NL Central		W	L	PCT	GB	STRK	HOME	AWAY	DIV
1. Chicago		60	42	.588	--	Won 2	38-12	22-30	23-19
2. Milwaukee		59	43	.578	1	Won 8	31-17	28-26	27-16

 


The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series in nearly a century. And when I say nearly a century, I mean that as I write this, it has been 99 years, 9 months and 11 days since they clinched their last championship.

The Milwaukee Brewers have NEVER won a World Series. They've only even BEEN to the World Series once in their brief history, and that was way back in 1982.

But this year might change all of that. The Cubs and Brewers have not only been among the best teams in the league all season, they've kept improving. Each club's ownership has shown a commitment to winning THIS year, and it has shown on the field.

On July 6, the Brewers traded away Matt LaPorta and 3 other prospects for former Indians ace CC Sabathia. At the time, he was 6-8, with a 3.83 ERA, 123 K's and 52 walks in 122 1/3 innings. The Brewers were a respectable 49-39, trailing the Cubs by 3.5 games in the NL Central. At the time, a few people questioned the trade, saying that Sabathia was not the same pitcher as he was a year before, when he won the 2007 AL Cy Young award. Since coming to the Brewers, he has paid off huge dividends for Milwaukee, while proving all of his doubters wrong.

In 4 starts for the Brewers, Sabathia has thrown 33 innings, 3 complete games, given up only 5 earned runs on only 20 hits, walked only 8, and struck out 31 batters. Most importantly, he is 4-0, and the Brewers are an impressive 10-4 overall since his arrival. Not only has he pitched well, he has seemed to inspire the rest of the team. The Brewers have the lowest team ERA, the most strikeouts, have given up the least earned runs, and most importantly the most wins among all NL teams for the month of July. The pre-CC Brewers were no higher than 6th in any of those categories.

The Cubs made a quite similar deal. Less than 48 hours after the Brewers finalized the Sabathia trade, the Cubs sent Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson to the Athletics in exchange for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin. While Harden has yet to receive his first win as a Cub, he has pitched just as effectively, giving up only 1 run over 12+ innings in 2 appearances. Harden, along with Cubs long time ace Carlos Zambrano, will be a huge part of the Cubs' success this season.

The Cubs sent 7 players to the All Star game this season, tied with the Red Sox for best in the MLB. Catcher Geovany Soto has been great, looking like a lock for the NL Rookie of the Year, playing well on both offense and defense. He has 56 RBI's, and has thrown out 18 would-be base thieves, resulting in the 8th best percentage in the MLB. Even though star outfielder Alfonso Soriano missed 48 games, the Cubs are 1st in the NL in runs, 2nd in hits, 4th in HR's, and 1st in batting average. Much like the Brewers, the Cubs' rotation is built for success in the postseason, with Zamrano and Harden, as well as Ryan Dempster, who have all pitched outstanding so far this season.

So who will finish atop the NL Central? Only time will tell, but I think everyone (aside from Cardinals fans, perhaps) will be looking at this race with a lot of anticipation. Both teams are fun to watch, and have a lot of great young talent.

My prediction: Brewers, by 2 games, and the Cubs take the Wild Card. Your thoughts?