A look at the NL Central

Well...we don't really have any new Brewers news to discuss as of right now, so I thought we could look at what the other teams in the NL Central have been up to.

Chicago Cubs:

• The biggest news actually just happened today with the Cubbies. They signed the highly touted Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome today to a 4-year, $48M contract. It's tough for me to be worried about a player that I've never seen play before, but it sounds like this guy is for real. They may have overpaid a bit, but Jim Hendry got the guy he wanted.
• They resigned Kerry Wood to a one-year deal. This actually concerns me...Wood showed some good stuff out of the pen last year. He and Marmol are going to be tough at the end of games for the Cubs.

Houston Astros:

• The Astros acquired Miguel Tejada today. I think that classifies as a big time deal. Tejada will play SS for Houston. This would be a great deal in my eyes, except Houston gave up the farm to get Tejada. Baltimore received Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, ex-Brewer Dennis Sarfate, and Michael Constanzo. Houston gave up the farm for a player that is on the downswing in his career. I love it.
• They also signed Kaz Matsui for a three-year, $16.5M contract. How this seemed like a good idea to the Houston front-office, I'll never know. Matsui's numbers dropped dramatically last year when he played away from Coors Field in Colorado. The Astros can have him.
• Houston signed reliever Doug Brocail. This guy is solid coming out of the pen, and it was a very good pick-up for the Astros. I imagine the Brewers are not overly excited about facing him.

Cincinnati Reds:

• Obviously, the biggest news out of the Reds' camp is that they got closer Francisco Cordero away from the Brewers. I personally am happy this happened because the Brewers and Reds were offering way too much money and too many years for him. The life of a closer is too short for a 4-year contract. Still, this signing greatly improves the Cincinnati bullpen.
• The only other interesting news is the fact that Cincinnati is pushing really hard for Eric Bedard from the Baltimore Orioles. The Reds definitely have the farm system to get it done with Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, and Joey Votto, so I would definitely not count them out of the race. A one-two punch of Bedard and Harang would be scary....REALLY scary.

St. Louis Cardinals:

• The Rolen rumors out of St. Louis have been deafening, and I still expect him to be moved. He and LaRussa do not get along in the least bit. I just hope he does not come to the Brewers. We do not need his injury risk.
• Other than that, there is not too much news coming out of the Cardinals' camp. They signed Cesar Izturis and decided not to go after David Eckstein. Both of these players are terrible, however, so it's not that big of news.
• So Taguchi has been released. Again, he's not very good, so oh well.

Pittsburgh Pirates:

• The Pirates have been a hotbed for rumors this offseason. They are reportedly in very deep talks with the Padres for a multi-player deal that would send Jason Bay to the Padres. This would be a great move for the Padres more than the Pirates, unless they were able to get Chase Headley out of the deal. He has a chance to be very good.
• As you know, the Brewers traded two minor league pitchers for Salomon Torres from the Pirates. We discussed this earlier, however. Great deal for the BrewCrew.
• The Pirates have been in the news because they are trying to unload players, not acquire any high-profile players. Names like Matt Morris, Nate McLouth, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and even Ian Snell have been mentioned this offseason. I don't think the Pirates will be a force to be reckoned with this year.

I highly doubt the Cubs are done, and I fully expect them to pick up a couple players through trades this offseason. The Reds are a very interesting team this offseason, and I think they have a chance to be very good next year. It all depends on their pitching. If they are able to get Bedard or Haren, they'll have a very good shot at the Central this year. Nobody else is really doing anything for me though. The Tejada deal is not a winner in my eyes, and I think the Astros are heading downwards in the standings, not up.

I think Melvin will add a bat this offseason though still. The Brewers have by far been the most active team in the Central this Hot Stove season, and I don't know if that will change. We have some excess pitching to disperse around the league still. The Rolen talks will head up again though too...

What do you all think?