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Andre Ethier is a beast. That much we know. In a core outfield consisting of Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp, Ethier is the one which shines brightest. Each season he continues to get better at the batters’ box, and in what is his best season so far, he has many speaking of a triple crown bid.

At 28, Andre is at his peak and could pull a triple crown off. However, there has not been a triple crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Beyond that, the Dodgers are only 15-17, and one can never tell what may happen later in the season; a trade to get back int he race could end up shifting Ethier’s production.

It’s only the middle of May, but right now, Ethier has set the foundation for a possible triple crown. Can he get this rare honor and continue to produce at his rate? The following six points are meant to show not that he will win it, but to show that he has every opportunity to be able to win it if things work out.

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The Cleveland Indians’ bullpen, usually the source of anguish amongst fans when seasons are going right, is this year at least handling itself well. The Indians’ bullpen ERA up to now is 4.03, which is not amazing, but it is definitely an improvement from 4.66 last year, fourth worst in the league.

With Kerry Wood being activated earlier today, the bullpen is sure to knock the number under four as the closer role should now be solidified should Wood stay healthy. Of course, this means someone has to head to AAA Columbus. We have two pitchers with ERAs over seven, Rafael Perez and Joe Smith. Smith has already been moved back to Columbus, so the Indians demote..

Jensen Lewis? I don’t believe I saw that name above. Needless to say this confused me. Both Perez and Lewis are in the 26-28 age range, pitched 9-10 games, and in fact Lewis has the edge on innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins. So why was Lewis sent down while Perez remains?

Short answer: Perez is out of options and Lewis isn’t.

Longer answer: Who else would we demote if not Lewis? I tried to look at this through the eyes of the front office best I could. Lewis has nine walks on the season already, and his 7.4 walks per nine innings is the highest on the team. The only other bullpen member with iffy stats though is Jamey Wright, who at 35 wouldn’t be useful for any development down in AAA.

Despite the above, I’m not seeing the reasoning. Lewis has clearly shown he can dominate in the minors, so development doesn’t make sense, as in 12 minor league games in Columbus last year he had in ERA of 0 over 18.2 innings. Everyone else’s ERA is hovering in the 2.5-3 mark, so that wouldn’t be a justification, though Lewis’s ERA was under two before the game against Toronto.

So what point am I trying to get across? The person to be demoted should’ve been the one where demotion would have the most upside. Lewis is not that person. My theory on who to demote rides on, ironically, the man who considered himself responsible, and it’s not Valbuena.

I mean that it would be of benefit to have demoted Perez. Chris Perez.

At 24, C. Perez is still young and has room to grow and fix the control issues he seems to be having, given the six walks compared to five strikeouts this year. He threw 68 K’s to 27 walks in 57 innings last year, and unless there’s plans to bring Saul Rivera up (who’s actually doing very well as the Columbus Clippers’ closer) then Perez could get some save time and keep the mentality while Wood saves games for the Tribe.

Or, for that matter, demote Perez and then bring up Rivera and release Wright. Despite the rant, the hitting is what needs a swift kick in the backside, not the bullpen. Not this year.

The one time that part of the team works, right? Jensen was pitching well for us, and I just want the bullpen further solidified so that we do not need to use 28 or 29 pitchers. Not a third year of that, please…

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A month into the season, races are naturally tight throughout the league.

The Rays and Yankees, the Twins and Tigers, all the teams in the AL West, NL West, and NL East

In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are running neck and neck with…the St. Louis Cardinals.

As of May 5, the Cards are five games ahead of the Cubs and Reds, their nearest competition. Even with an extra-inning loss to the Phillies, they lose no ground in the standings, as the rest of their competition loses as well.

The Cardinals are the only team above .500, so is the NL Central playoff race already done?

Are the Cubs, Reds, and the rest of the NL out of luck with no opportunities to catch up?

It is easy to be cynical and say “oh, it’s only a month into the season. There’s 135 games left to play. Of course every team has a chance.” Naturally that’s true. But for the Cardinals, this is a moot point.

In spite of these 135 games, barring something serious like an Albert Pujols or Chris Carpenter injury, I think it’s safe to say that the Cards have this year wrapped up a little early.

For catching the Cards, the Pirates (Team 6.79 ERA) and Astros (.236 AVG, 73 Runs) are not catching up.

While the Brewers have the same hitting core, Randy Wolf taking over the ace spot left by Ben Sheets does not make a playoff team, so they are out as well. This leaves the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds have not been in this position of capturing a division title in some time (1995, though they made a valiant effort in 1999).

While the Reds do not have history, they do have youth, and that youth has been gaining valuable experience over the past couple years.

Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto, Jay Bruce, Homer Bailey, and others are no longer wide-eyed rookies, and the Reds have combined this with seasoned veterans such as Orlando Cabrera and Scott Rolen.

In spite of this, one thing is missing, and that is leadership.

What veteran Red has stepped up to take charge of this team? It seems to be Votto on the hitting side, as he is the only everyday player hitting over .300 and leads the team in hits and RBI. They have to improve on that .240 batting average, with three outfielders hitting under .200.

Despite all this, it’s not the hitters that is costing them wins.

The Reds pitching is not doing them any favors, with the only bright spots being Francisco Cordero and his nine saves, alongside rookie starter Mike Leake.

When you skip the minors and make Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo look ineffective, you’re doing well for yourself.

It hasn’t helped that the rest of the starting cast has been ineffective though, as all have ERAs over 5.00.

In fact, Arroyo’s performance last night put his ERA at 6.14. Let me rephrase, it lowered his ERA to 6.14.

If the older batch of players doesn’t turn things around, then this ship isn’t moving past .500.

The Cubs, however, are an interesting story, stat-wise.

They are second in batting average, home runs, and their starting pitchers have performed well. Despite their prowess they cannot stay over .500 either, and yet looking at the stats one would think they would be right up there with the Cardinals.

When Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez fall into the category of the team’s least effective starters, and Carlos Zambrano is the guy you move to the bullpen, where is the problem?

The problem with the Cubs is twofold, part one of which is embedded above.

Like the Reds, where is the leadership on the Cubs’ team?

If Lee, Ramirez, and Zambrano were performing like one would imagine them to (and I should note that despite their struggles, Lee and Ramirez remain the team’s No. Three and No. Five hitters), then the team’s fortunes would certainly improve.

A shakeup in the batting order would be of help, as you wouldn’t have to remove them and cause the team morale to plummet.

Yes, Gorzelanny, Dempster, Silva, and Wells have all been effective, but a six-man rotation would not have been the worst idea. Rotate the six around, use Marshall as a setup man, and have Marmol close.

At least, it wouldn’t be the worst idea seeing as how the bullpen is the clear weak side of the team.

Bullpens can cripple a good team, even if they aren’t terrible; they can just be okay. Moving Zambrano to the bullpen has helped shape it up, though one could say the same about any starting pitcher on the Cubs’ roster.

When Carlos Marmol has pitched in 11 games with a 0.71 ERA, but only has four saves, something is not ringing right, and what is not ringing right is that they have not had opportunities to close out.

The bullpen has six of the 14 losses, and until that leak is plugged, Marmol can’t get the saves he should be getting, and the Cubs can’t get the wins they should be getting.

So you’ve heard why the others won’t catch up, but the more pressing question is why the Cardinals will stay on top. Simply put, their pitching is just too good, enough so that the hitting can become lackluster for a series and they’ll be fine. All their losses have been close, so the pitchers have kept the team in games.

Can you name two members of the pitching roster who have ERAs over 4? I’ll even give you one, Kyle Lohse.

As dominant as their pitching may be, the hitting does have to pick up. If there was one way for another Central team to make a run, it would be for them to hope that the team’s hitting stays quiet. The team’s hitting statistics remain in the top half of the league, but the .263 average needs work.

Despite the flaws, they have one thing in the hitting department the others don’t: leadership production.

Albert Pujols continues his professional dominance this past month, with his .327 average and seven home runs. David Freese and Colby Rasmus have been great as well. Yes, the hitting squad has its weak points that need to step it up (Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker), but they at least have a consistent great performer in the league that they can learn from in Pujols.

So while there is always the chance that something happens to throw the course of the season an entirely different direction (after all, there are 135 games left for most teams), I’d be hard pressed to thing of a compelling argument as to why the Cardinals would not win the NL Central.

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