comprehensive look which team is up or down and which player is hot or cold. I don't know anything but I write will this post anyways.

Don't look now but the Milwaukee Brewers have won seven out their last ten games and are starting to move up the standings.

Team of the Week: The Milwaukee Brewers started the year off at 3-7 and were struggling to get their batters in some sort of a grove. Since then the Brewers have gone 7-3 in their last ten games and are only 3.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. And most importantly, Trevor Hoffman is off the disabled list and closing games for the Brewers. Last night the Brewers rallied from a deficit and Hoffman picked up his first save with the Brewers. Plus in the Brewers last five game they have scored 32 runs. With their hitting improving and with Hoffman relieving I wouldn't be surprised to see them fight for the division with St. Louis and Chicago.


Falling from grace: The Pittsburgh Pirates were definitely the surprise team for the start of the season. Well in the last five games the Pirates have lost three of five. And the most disturbing trend of those loses is that they were close games. Their middle relief has an average ERA of 5.50. And they will need that middle relief to compete for the central title. Also this team has a poor overall batting average of .273. So middle relief and their reliable hitters like Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson must improve.


There is something with these Molina's: While Bengie Molina is the do-everything player for the San Francisco Giants, his little brother is the same thing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Little Molina leads the Cardinals with an .353 batting average, fourth in home runs(2), and fourth with RBI's(12). All three Molina brothers Bengie, Jose, and Yadier are all the most reliable hitters and fielders in the game. Plus all three of them manage a pitching staff unbelievably. You are real lucky if you have one of them on your team.


Notes:
MLB will review Houston Astros manager Cecil Cooper's post-ejection conduct.

The Brewers will look to sweep the Pirates today.

Reds 3B Edwin Encarnacion will be placed on the 15-day DL for a chipped bone in his wrist.

Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano almost hit for the cycle last night against Arizona.

Pittsburgh might want to leave Milwaukee by now.

Cardinals fans are finding out the truth about the fielding liability short stop Khalil Greene really is.