The Cincinnati Reds

The Reds finished the 2011 season with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses. They had a busy off season and are going to work hard for a division title.

The Reds have the 26 year old right handed pitcher Jonny Cueto. Cueto pitched 156 innings with an ERA of 2.31. Cueto has a lot of talent, but needs to work a little harder. The Reds also have 35 year old Bronson Arroyo.Arroyo is an innings eater. He has pitched 200 innings the past 7 seasons and has a 4.19 ERA over that time. An ERA that high is acceptable over so many innings. Mike Leake is 24 years old and pitched 167 innings with a 3.86 ERA in 2011. Finally The Reds traded for 24 year old right handed pitcher Matt Latos. Latos pitched 184 innings in  2010 and 194 innings in 2011. in 2010 he had a 2.92 and a 3.47 ERA in 2011. Since he is only 24 he will only get better with time. The Reds have a very stable and strong pitching rotation; the 5th spot may be taken by Homer Bailey or Andrew Brackman.

The 2010 MVP award was taken by Joey Votto. In 2011 Votto continued to be a huge offensive threat. In 161 games he hit 29 home runs, 40 doubles, 103 RBI's and had an on base percentage of .416. Votto also won the gold glove award in 2011, showing that he is improving in all aspects of his game. Jay Bruce is the other slugger in the lineup for The Reds. Bruce hit 32 home runs and had a .474 slugging percentage in 2011. Lets not forget about all star second baseman Brandon Phillips. He hit 18 home runs while having a .353 on base percentage and wining the gold glove award.

The Bullpen for The Reds has taken a revolutionary turn for the better. They signed free agent closer Ryan Madson. Madson has pitched wonderfully over the past 2 seasons, collecting a 2.45 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9. They also acquired Sean Marshal from The Cubs. Coincidentally the lefty has a 2.45 ERA over the past 2 seasons as well. Aroldis Chapman is the flamethrower in the bullpen for The Reds. Chapman throws 98-100 MPH fast balls consistently and a deadly slider that is 87 MPH. I do not want to get hit with that. Jose Arredondo threw 53 innings in 2011 with an ERA of 3.23 and Nick Masset threw 70 inngs with a 3.71 ERA in 2011. The Reds have a very strong bullpen.

I have the Reds set to win the NL Central in 2011. They will compete with their rivals The Cardinals for the division title. It will be interesting to see the conflict between the 2 rise throughout the 2011 season.

The San Diego Padres

In 2011 the Padres took a significant decline from 2010. they lost 19 more games and finished with only 71 wins. They started the 2011 season off without their biggest slugger, Adrian Gonzalez, because of a trade with The Red Sox.  As the 2011 season went on, they traded their strong set up man Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers. When the off season struck The Padres made some trades and lost their fantastic closer. 

The Padres traded their young and under rated starting pitcher Matt Latos to the Cincinnati Reds for Edison Volquez in a five player deal. Matt Latos is only 24 and has already proven what he can do at a big league level. In 2010 he posted a 2.92 ERA over 182 innings and in 2011 he posted a 3.47 ERA over 194 innings. They weren't getting much in return. Edison Volquez is 28 years old and over his 7 seasons in the big leagues he posted an ERA under 4.00 once, in 2008. Volquez has never pitched 200 innings and has repeatedly suffered injuries. Besides the other players The Padres got in this deal, they received the short end of the stick. 

During the off season the Padres also traded for the right fielder Carlos Quentin. Quentin has been playing about 130 games a year and if he were to play 162 games he would hit about 32 home runs. Remember these numbers are for 81 games in US Cellular Field. If Quentin has to play 81 games in Petco Park, his home run total might as well be cut in half. We saw this with Adrian Gonzalez's transition form Petco Park to Fenway Park. I think the Padres traded for a slow, poor defensive, doubles hitter. 

The bad off season for The Padres did not end there. They also lost their all star closer, Heath Bell. Bell signed a contract with the Miami Marlins. Over his career Heath Bell has a 127 ERA plus, which is rather good. He played five years with The Padres and now he's gone. With the loss of Mike Adams and Heath Bell, the back end of the bullpen is looking lonely for The Padres. The only knowledgeable names for The Padres that are still on the team are Luke Gregerson and maybe Orlando Hudson. 

2012 is not looking good for The Padres.