Talk:2006 National League Preview/@comment-93324-20060313233136

It&quot;s not so much the Cubs improving as the rest of that division dropping off. Houston&quot;s demise has been imminent for several years -- they cheated fate last year, but the odds are stacked heavily against a repeat performance. St. Louis, same story: old and older. Lost a lot of pieces from the 2 100-win squads. So, by default, you&quot;ve got Chicago, who got unlucky with their pitching staff and injuries in 2005. Chicago didn&quot;t seem like such a long shot before 2004, did they? Well, they&quot;re back. The Pirates and Brewers, you could reverse their order if you like, they&quot;ll both be below-average and they won&quot;t contend; Pittsburgh doesn&quot;t have the offense for it, and Milwaukee doesn&quot;t have the staff.