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National League Central By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 03/29/02
Manager: Tony La Russa (seventh season) 2001 finish: 93-69, (wild card)  Schedule | Team directory
Manager: Jimy Williams (first season) 2001 finish: 93-69, first Schedule | Team directory
Manager: Don Baylor (third season) 2001 finish:88-74, third Schedule | Team directory
Manager: Bob Boone (second season) 2001 finish: 66-96, fifth Schedule | Team directory
Manager: Llyod McClendon (second season) 2001 finish: 62-100, sixth Schedule | Team directory
Manager: Davey Lopes (third season) 2001 finish: 68-94, fourth Schedule | Team directory
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No one can replace Mark McGwire, but it is comforting to La Russa that he can write Martinez's name in McGwire's spot in the lineup. Martinez comes with the ultimate credential - a fistful of World Series rings. He brings a winning presence to a team that has a nice blend of power and speed to support a starting rotation starring 22-game winner Morris, Kile, and a kid, Smith, who threw a no-hitter last season. Isringhausen, signed from Oakland, gives La Russa the closer he lacked last season, and Drew could have a breakout season rivaling that of last year's Rookie of the Year, Pujols.
Williams no longer has Pedro Martinez at his call, but he never had the depth and youth of the Houston staff, one of the best in baseball. Miller, Oswalt, and Hernandez, combined with veterans Reynolds and Mlicki, give the club a nice combination of raw youth and experience, with lefty Wagner throwing lights out again as closer. Williams is gambling with an all-rookie left side with Everett and Ensberg, and has reshuffled the outfield with Ward inheriting a job from Moises Alou, but if the kids catch the ball in the infield, the killer B's should be flying high.
By adding Alou to a middle-of-the-order mix that already included Sosa and McGriff, the Cubs appeared primed to challenge the Cardinals and Astros for the division title. But a torn shoulder muscle sustained by closer Tom Gordon in camp forced to Cubs to trade for Alfonseca. Cubs strengthened themselves at short by signing Toronto's Gonzalez, and the rotation is more than solid with Lieber and Wood, with phenom Mark Prior a possible summer call-up. Gordon and injured Mueller could be ready by May.
Griffey spent part of his spring listening to published remarks by ex-teammates who criticized the preferential treatment Junior received in Cincinnati, but after talking with Dmitri Young and Pokey Reese refuted any notion that they thought he was a bad teammate. What is undeniable is that Griffey has not had the desired effect on a franchise that won 96 games two years ago and has been spiraling downward since, a process accelerated by the team's budget-slashing tactics. Griffey is healthy again, but with a pitching staff dependent on reclamation projects like Hamilton and Haynes, it could be another long season on the riverfront.
David Littlefield the 41-year-old GM with the master's degree from UMass, will have his hands full in reviving the Pirates, 100-game losers last season. He's saddled with a couple of big salaries, one belonging to OF Derek Bell, who turned off the town by announcing he was about to embark on ``Operation Shutdown'' because he wasn't guaranteed a job. Littlefield's task would be made easier by a full recovery from Kris Benson, who missed last season after elbow reconstruction surgery and is just starting to throw again. Another UMass man, Villone, is the surprise Opening Day starter.
The Brewers hit 209 home runs in their first season in new Miller Park, but they'll be remembered more as the game's all-time whiff kings, striking out a record 1,399 times. That's one reason GM Dean Taylor shipped Burnitz to the Mets for some needed pitching in Rusch. Lopes also has a man after his own heart in Young, though why a team in rebuilding mode would sign a soon-to-be 35-year-old leadoff man is puzzling. Injuries to Curtis Leskanic and Chad Fox have left the Brew Crew scrambling for a closer; the job may fall to DeJean by default.