Will the Cardinals reclaim the NL Central in 2011?

[JoshRedcay]

Last year the Reds surprised many people and won the NL Central behind Joey Votto and some pleasant surprises in Drew Stubbs and Scott Rolen.

Albert Pujols had another great year, hitting 40+ again and keeping the average up. Adam Wainwright also had another great season, becoming a 20 game winner and further solidifying himself as an elite pitcher. Not to mention, they still have another ace in Chris Carpenter.

Notable additions for the Cardinals so far this off-season include Lance Berkman, Pedro Feliz, Ryan Theriot, and Brian Tallet. They got much-needed help at third base, which is a big plus.

So can the Cardinals take back the NL Central, or will the Reds defend their title? Or, will we see the Brewers emerge with the amazing off-season they have had, or possibly another team (how about the Pirates...haha, I'm only kidding).

[Mudge]

With Cincinnati and Milwaukee knocking on the door, I think the NL Central is a toss-up.

[TheKid19]

I think the Cardinals will win the Central, but it's gonna be a tough race with the Brewers and Reds right there.

[diehardbrewgirl]

There's a lot of buzz about the Brewers because of all their acquisitions this off-season and I don't think either of the teams will run away with the division title with smooth sailing. It's going to be close between the Cardinals, Reds and Brewers all season and I think it will be an interesting season for the NL Central which usually is seen as one of the weaker divisions.

As a Brewers fan I'd like to see them win and I think we have a really strong chance but at this point I don't want to make any predictions. I'd like to see where things go the first few months of the season. I do however think it will be quite close between those three teams though.

[BrewCrewFan]

The thing that I don't like about the Cardinals is the fact the offense is pretty meh (outside of Pujols and Holliday) and the bullpen is a real question mark. The Brewers #1 weakness coming into this upcoming season was easily the pitching in general. Outside of Gallardo, the Brewers had absoutley no one in the rotation that you can depend on. Now, we have 3 #1-#2 type pitchers, and our #2 last year becomes our #4 SP.

We still have most of our lineup intact (Fielder, Weeks, McGehee, Braun, Hart) but we need our other offensive players to step up as well (Lucroy, Betancourt, Gomez)

Our bullpen should be strong as we have Braddock, Axford, Saito, Hawkins, Loe who have been or are good RP.

I see the NL Central shaping up like this:

1. Milwaukee Brewers: 89-73
2. St. Louis Cardinals: 87-75
3. Cincinnati Reds: 84-78
4. Chicago Cubs: 83-79
5. Houston Astros: 75-87
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: 70-92

Should be a good and fun race this year though, that is for sure.