With the National League defending champion St. Louis Cardinals gearing back up for another grueling season, you would think there would be more conversation about repeating. That is, unless you lose The Machine. The 2012 NL Central betting odds from Bovada actually has the defending champs second in their own division at +190 behind the Cincinnati Reds, who have the favored line of +140.
The NL Central is one of the most intriguing divisions in baseball this year as the perennial favorite is now a doubtful team of question marks that could be ousted by the new and improved surprises. The Cincinnati Reds have retooled and rebooted to make sure that this year will not end the way it did in the playoffs for them. They have brought in the young stud Mat Latos to bolster their inconsistent rotation and Ryan Madson to shut the door at the end of games. The lineup stays the same, well just because the lineup is what got them to the playoffs in the first place. Unlike the Reds who did get to the postseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates were a new team that showed flashes of a run to get there. Led by Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, and some of the million high draft picks the Pirates have won over the years with terrible records, the Bucs might have finally found a starting lineup that can stick. Out of sheer luck they found a lights out closer in Joel Hanrahan, then recently acquired A.J. Burnett, who was practically hitchhiking out of New York. The Pirates will be the team to watch and have a +3000 betting line from Bovada to win the Central.
The remaining teams are just toss ups at this point. I can’t imagine the Brewers being able to score enough runs with Aramis Ramirez’s brittle bones hitting behind Ryan Braun. If he stays healthy and Zach Greinke can battle his social disorder issues for a whole season, they can return to form. The Cubs, do I honestly need to even go there? They lost Aramis Ramirez, who was their only hint at a power hitter in the lineup. So the story is going to be Soriano strikes out, Starlin Castro gets on base, followed by more whiff’s. They lost the best setup man statistically last year in Sean Marshall, who really only held the game together long enough for Carlos Marmol to blow it up. I can say one thing good about the Cubs, they will be without Carlos Zambrano throwing perfectly good gatorade all over their dugout during a game. The last of the pack is the Houston Astros, who I honestly cannot even give an opinion about because the last time the Astros were exciting to me was when Jeff Bagwell was playing. They will be starting a slew of minor leaguers they have acquired through various trades and moving to the AL if all goes to plan anyway. Nothing special going on in Houston, but there’s always a chance Andy Pettite wants to throw a few innings again. Bovada has the Cubs at a +1800 betting line, the Brew Crew at +275, and the Astros at +10000.
It’s going to be a long season for Cubbies, Astros fans, and even Milwaukee fans if Ramirez can’t stay on the field and Braun can’t stay out of GNC.
Odds To Win 2012 NL Central Division Title – as found at Bovada Sportsbook on March 7th, 2012
