Tight Central
baseballmusings.com 7/22/2009 — While the NL East race becomes less dramatic, things are tightening up in the NL Central. The Astros take game two of their series against the Cardinals in a game filled with home runs. Both sides hit three long balls, with the Astros getting seven runs off theirs to the Cardinals five. That ...

NL Central Team Flaws
nlcentralshowdown.com 6/18/2009 — As of today, the National League Central is the closest division in all of baseball as all six teams

Brewers setting standard
jsonline.com 6/30/2009 — Fans and media in Pittsburgh have wanted to know why Milwaukee, a market two-thirds the size of Pittsburgh, has a team payroll of $80 million, while the Pirates' payroll is $28 million less, at $52 million.

Congrats To The 2009 NL Central Champs - YOUR Milwaukee Brewers
wisconsinsportsblogs.blogspot.com 7/1/2009 — Tear down that silly Wild Card pennant, here comes the big boy - the real deal. It's gonna happen. The Brewers WILL win the NL Central this year, and here's 5 reasons why. 1) The NL Central itself. Not exactly breaking news here, but this division ...

NL Central tight like nuts and bolts
i94sports.com 6/22/2009 — It’s Monday, June 28th and the National League Central is as close as any division in baseball. Only 2.5 games separate the first place St. Louis Cardinals from the third place Chicago Cubs, with the Milwaukee Brewers sandwiched in between. June has been a particularly ...

On the Pirates: Coonelly tackles Brewers comparison
post-gazette.com 6/28/2009 — Team president cites $50 million revenue gap in explaining payrolls

The State of the Central: Pittsburgh
sheffieldshouse.blogspot.com 7/6/2009 — The Halfway point of the 2009 season has come and gone and it's time to look around the National League's Central Division. Why do we care about the rest of the division? Simple, we have to play these teams and inter-division matchups will make or break the 2009 Brewers. So each day this week ...

Hampton Does it Again
hyzduhq.blogspot.com 7/7/2009 — After looking like the team wanted nothing to do with the heat in South Florida on Sunday, the Bucs rolled into the air conditioning of Houston, only to be met by Mike Hampton, Pirate Killer. Granted a lot of pitchers look like Pirate killers, but perhaps none has been more of a thorn than ...

SBN's NL Central Round Up: Part I
crawfishboxes.com 7/17/2009 — More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP Luckily the round table didn't devolve into something like this. Browse more photos »  ...

Breaking Down the NL Central…It’s a Two Horse Race
chicago.sportsthenandnow.com 8/7/2009 — Sure it's Felix Pie, but it gets the point across `Since the beginning of the season, the NL Central has been the tightest overall division race in all of baseball. Currently, four teams are within five games of first place, and as recently as June 28 th , all six teams were within that ...

Once again, Pirates waiting 'til next year — USATODAY.com MLB - Top Stories 7/1/2009
Tuesday's 3-0 victory against the Cubs gave the Pittsburgh Pirates their first winning June (14-13) since 1996.

Houston Astros' Bullpen Frustrates Mike 'Hard Luck' Hampton — Bleacher Report - MLB 7/1/2009
I imagine right now Houston Astros pitcher Mike Hampton is in his San Diego hotel room, vacantly staring out at the Pacific Ocean. No, he's not mourning the deaths of recent celebrities (such as that one who famously sang a song called "Pretty Young ...

Chicago Cubs: Next Move Please... — Bleacher Report - MLB 7/1/2009
Entering today the Chicago Cubs have a record of 36-38. It's below the likes of Texas (41-35) who lack their big bat in Josh Hamilton, have an injured closer in Frank Francisco, and an underachieving prospect in Chris Davis; Seattle (39-37) who ...

Source: Injury-plagued Reds to call up Sutton — FOXSports.com News for MLB 7/1/2009
The Cincinnati Reds have made plans to call up infielder Drew Sutton, perhaps as early as today, a major league source told FOXSports.com.

Royals C Olivo suspended for arguing (AP) — Yahoo! Sports - MLB News 7/1/2009
Kansas City catcher Miguel Olivo has been suspended for one game for an animated argument with an umpire in Pittsburgh last Saturday. Olivo chose to serve the suspension on Wednesday, which left the Royals without an experienced backup catcher for ...