Preview of the NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals- The rich get richer and the St. Louis Cardinals were winners in the free agency market. Pitcher Sidney Ponson, second baseman Aaron Miles, and outfield Juan Encarnacion are just a few of the spare parts picked up to supplement the talented 2005 squad that blitzed through the MLB regular season. Albert Pujols is a hitting machine and other fielders around him, including Junior Spivey, Jim Edmonds, and Larry Bigbie, will get better as pitchers work around Pujols for another season. The pitching staff gets another year better, as Chris Carpenter looks to repeat his outstanding season, Mark Mulder looks to chow down on more innings while staying as the 1A to Carpenters top spot, and Jason Isringhausen looks to shut down more batters in the ninth. The St. Louis Cardinals will improve slightly on their win total and should be the favorite for the NL crown in the post season.

2. Chicago Cubs- The Chicago Cubs have a decent shot of breaking out this year, if they get past the "if..." game. The last couple of years, Chicago Cubs fans have witnessed the promotion of Mark Prior's health and obfuscation over the health of many other players within the organization. The Chicago Cubs lineup is extremely strong when all the pieces are together. Derek Lee had a fantastic season in 2005 and should provide a solid performance at the least this year. Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones bring speed on the base paths and experience in big games that will be invaluable to the franchise. Young players Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno will step up to fill vital roles on the team and learn from some of the great players on this squad. The Chicago Cubs curse will still remain this year, but they will be a player during the regular season and a threat in the NL wild card race.