The Battalion
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CENTRAL
Part 2 in a 7-part series
ST. LOUIS
CARDINALS
73-89; 4th in NL Central
here is a team to look out for in the Na-
11 1 League in 1998, it’s the Cardinals. Not
,jj, r are they returning a healthy lineup
|g ro . i led them to the 1996 playoffs, but St.
; made the move to put them on top
season when they acquired Mark
.lire[from the Oakland Athletics.
L , le big question surrounding St. Louis
1 bullpen. Jeff Brantley will be there to
| N the door on opposing teams, but there
ianc:
,1998 CARDINALS
lode AVG. H
:-Tom Pagnozzi .220 1
B-Mark McGuire* .253 2<
B-Delmo DeShields .295 11
B-John Mabry .284 5
iS-Royce Clayton .266 9
F-RonGant .229 ll
IF-Ray Lankford .295 3'
tF-Brian Jordan .234 0
JlUB-Gary Gaetti .251 11
C ,
IHPAIanBenes 9-9
.HP Donovan Osborn 3-7
1H P Todd Stottlemyre 12-9
IH 1HP Matt Morris 12-9
He .HP Kent Merker* 8-11
Idas | ; W ' L
' “—* i-i
5-2
Merker and Brantley with Reds
K '
McGuire in 51 games with Cardinals
ERA
2.89
4.93 l
3.88
3.19
3.92
SV
1HP Jeff Brantley* 1 -1 1
l . 1HP Jolin Frascatore 5-2 0
bat
nis Eckersley; IB Dmitri Young.
Projected Record: 90-72; 1 st in NL Central.
HOUSTONASTROS
84-78; 1st in
NL Central;
lost Divisional
Playoff to At
lanta Braves
The Astros won the NL Central last year by
being the only team with a winning record.
But with the surge of St. Louis and the addi
tions of the Cubs, Houston may find itself
having to have a better record this year to
make the playoffs, let alone win the division.
1998 ASTROS
AVG.
HR RB
SB
C-Brad Ausmus
.266
4 44
14
1 B-Jeff Bagwell
.286
43 135
31
2B-Craig Biggio
.309
22 81
47
3B-Bill Spiers
.320
4 48
10
SS-Tim Bogar
.249
4 30
4
LF-Moises Alou*
.292
23 115
9
CF-Richard Hidalgo*
.306
2 6
1
RF-Derek Bell
.276
15 71
15
SUB-Dave Clark*
.301
5 32
1
*Alou with Marlins; Hidalgo in 19 games with
Astros; Clark with Cubs
W-L
ERA
IP
RHP Shane Reynolds
9-10
4.23
181
LHP Mike Hampton
15-10
3.83
223
RHP Chris Holt
8-12
3.52
209.2
RHP Ramon Garcia
9-8
3.69
158.2
LHP John Halama*
13-3
2.58
171
W-L
SV
ERA
RHP Billy Wagner
7-8
23
2.85
RHP Jose Cabrera*
0-0
0
1.17
*Halama with AAA New Orleans; Cabrera in 12
games with Astros
much help to get from the division’s
"" starting rotation and Brantley.
ll antley, Brian Jordan, Tom Pagnozzi,
^ankford and Ron Gant are all healthy
M spring and if they stay that way, St.
i' s will challenge the Atlanta Braves for
|ig JL crown.
| iportant Additions: RHP Jeff Brantley;
Kent Merker.
a f ig Losses: RHP Andy Benes; RHP Den
The Astros added some pop to their al
ready powerful lineup, but lost some key
figures from the mound.
The closer’s role will be entrusted to Billy
Wagner, after sharing the honor with depart
ed John Hudek last season. The Astros’ ace,
Darryl Kyle, is also gone, leaving that hole for
Shane Reynolds or Mike Hampton to fill.
Houston lost a ton of outfield prospects
and veterans but did add Moises Alou to
fill the void.
In the end, Houston will be as good as
last season, but that won’t be good enough
to challenge for a playoff berth.
Important Additions: OF Moises Alou;
LHP Pete Schourek.
Big Losses: OF Luis Gonzalez; RHP John
Hudek; OF Bobby Abreu; OF Thomas
Howard; OF Chuckie Carr; OF James Mou-
ton; RHP Darryl Kyle.
Projected Record: 84-78; 2nd in NL Central.
CHICAGO
[iusl CUBS
68-94; 5th in NL Central
Talk about a team on the rebound.
Chicago has done the most retooling in the
division after a dismal 1997 campaign that
left them tied for the worst record in the Na
tional League.
The Cubs went out and acquired some
veteran players with World Series experi
ence in Jeff Blauser and Mickey Morandini
to fill the middle of the infield and be the
heart of the team.
Sammy Sosa will return as one of the
most feared hitters in the game and will join
Mark Grace and Henry Rodriguez to lead
the Cubs’ power attack.
The surprisingly effective rotation from
last year returns and the addition of Rod
Beck to the closer’s spot gives Chicago a sol
id pitching staff throughout.
The Cubs will have to cut down on the
strikeouts this season. Sosa tallied 174
Ks last season and Rodriguez fanned 149
times. Those two are too important to
the Cubs’ attack to whiff that many
times this season.
If the Cubs get the same pitching they
did last season, they will be in the hunt for
1998 CUBS
AVG.
HR RB
SB
C-Scott Servais
.260
6 45
0
1 B-Mark Grace
.319
13 78
2
2B-Mickey Morandini*
.295
1 39
16
3B-Kevin Orie
.275
8 44
2
SS-Jeff Blauser*
.308
17 70
5
LF-Henry Rodriguez*
.244
26 83
3
CF-Lance Johnson*
.303
4 15
5
RF-Sammy Sosa
.251
36 119 22
SUB-Sandy Martinez*
.224
4 29
7
*Morandini with Phillies; Blauser with
Braves; Rodriguez with Expos; Johnson in
39 games with Cubs; Martinez with AAA
Syracuse (Toronto)
W-L
ERA
IP
RHP Kevin Tapani
9-3
3.39
85
RHP Mark Clark*
6-1
2.86
63
RHP Steve Trachsel
8-12
4.51
201.1
RHP Jeremi Gonzalez
11-9
4.25
144
RHP Kevin Foster
10-7
4.61
146.1
W-L
SV
ERA
RHP Rod Beck*
7-4
37
3.47
RHP Terry Adams
2-9
18
4.62
*Clark in 9 games with Cubs; Beck with Giants
the playoffs come September. The hitting
will be there this season.
Important Additions: OF Henry Ro
driguez; RHP Rod Beck; SS Jeff Blauser; 2B
Mickey Morandini.
Big Losses: OF Doug Glanville; 2B
Ryne Sandberg.
Projected Record: 83-79; 3rd in NL Central.
MILWAUKEE
BREWERS
78-83; 3rd in AL Central
In the first National League season in
Milwaukee since the Braves skipped town
for Atlanta in 1965, no one really knows
what to expect from the Brewers. Manager
Phil Garner has experience coaching in the
NL, and some of Milwaukee’s key players
have spent time on the senior circuit, but
the Brewers still have a team full of DH-like
players such as John Jaha and Bob Hamelin.
Marquis Grissom was acquired from
Cleveland in a deal for pitcher Ben McDon
1998 BREWERS
AVG.
HR
RBI SB
C-Mike Matheny
.244
4
32
0
1 B-John Jaha
.247
11
26
1
2B-Fernando Vina
.275
4
28
8
3B-Jeff Cirillo
.288
10
82
4
SS-Jose Valetin
.253
17
58
19
LF-Dave Nilsson
.278
20
81
2
CF-Marquis Grissom*
.262
12
66
22
RF-Jeromy Burnitz
.281
27
85
20
SUB-Bob Hamelin*
.270
18
52
2
‘Grissom with Indians; Hamelin with Tigers
W-L
ERA
IP
RHP Cal Eldred
13-15
4.99
202
LHP Scott Karl
10-13
4.47
193.1
RHP Jose Mercedes
7-10
3.79
159
RHP Jeff Juden*
11-5
4.22
130
RHP Jeff D’Amico
9-7
4.71
135.2
W-L
SV
ERA
RHP Doug Jones
6-6
36
2.02
RHP Bob Wickman
7-6
1
2.73
‘Juden with Expos
ald (who has since been returned to the
Brewers this spring) to add some spunk to
an offense that failed to support the league’s
No. 4 pitching staff in one-run games, los
ing 32 of 56 in that situation.
The Brewers should be better off in the NL,
especially in a division where their record last
season would have had them in the hunt for
the NL Central crown. But St. Louis should
run away with the title leaving Milwaukee,
like the other members of baseball’s only six-
team division, fighting for the Wild Card spot.
Important Additions: RHP Ben McDon
ald; OF Marquis Grissom; RHP Jeff Juden.
Big Losses: RHP Mike Fetters; DH
Julio Franco; RHP Pete Harnisch; OF
Gerald Williams.
Projected Record: 81-81; 4th in NL Central.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES
79-83; 2nd In NL Central
What a season 1997
was for the Pirates. With
their tiny payroll and no
name players, they sur
prised everyone in base
ball, probably even
themselves. But if Pittsburgh is to repeat its
storybook season and prove to the league
that they were not a fluke, its young, bud
ding stars need to have All-Star years.
A1 Martin, Tony Womak, Jason Kendall
and Jose Guillen are the future of this fran
chise. Last season they turned some heads
and now they must carry a team with out
side playoff hopes.
The pitching staff has much the
same story. They will have grow up
quickly and give Pittsburgh’s offense a
chance to win games.
The improvements of the Cardinals and
Cubs hurt Pittsburgh, as does the addition
of another question-marked team to the
league’s most competitive division. If the Pi
rates truly want to win, they are going to
have pay a few players to join their squad
next season.
Important Addidons: 3B Dough Strange.
Big Losses: SS Kevin Elster; SS Shawon
Dunston; 3B Joe Randa.
Projected Record: 79-83; 5th in NL Central.
1998 PIRATES
AVG.
HR
RBI SB
C-Jason Kendall
.294
8
49
18
1 B-Kevin Young
.300
18
74
11
2B-Tony Womack
.278
6
50
60
3B-Doug Strange*
.257
12
47
0
SS-Lou Collier*
.135
0
3
1
LF-AI Martin
.291
13
59
23
CF-Turner Ward
.353
7
33
4
RF-Jose Guillen
.267
14
70
1
SUB-JermaineAllensworth .255
3
43
14
‘Strange with Expos; Collier in 18 games
with Pirates
W-L
ERA
IP
RHP Francisco Cordova 1j -8
3.63
178.2
RHP Jon Leiber
11-14
4.49
188.1
RHP Jason Schmidt
10-9
4.60
187.2
RHP Esteban Loaiza
11-11
4.13
196.1
RHP Jose Silva*
2-1
5.94
36.1
W-L
SV
ERA
RHP Rich Loiselle
1-5
29
3.10
LHP Ricardo Rincon
4-8
4
3.45
‘Silva in 11 games with Pirates
Please see Furtick on Page 8.
w
h
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