While an NL Central player has finally dethroned the St. Louis Cardinals on their monopoly of Emma Awards, this week’s recipient also dons a red uniform every day at work. Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds has claimed the fourth Emma Award.

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I’ve got to be honest, the first game I attended of the 2012 regular season was probably the least attention I’ve ever paid when visiting a big league ballpark. It was more about spending some time with my friends (six of them, to be precise) and taking in the feeling of being surrounded by baseball fans once again. That’s probably why I’ve waited until Friday morning to put out the recap – I don’t remember a whole lot of the game itself.

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Remember these? Let’s take a look at what’s been going on in the NL Central. Now presenting your first Rival Report in a few weeks. Let’s talk to it:

• Former Chicago Cubs reliever Sean Marshall is getting the opportunity to close ballgames, and according to Cincinnati Reds reporter Mark Sheldon, he’s getting the job done. The lefty has struck out 10 and collected 4 saves so far in 2012.

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The St. Louis Cardinals stand atop the NL Central following the second full week. They have the only winning record at 6-3, followed by the .500 ball Houston Astros (4-4). Two of those wins are courtesy of Baseblog’s second Emma Award recipient.

Lance Lynn made two starts last week and is 2-0 on the season with a 1.50 earned run average. The right-hander tosses 6 and 2/3 to beat the Milwaukee Brewers on the 8th, and 5 and 1/3 yesterday to beat the Chicago Cubs. During his 12 innings last week, he’s only given up 2 runs and struck out 13. His K’s lead the division amongst pitchers last week.

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Who is on first in the NL Central Division? It used to be a long-time pack of superstars, but Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Derrek Lee have moved on. Joey Votto remains and Lance Berkman has switched squads, but this group of players lacks the absolute stud-ness of its former glory. It’s hard to replace Prince and Prince Albert.

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Note: In the mini-series “Position Prerankings,” I’ll go position-by-position for each team in the NL Central and say which projected starter I’d rather have on my team this season, along with a runner up and honorable mention. It should be noted that we’re only talking this year’s production, so age, contract status, likeability of the player as a person, etc is not counted.

My number one pick for third basemen in the NL Central has been in the division for his entire career. In 2012, it’ll be his third team and 15th year in the division. The bottom of the barrel is pretty even, with half of these guys looking for a bounce-back from dismal 2011 seasons.

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Note: In the mini-series “Position Prerankings,” I’ll go position-by-position for each team in the NL Central and say which projected starter I’d rather have on my team this season, along with a runner up and honorable mention. It should be noted that we’re only talking this year’s production, so age, contract status, likeability of the player as a person, etc is not counted.

Center field is another position within the division like catcher where there’s a clear number one who just signed a big contract extension. Behind him is a veteran possibly on his way out of the division, a fiery piece of a platoon in Milwaukee, and a few other outfielders.

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Note: In the mini-series “Position Prerankings,” I’ll go position-by-position for each team in the NL Central and say which projected starter I’d rather have on my team this season, along with a runner up and honorable mention. It should be noted that we’re only talking this year’s production, so age, contract status, likeability of the player as a person, etc is not counted.

The division’s catching pool has a clear number one with a drop off from there. Don’t let that fool you though – some young backstops wait in the wings to become a force in the division in the coming years.

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With 27 days until Opening Day, it’s about time to start making predictions, projections, and rankings. In the mini-series “Position Prerankings,” I’ll go position-by-position for each team in the NL Central and say which projected starter I’d rather have on my team this season, along with a runner up and honorable mention. It should be noted that we’re only talking this year’s production, so age, contract status, likeability of the player as a person, etc is not counted.

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Similarly to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Houston Astros unfortunately have not appeared on enough SI covers since 2000 to make a top five list. Just barely making the cut is this issue from 1998 featuring Randy Johnson. Honestly, I didn’t even know that Johnson played for the Astros. He started 11 games and won 10 of them with a 1.28 ERA. You learn something new every day!

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