Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols are gone, but their former teams are still leading the league in hitting.
The first full week of baseball in 2012 has come to a conclusion, so lets take a look around the National League Central Division and see how teams are faring.
1st Place-St.Louis Cardinals (5-2)
Even with the departures of first baseman Albert Pujols, Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, the Cards are not missing a beat. After an improbable run to a World Series Championship in 2011, the Cardinals are sitting on top of the Central Division with an extremely potent offense.
The Cardinals lead the National League in runs scored (37), home runs (12) and team batting average (.301). World Series hero David Freese and newcomer Carlos Beltran are leading the charge for this high-powered offense with three home runs each.
Chris Carpenter is still out for an undetermined amount of time with a nerve condition that is causing discomfort and weakness in his shoulder. Adam Wainwright is back for 2012 after sitting out 2011 with Tommy John Surgery and is still getting his arm into game shape.
Kyle Lohse has been the unsung hero for this Cardinals staff the past two seasons. Lohse has pitched two games this season, totaling 13.1 innings pitched and a 1.35 ERA.
2nd Place-Milwaukee Brewers (4-2)
Prince Fielder is gone, but that has not stopped the Brew Crew from scoring. The Brewers are second in runs scored (30) and home runs (10) only to the aforementioned St. Louis Cardinals. So the two best teams lose their two best hitters and they still lead the league in home runs and runs scored. Sigh.
Corey Hart is leading the way for the Brewers with three home runs to go along with a .429 average.
Milwaukee is second to last in the league in team ERA with a 4.67 mark.
3rd Place Tied-Cincinnati Reds (3-3)
Newcomer Matt Latos anchors a veteran starting staff that includes Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey. This Reds pitching staff will be an underrated one all season.
Joey Votto was off to a slow start through the teams first five games, but a 4-5 performance against the Cardinals raised his average to .333.
The Reds have signed second baseman Brandon Phillips to a 6 year contract.
3rd Place Tied-Houston Astros (3-3)
The lowly Astros are riding Carlos Lee’s bat early in the season. Lee, who is notoriously a slow starter is batting .364 with one home run and seven rbi.
The Astros have committed eight errors in 2012, third worst in the National League.
4th Place-Pittsburgh Pirates (2-3)
When will the opposing pitching relent? The Pirates have faced one Cy Young winner after another over the first five games. The Pirates catch a break tonight in Los Angeles, as they will face former Brewer Chris Capuano.
The Pirates lead the National League in Team ERA (2.05) and look to get starter Charlie Morton back this weekend in San Francisco.
Last Place-Chicago Cubs (1-5)
The Cubs should get use to being in the cellar for the 2012 season.
Coming into the season, the back-end of the bullpen was thought to be a strong point for the Cubs. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood have been disappointing thus far, both with ERA’s above 11.00 The Cubs lead the league in blown saves with two.
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