Who will make the playoffs? NL Central | Get your MLB here!

Dudeman is going to Montreal, and you can check out his hiatus blog here.

He wasn't able to do the rest of the two divisions, so it is just me and SS doing the NL Central and NL West.

Look at these blog links for the other divisions.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central - TODAY

NL West - TOMARROW

Chicago Cubs

Dyhard's Take: The Cubs have a good pitchers. Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, and they just got a new guy at the trade deadline, that if he stays healthy, they will get a lot of good productivity and good outings from him. The Cubs have a lot of hitting. The thing that might hurt the Cubs though is that they aren't good on the road. They have the most runs scored in the NL, best BA, best OBP, best slugging %, best OPS, and they have the best BAA in the NL. They are a good team, and they should win this division, but if they don't, it will be the Brewers that will.

Percentage:85%

SS's Take: The Cubs seem like a lock for the NL Central title. They're incredible at Wrigley, they've got some great pitching with Harden and Zambrano, and they can hit. Not to mention they're 32-22 against the NL Central...the best record against the division in the division. They have very little in their way as they pursue another NL Central crown, and they've got the big old MO behind them to do it...

Percentage: 80%

Milwaukee Brewers

Dyhard's Take: The Brewers have a good team. They are going to be winning the Wild Card, if not the division. They have the 2nd best record in the National Leauge (Cubs with the best), and they have been pretty even on the road, and at home. The Brewers did wonders with getting CC Sabathia from the Indians, and he has helped the Brewers greatly. For the Brewers he has 4 complete games, 2 shutouts, 6-0, 52 strikeouts, 1.58 ERA in 7 starts as a Brewer. Ben Sheets has also been very good for the Brewres this year, and this is his contract year, so of course he is doing well. He will continue doing well, and that is going to help the Brewers out a lot. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Gabe Kapler, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, Ray Durham, Jason Kendall, Bill Hall, JJ Hardy, Mike Cameron, they all have been helpful in some way this year. Jason Kendall has been doing very well catching wise this year, and that is a great thing. He also has been hitting well this year(For him), even though he only has hit 1 HR. The Brewers are first in saves, even though they had Eric Gagne who struggled early on in the year. Now he has been doing better in his new role of NOT closing out ballgames. Saloman Torres has taken over the closer's role VERY nicely and he has been a GREAT help to the Brewers. He has 22 saves, 2.78 ERA, 40 SO's, and a 1.27 WHIP.

Percentage:80%

SS's Take: Well, the Brewers have done what they can to stay out of their annual second half slump, acquiring CC Sabathia, getting into fights, etc. but I don't think they've got what it takes to stay near the top of the NL Central. That 4 game sweep from Chicago at Miller Park was huge, as they were one of the best home teams in baseball and lost to one of the worst road teams in baseball. Since the All-Star Break, the Brewers are hitting just .258 with a .326 OBP. Amazingly, this is UP from their pre-ASG stats. Even though it hasn't as of yet, I see this haunting the Brew Crew down the stretch as even though you hit HRs, those aren't always going to come and you have to get hits to win...They aren't going to make the playoffs without help from the hot hitting Cards...

Percentage: 33.3333%

St. Louis Cardinals

Dyhard's Take: The Cardinals are a good team, and they have just recently got Chris Carpenter back, but I don't see them overtaking the Brewers or Cubs for the Wild Card position. July 21st-July 24th the Cardinals got swept by the Brewers. Just this weekend, the Cubs are tied 1-1 in the series. The Cardinals are 5-10 against the brewers this season, and they only have a two-game series against them left. The Cardinals have 6 games aqgainst the Cubs left and they are 4-4 against them. The Cardinals are going to probably stay in 3rd, unless injuries hurt the Cubs and Brewers.

Percentage:40%

SS's Take: The Cardinals are going to get a huge boost to a pitching staff with a 4.25 ERA when Adam Wainwright comes off of the DL. They've got a good starting staff with Lohse (ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!), Braden Looper, and Todd Wellemeyer, and the lineup is good, anchored by Pujols, Ludwick, and Molina...They've got a definite shot at the NL Central crown, and if not that, they have a very, very good chance to win the NL Wild Card. The Cardinals are one of the best road teams in baseball, something that will come into play down the stretch, especially if they can improve on their pedestrian 33-28 home record. The Cards will probably make up the two games on the Brewers at least...

Percentage: 50.1%

Cincinnati Reds

Dyhard's Take: Edison Volquez has been the key player for this team, and it seems like the only player that has actually done well. They traded away Ken Griffey Jr and that is going to hurt them, but they aren't going to make the playoffs, and they will probably even finish in last.

Percentage:0%

SS's Take: 18 games back, they're underachieving dramatically, especially with Dunn, Votto, Phillips, and Volquez...in any matter, they aren't going to make up this deficit unless the other five teams in the division get the plague...and even then it's still going to be tough for them to win games...

Percentage: 0.0000000000000000001%

Pittsburgh Pirates

Dyhard's Take: The Pirates aren't a good team, but hey, they won't finish in last! (Yay for GOAT and Big D!) They traded away Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, which is going to hurt them. They will finish in 5th!

Percentage:0%

SS's Take: See Cincinnati Reds, insert McLouth, Maholm, and Doumit, for Dunn, Votto, Phillips, and Volquez...change plague to bird flu...

Percentage: 0.0000000000000000002%

Houston Astros

Dyhard's Take: The Astros have Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Roy Oswalt leading their team. The other people are just filling in. They aren't going to do much with that. They are just going to dwell in the bottom of the division.

Percentage:1%

SS's Take: See Pirates and Reds, insert Berkman, El Caballo, and Oswalt, change bird flu to injuries...

Percentage:0.05%

That is it for the NL Central. Look for NL West prediction's tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!