2021 NL Central Preview

We're halfway through Major League Baseball for the 2021 season, and with the West slated for tomorrow, it's time for me to get back to work and start the second half of the preview series for 2021.

Earlier today I attacked the AL Central, so this afternoon I'll swap leagues and attack my home division.

Let's look at the NL Central.

2019 MLB Preview: NL Central

The preview series continues on with, for all intents and purposes, official Opening Day coming on Thursday. And with four divisions left to cover before then... I'd better get to work.

As in prior years, I'm going across the country and alternating leagues, ending with the defending champion's division. That means tomorrow afternoon is when I'll have a gander at the AL East. But for now, let's visit the middle of the country and look at the NL Central.

2018 MLB Preview: NL Central

We're onto the second day of MLB previews as I've condensed this year's batch down to three days instead of six. We're still working our way across the country, alternating leagues, before ending with the division containing the defending World Series champion.

This brings us to the country's center, and after ending yesterday in the American League, we go to my division of greatest familiarity in the NL Central.

2017 MLB Preview: NL Central

It's the sixth day, which means we're all set on baseball previews after today. As is my tradition, I've been going division by division, alternating leagues, and finishing with the division of our defending champion.

Speaking of our defending champion, they are taking part in my newest project, the MLB Tournament of Champions. You can check out information on that tournament here, and check out the action starting this coming week.

Without further ado, let's get to the NL Central. Let's note once again that both wild cards are taken.

2016 MLB Predictions: NL Central

We're just a day away from the start of the season! The excitement is mounting, and I'm nearing the end of my series of baseball preview posts.

I've handed out one predicted wild card on the National League side of things, and after looking at each coast so far, it's time to come to nation's heartland and preview the final two divisions. Today, it's the NL Central.

Game Notes: Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers (5/9/15)

Final Score

Brewers 12, Cubs 4

Game Summary

This was a game that got out of hand fairly early. Milwaukee (10-21) scored a pair of runs on a Gerardo Parra home run, but the Cubs (15-14) responded with the Destroyer of Baseballs hitting a three run shot to take the lead. It wouldn't last, as Milwaukee scratched out three runs to retake the lead. The Cubs got one back on the fourth before giving it back up in the bottom half. Milwaukee put it away with a five run fifth to go up 11-4. The Cubs really never threatened again, and the Brewers would tack on one more in the sixth for the final tally.

Pitchers of Record

W: Kyle Lohse (2-4)- 5 IP, 4 R (4 ER), 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Lohse may have had his best start of the year, though he had to labor to get there, and even then it wasn't pretty. He really only made the one mistake, one Cubs fans have been waiting for for weeks. He did enough to get the win, which is why wins and losses are kind of overrated stats.

L: Travis Wood (2-2)- 4 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K. Wood didn't have his best stuff either. After a quick first inning he struggled, giving up the homer to Parra, though a pair of errors didn't help matters. He had a high pitch count though, thus the early hook.

Key Stats

• Khris Davis (MIL): 3-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI. I guess Davis had been struggling, but broke out with a couple big doubles to drive in runs, including the go ahead one in the third. Good night at the plate.
• Ryan Braun (MIL): 1-2, 3 R. Despite getting ruthlessly booed by the sizable Cubs contingent (of course I was in on it(, Braun worked a couple walks and took advantage of the good hitting day for the Brewers. Still a talented hitter.
• Kris Bryant (CHC): 1-4, HR (1), R, 3 RBI. I was giddy about seeing Bryant for the first time in person. Down 2-0 when he came up the second time, I told Kristen that he was the guy I was looking forward to, and my dad made the comment that now would be a good time for a three run homer. Then on cue, he launched one into the Brewer bullpen. That alone was worth the trip.

Final Thoughts

Kristen came along, primarily for the food. She enjoyed the chorizo plus some of my waffle fries, was underwhelmed by the cheese curds (come on, Wisconsin, you can do better), tried to improvise a Chicago mix out of a bag of kettle corn, and then had Dippin' Dots for dessert.  Not a bad collection overall.

On the field, this was one of the worst games I've been to. Blowouts happen, but it sucks to see it happen to your team. The usher in our section made the comment that I did well scoring the Brewers' runs on my scorecard, so we got a laugh out of that.

All in all, just one game. The Cubs are doing all right for early May, and Kris Bryant has that first home run out of the way. The Cubs will try to pull out the rubber game tomorrow.

Finally, given the holiday weekend, I wish a Happy Mothers Day to all mothers reading Confessions of a Sportscaster, and to all mothers everywhere. Thank you for all that you do. Readers, make sure to do something special for your mom tomorrow!

2015 MLB Preview: NL Central

First things first: Happy birthday to my dad, who helped nurture my love of sports in general and baseball in particular. He also helped birth my love of the Cubs, which may or may not be a good thing given history.

We're onto the National League Central as we move past the halfway point of the division previews. If you want to refer back to my predictions from last year, you can find them here.

Game Notes: Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs (5/16/14)

Final Score
Brewers 4, Cubs 3

Game Summary
About a year ago, Kristen kidnapped me to take me to a Cubs game. I said then that I needed to be more suspicious. Today, instead of participating in a round table with Senator Dick Durbin about student loans, I was kidnapped... again... and made the all-familiar trek to the Friendly Confines. Kristen put together a plan for a month that included buying tickets, getting my dad in on making sure I was home, and informing the people in charge of the aforementioned round table that I wasn't going to be able to make it. I stand by my decision, and my future bride.

On a cold afternoon, the Brewers (27-15) jumped to an early lead in the first with a pair of unearned runs (though honestly, one should have been earned, but whatever) thanks to some poor defense. They added another pair in the second before the Cubs (13-27) responded in kind with a Darwin Barney two run shot. The Cubs would add another run in the third on a solo blast by Junior Lake. After that, the Brewers settled in and didn't allow any more shenanigans. The Cubs got into and out of a couple jams, and couldn't string together another rally late to finish it off.

Pitchers of Record
Win: Kyle Lohse (5-1)- 7 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 K. While he wasn't dominant in terms of stuff, he minimized the damage to those two home runs and worked out of a couple jams early, then retired the final 13 batters he faced. Despite only two strikeouts, when you can keep any lineup from doing any damage for that long, you earned the win.
Loss: Jeff Samardzija (0-4)- 5 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 6 K. Shark got roughed up a bit early, but wasn't helped after errors by Junior Lake and Starlin Castro enabled two runs to come across. The other two runs were more so his fault, but a passed ball by Welington Castillo didn't really help either. His pitch count was really high after two innings, so while he settled down, that meant the bullpen had to take over early.
Save: Francisco Rodriguez (17)- 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K. K-Rod looked awful on his first two pitches, missing badly and prompting a visit from Jonathan Lucroy. He then gave up a solid single to Starlin Castro to lead off. He proceeded to get a fielder's choice on a bunt by Chris Coghlan, got Castillo to fly out, then saw Schierholtz line out to end the game. Honestly, it wasn't that great an outing, but he got some help from his defense and a bad bunt by Coghlan. Still counts.

Key Stats

• Starlin Castro/Anthony Rizzo (CHC): 3-7, BB. This was the big question for the Cubs coming into this season: how well would these guys rebound? They have fairly well. Castro had two hits and Rizzo had one, though neither one came in a major spot or resulted in any damage being done. Still, it's a good omen on an otherwise dreary day.
• Jean Segura (MIL): 3-5, R, 2 RBI. Segura proved to have the game-winning hit when he singled in a pair of runs in the top of the second. It's a different game if Welington Castillo doesn't allow the passed ball before said knock, as if the rest of the game played out that way, it's 3-3 going into extras. Then again, both Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez were off today.
• Cubs: 3 errors. This was what ultimately killed the Cubs I think, aside from not getting a hit between the third and ninth innings. The first error was a bobble in the outfield by Junior Lake on a Jonathan Lucroy base hit that Segura scored on. Segura probably would have scored without the error, but it went down as an unearned run. The following play, Castro threw a ball hit by Lyle Overbay too low over to first, and it allowed Lucroy, who had been at second thanks to Lake's error, to score and make it 2-0 at the time. In the third, Samardzija made a beautiful move to pick off Mark Reynolds, but on the ensuing rundown, Anthony Rizzo threw over Castro's head and allowed Reynolds to advance a base. While it didn't come back to bite the Cubs, it defined the "#Cubes" meme that has become prevalent in the past season or two to come to light.

Final Thoughts

Yes, it was cold. Sure, there was some rain, but we were under cover the whole game. Was it worth the trip? You bet. I was completely floored that we were going. Kristen orchestrated the perfect surprise that I didn't even have an inkling about. Guys who are reading this: if your girlfriend/fiancee/wife does this sort of thing for you, keep her. I'm not giving up mine.

I wasn't sure when this year I'd make it to Wrigley, given the chaos of a wedding and the ensuing honeymoon, but I'm glad we made it, even with the weather. It was a nice throwback weekend, and we got Babe Ruth "Called Shot" bobbleheads, which was cool. The game itself went... pretty much as expected, but there are some silver linings to take out of it. And at the end of the day, if you get to spend a day with the person you love in one of your favorite places, you take it every time.

2014 MLB Preview: NL Central

We're moving right along in this year's series of MLB previews. The West Coast is done, and now I'm heading to America's heartland and my homeland.

I pegged the top of the division right last year, if only because it seemed to be a given. St. Louis was the division winner last year, but Pittsburgh outperformed expectations and finally became that feel-good story, making the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. Maybe there will be a changing of the guard? We'll have to see this summer. For now, here's how I think the division shakes out.

Game Notes: Minnesota Twins @ Milwaukee Brewers (5/27/13)

Final Score
Twins 6, Brewers 3

Game Summary
The roof was closed at Miller Park, given the rain, so there was some opportunity for fireworks offensively, and they didn't disappoint. The Twins (20-28) put together a 2-out rally in the 1st for a 1-0 lead, and the Brewers (19-30) threatened in their half despite Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez getting days off before great defense bailed out the Twins. Minnesota added a run in the 4th, which Milwaukee got right back. The Twins out together a couple runs in the 5th, and Milwaukee stormed back again in the 6th. The Twins shut them down after that, adding a couple insurance runs towards the end for some padding they wouldn't end up needing.

Pitchers of Record
W: Kevin Correia (5-4): 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 4 K. Correia got bailed out by his defense to avoid damage in the 1st, then cruised most of the rest of the way. He did give up three home runs in this game, though fortunately for the Twins they all came with nobody on.
L: Wily Peralta (3-6): 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 5 BB, 3 K. Peralta retired the first two men he faced, then walked the next 2 batters before giving up an RBI single. Walks tend to kill you, and those two put the Brewers at a disadvantage from the get go.
SV: Glen Perkins (10): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K. Perkins punched out the first two men he faced before Ron Roenicke decided to bring Ryan Braun in to pinch hit, and Perkins got Braun to line out to end the game.

Key Stats

• Joe Mauer (MIN): 1-3, HR (4), RBI, 3 R. Mauer's average is up to .339 for the year now, but he drew a couple big walks to start rallies for the Twins. His home run was also the first time I've been in attendance for a replay review. (Related note: Angel Hernandez was the 2nd base umpire today. Somehow they correctly ruled that the ball went over the yellow line for a home run like I saw from my seat and overturned what was originally ruled as a double. He's still an idiot though.)
• Milwaukee: Hit into 3 double plays. The first one came in the first inning after the Brewers loaded the bases with nobody out. Yuniesky Betancourt then lined to short, and Florimon threw to second to get the back end of the double play. Alex Gonzalez bounced into a double play in the 4th after Milwaukee got on the board to kill a tying chance, and the immortal Jeff Bianchi grounded into one in the 6th after the Brewers hit a couple more homers to kill a chance to tie the game. Those are killers.
• Carlos Gomez (MIL): 2-3, 2 HR (10), 2 RBI, 2 R. His first was a no-doubter to left center that I lost track of, and his second followed a Jean Segura homer a little short of where he hit the first one. The former Twin has been on a binge lately (I guess he homered twice on Saturday), and was a big reason why the Brewers were close in this one despite sitting several of their regulars.

Final Thoughts

This was the second baseball game I got my fiancee too this season; it was her first trip to Milwaukee for a game, raising her ballpark count to 3. Same for Arnie the Alpaca (pictured to the right). I think she kind of enjoyed the trip, and definitely enjoyed the food that Miller Park has to offer. She thought that "it was too easy to hit home runs" here, which may or may not be true; I haven't kept track of how many homers a game I've seen at Wrigley versus at Miller Park.

Either way, this was a fun game to get to (and I got to enjoy the WONC traffic bed in the 1st inning), and makes it 10 years running of trips to Milwaukee for ball games with my dad. Neither of these teams are likely to play more than 162 games this year, but either team could go on a little run of some sort. You never know.