NL Central: Rundown?After the excitement of the activity in the NL East, the Central division seems pretty humdrum by comparison. Sure, there's those glamorous Astros, the cheapo Reds, but this isn't a glitzy division. Oh sure, there's Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but how many playoff games were they in last year?So here goes with the relatively bland NL Central.Houston Astros
In: IF Adam Everett, IF Tripp Cromer, OF Roger Cedeno, P Greg Miller, P Octavio DotelOut: OF Carl Everett, OF Derek Bell, P Mike HamptonThe Astros were moderately busy in the offseason, primarily to unload Mike Hampton before he bailed to free agency next year. They were very successful in that regard, picking up the promising Dotel from the Mets, and managed to unload Derek Bell in exchange for Roger Cedeno to boot. The exchange of Everetts is relatively inconsequential. While losing Hampton is a blow, and Dotel is unlikely to pitch at his standard in 2000, the Astros got maximum value for a player with one year left on his contract. Overall, they should remain in strong contention for the NL Central crown.Cincinnati Reds
In: OF Dante Bichette, OF Kimera BarteeOut: OF Jeffrey Hammonds, P Stan BelindaBudget darlings of the NL last season, the Reds have done absolutely nothing to position themselves for a repeat next season. While Jim Bowden has pulled off some real trade coups recently, acquiring Dante Bichette from the Rockies is a blunder of huge proportions (much like Dante himself, in fact). It's appropriate to dismiss Rockies players moving away from Colorado, but recent successes like Andres Galarraga have bucked that trend. Don't expect Bichette to emulate him, though, as his numbers away from Denver are atrocious. He was nothing before he went there, and he'll be nothing when he leaves. Jeffrey Hammonds is quite likely to be much better.

Bowden's much ballyhooed attempt to acquire Ken Griffey Jr. has also ended in failure (so far), although it isn't clear how much the whole circus was just a publicity stunt to sell Reds season tickets. And if the reports are true that the deal fell through because the Reds refused to give up the vastly overrated Pokey Reese, then the Reds are in bigger trouble than we thought.

Basically, the Reds got real lucky in 1999, and I just don't see them repeating their success of last year.St. Louis Cardinals
In: C Mike Matheny, 1B Larry Sutton, 2B Fernando Vina, OF Dante Powell, P Pat Hentgen, P Paul Spoljaric P Darryl Kile, P Dave Veres, P Luther HackmanOut: C Alberto Castillo, IF Brent Butler, IF Luis Ordaz, P Lance Painter, P Matt DeWitt, P Manny Aybar, P Jose Jimenez, P Rick Croushore, P Juan AcevedoAs can be seen from the extensive list above, Walt Jocketty has been quite the busy bee so far, trading most of an infield and most of a pitching rotation. It's pretty difficult to tell what this team will be like with the wholesale changes, but I see the outlook as fairly positive. I think Hentgen and Kile will bounce back, and if they do they'll stabilize a pitching staff that hasn't been able to stay healthy for what seems like years.

Even with all that and Mark McGwire, it doesn't mean that the Cards are solid contenders next year.Milwaukee Brewers
In: C Henry Blanco, IF Jose Hernendez, P Curtis Leskanic, P Jamey Wright, P Jimmy Haynes, P Juan AcevedoOut: 2B Fernando Vina, 3B Jeff Cirillo, P Scott Karl, P Mike MyersNone of the Brewers' moves really amount to much, except for the loss of Jeff Cirillo, and possibly the acquisition of Jamey Wright, who may actually flourish away from Denver. What does this mean for the Brewers' prospects? Not much either way.Pittsburgh Pirates
Back: C Jason Kendall?In: OF Bruce Aven, OF Wil Cordero, PTNBLOut: OF Brant Brown, P Brad ClontzWell, most of the Pirates' pitching staff is on the block, but no takers so far. Acquiring Wil Cordero was hardly a stroke of genius, either from a PR standpoint or to add performance on the field. Getting Jason Kendall back will help, but what shape will he be in? It will likely be 2001 before he'll be back to anything like his old form, if he ever does come back all the way.

Is there anything here that's going to get the citizens of Pittsburgh excited about the upcoming season? I don't think so, unless it's that player to be named later from Arizona, and even then only in the unlikely event that it's Randy Johnson.Chicago Cubs
Back: P Kerry WoodIn: C Joe Girardi, 2B Eric Young, SS Ricky Gutierrez, OF Damon Buford, OF Brandon Pernell, P Ismael ValdesOut: IF Manny Alexander, P Terry Adams, P Chad Ricketts, P Brian Stephenson, P Dan SerafiniWith the return of Kerry Wood, hopefully almost as good as new, and the arrival of Ismael Valdes, the Cubs should be able to make a substantial improvement from last year. Adding Eric Young isn't a great move, but it is a small boost. So with another good year from Sammy Sosa, the Cubs should be able to fight their way back to mediocrity, a state the Cubs made home for the last century.

Overall prospects? Pencil the Astros in to win it again, propably challenged by the Cards, maybe the Reds and an outside chance of the Cubs. The Pirates and Brewers may not be horrible, but they'll probably end up propping up the division one way or another.

about the author
Dave Paisley isn't one to complain, but some of his ballpark nacho cheese samples are still glowing in the dark six months later. Give him a big "duh" at drdjp@strikethree.com.