The Wide Open National League Central.

It is June, virtually anyone is still in it at this point. Although the better teams are beginning to separate themselves, and the jockeying for position has begun. Many divisions are still wide open, some have it narrowed down to two-three team races.  This is where things start to get fun.  The month of July is quite possibly the month where seasons are made, and where seasons are broken.  This is the last chance for the teams that are not supposed to be in it, to decide whether they think they can remain in the race. Also where the first place teams get to draft the best players from the "sellers".  July is the month where everything can fall apart, and where everything can come together.  The National League Central has almost turned over, almost.  For many years the Cubs, Astros, and St. Louis reigned supreme.  The Pirates,Reds, and Brewers traded years as being cellar dwellers.  This year, Houston is 16 games back in June, the Cubs look like they need Fielder or Pujols desperately. St. Louis has stayed in it, but don't strike that same fear this season.  Pujols is sidelined for weeks, and for any team to lose the league's best hitter is devastating.  Cincinnati and Milwaukee have played well and both possess talented offenses, and the Pirates have come out of nowhere and find themselves in the middle of things.  The Reds currently sit 3.5 games back at fourth place. They look up to the Pirates who are three out, and the Cardinals who are two out, while Milwaukee is leading it all. This division will come down to a number of factors. Can the Red's get better pitching? They score tons of runs, but only sit one game over .500. Landing a pitcher would be big for this team, but the pitching market is not expected to be strong.  Can the Pirates actually keep this up?  They won't be big buyers regardless of where they are come July 31.  They have many players from the opening day roster on the DL, maybe that will give their anemic offense a jolt.  The Cardinals just need to sustain without Albert.  Berkman and Holliday have hit well, and are a formidable lineup without Pujols.  But at the end of the day, he is the heart and soul of that franchise. Its hard to imagine for the Cardinals to make a run without him in the lineup.  This has to be the Brewers' season.   It is all but certain that this is Prince Fielder's last season in Wisconsin.  They are receiving good pitching from Gallardo and Greinke, and Ryan Braun has turned into a superstar.  They can stand to add a bat.   What it all means, is that the Central division can be won by 4 teams at this point.  Each team has its strengths, and weaknesses.  Injuries and Trades are going to be intricate parts as to how this division will shape up.  Jose Reyes, Hunter Pence, and Carlos Beltran. All these names have been thrown out, along with many others.  But a lot can happen as we still have three months to play, but July might be the most important one.