N.L. Central Projected lineups

[Spike]

These are the projected line-ups from MLB.com. I know there are the other divisions have some contenders, but this division look vaguely similar. I like our chances.

Cardinals

SS David Eckstein
2B Adam Kennedy
1B Albert Pujols
CF Jim Edmonds
3B Scott Rolen
LF Chris Duncan
RF Juan Encarnacion
C Yadier Molina
SP Chris Carpenter
SP TBA
SP Adam Wainwright/Braden Looper
SP Kip Wells
SP Anthony Reyes
CL Jason Isringhausen or Adam Wainwright

Astros

2B Craig Biggio
CF Chris Burke
1B Lance Berkman
LF Carlos Lee
3B Morgan Ensberg
RF Luke Scott
SS Adam Everett
C Brad Ausmus
SP Roy Oswalt
SP Jason Jennings
SP Woody Williams
SP Fernando Nieve
SP Wandy Rodriguez
CL Brad Lidge

Reds

RF Ryan Freel
1B Scott Hatteberg
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
3B Edwin Encarnacion
LF Adam Dunn
2B Brandon Phillips
C David Ross
SS Alex Gonzalez
SP Aaron Harang
SP Bronson Arroyo
SP Kyle Lohse
SP Eric Milton
SP Matt Belisle/Elizardo Ramirez
CL David Weathers/Mike Stanton

Brewers

LF Corey Hart
2B Rickie Weeks
1B Prince Fielder
CF Bill Hall
C Johnny Estrada
RF Geoff Jenkins/Kevin Mench
3B Corey Koskie
SS J.J. Hardy
SP Ben Sheets
SP Chris Capuano
SP Jeff Suppan
SP Dave Bush
SP Claudio Vargas
CL Francisco Cordero

Cubs

RF Alfonso Soriano
SS Cesar Izturis
1B Derrek Lee
3B Aramis Ramirez
CF Jacque Jones
C Michael Barrett
LF Matt Murton
2B Mark DeRosa
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Ted Lilly
SP Mark Prior
SP Rich Hill
sp Jason Marquis
CL Ryan Dempster

Pirates

CF Chris Duffy
SS Jack Wilson
3B Freddy Sanchez
LF Jason Bay
RF Xavier Nady
1B Ryan Doumit
2B Jose Castillo
C Ronny Paulino
SP Zach Duke
SP Ian Snell
SP Paul Maholm
SP Tom Gorzelanny
SP Shawn Chacon
CL Mike Gonzalez

On paper the Cubs rule. But I am not so sure that it will all gel. (The pirates look pretty good for the future.) All in all, I think the Reds have a decent shot. Once in the playoffs. I am not so sure.

[reds44]

If the Cubs bat Izturis 2nd and Murton 7th, they all should be fired on the spot.

[BRM]

Junior in CF batting 3rd. Yikes.

[Marc D]

Reds

RF Ryan Freel
1B Scott Hatteberg
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
3B Edwin Encarnacion
LF Adam Dunn
2B Brandon Phillips
C David Ross
SS Alex Gonzalez
SP Aaron Harang
SP Bronson Arroyo
SP Kyle Lohse
SP Eric Milton
SP Matt Belisle/Elizardo Ramirez
CL David Weathers/Mike Stanton

You like our chances ? To do what??

[vaticanplum]

In the context of the season, I can understand shifts in batting order (though not necessarily to the degree that Narron does). But why, WHY would anyone in his right mind slip Adam Dunn into the fifth spot as his default home? Besides the many obvious reasons why this goes against baseball wisdom, the man wears pitchers out. If he's in a slump, fine, put him fifth. as a default -- insane.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

In the context of the season, I can understand shifts in batting order (though not necessarily to the degree that Narron does). But why, WHY would anyone in his right mind slip Adam Dunn into the fifth spot as his default home? Besides the many obvious reasons why this goes against baseball wisdom, the man wears pitchers out. If he's in a slump, fine, put him fifth. as a default -- insane.

I'm guessing they are predicating this on the fact that Narron likes to break up the lefties in the lineup.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Chip R

I'm guessing they are predicating this on the fact that Narron likes to break up the lefties in the lineup.

Then they should have him batting third.

[pedro]

Hatteberg has no business batting second. His OPS in 130 AB's in the 2 hole last year was .614. He should be batting sixth when he plays.

[KronoRed]

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

Then they should have him batting third.

Narron logic again dictates that won't happen.

[jmcclain19]

Wow - what's the over/under on 90 loss teams in the NL Central in 2007 - three? Four? five?

That may be why the Reds have any sort of shot, because everyone of their division rivals is god awful.

I can't believe the Cubs spent all that money and probably made themselves worse overall.

And I feel embarrassed for baseball that the Cardinals with that team won the World Series.

If the Brewers are able to get anything positive out of Geoff Jenkins, Kevin Mench, Jeff Suppan & Ben Sheets, I'm thinking they are your frontrunner for the time being.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

Then they should have him batting third.

Jr. bats 3rd.

[Ltlabner]

Freel/Deno bats 1st
Dunn bats 2nd
EE bats 3rd
Jr bats 4th

don't care after that....

But maybe something like

Phillips
Ross
Agon
Hatte/Conine
Pitcher


I usually don't get to into the mechanics of the line up too often. I guess my biggest hope is that Narron picks one/two and sticks with them.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Ltlabner

Freel/Deno bats 1st
Dunn bats 2nd
EE bats 3rd
Jr bats 4th

don't care after that....

But maybe something like

Phillips
Ross
Agon
Hatte/Conine
Pitcher


I usually don't get to into the mechanics of the line up too often. I guess my biggest hope is that Narron picks one/two and sticks with them.

That's what you think it should be and it should be something close to that. But what it should be and what it will be are two different things. Like I said, Jr. will bat 3rd and he will play CF. Narron will break up the lefties and Dunn will probably end up batting 5th.

[Outshined_One]

Originally Posted by Spike

Cubs

RF Alfonso Soriano
SS Cesar Izturis
1B Derrek Lee
3B Aramis Ramirez
CF Jacque Jones
C Michael Barrett
LF Matt Murton
2B Mark DeRosa
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Ted Lilly
SP Mark Prior
SP Rich Hill
sp Jason Marquis
CL Ryan Dempster

Hmmm...based on what I've heard, you've got some things mixed up. Overall, it's about right. Some changes...

-Piniella hasn't decided on who's hitting second. He'll settle it during ST, although it'll probably be one of DeRosa, Murton, or Izturis.

-The Cubs have been pursuing a platoon partner for the OF...but whether it's for Jones or Murton is unclear. There was some discussion of platooning Jones with Murton (moving Soriano to LF and getting a CF to fill in), but I think that died down. Word is the Cubs are going after Cliff Floyd to platoon with Jones and that they're happy having Murton play every day.

-CF is a mystery. Soriano might be placed there, as apparently he has the tools to play there quite well. However, word is the Cubs have been shopping Jones, meaning they'd move Soriano to a corner. Jacque Jones might be able to play CF, but I really don't know if he can play there every day any more. A curious possibility is uber-prospect Felix Pie. Pie has a world of potential, but I don't think he's ready yet. His plate discipline and pitch selection could use plenty of work. He'll need a minimum of half a season in AAA to work out some of those kinks, imo.

-Assuming the Cubs make no moves between now and opening day, the lineup would probably look like:

Soriano
Murton
Lee
Ramirez
Barrett
Jones
DeRosa
Izturis
Pitcher

-The rotation looks about right, although Prior apparently won't be ready for spring training. Wade Miller is a likely candidate for the #5 spot, although he might not be ready, either. Odds are, it'll come down to a competition between Sean Marshall, Juan Mateo, Angel Guzman, JK Ryu, and probably a few other AAA-level pitchers for the #5 spot. My money's on Guzman since he's finally healthy and has always had a really nice upside.

-Dempster will probably be the closer out the gate, but don't be surprised if he loses it to Wood, Eyre, or Howry a month or two into the season. His previous season was not good. If it carries over into next season, he'll be on a short leash.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Chip R

That's what you think it should be and it should be something close to that. But what it should be and what it will be are two different things. Like I said, Jr. will bat 3rd and he will play CF. Narron will break up the lefties and Dunn will probably end up batting 5th.

I guess I'm confused on the purpose of this. Reading closely, projected does in fact imply what they think Narron will do. Initially I thought it was projected BEST lineup.