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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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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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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Yesterday, March 15th, was the Ides of March. I know this pretty much only because my girlfriend is taking a Cleopatra class this semester, and I saw a tweet from Brett Taylor at Bleacher Nation with the hashtag#HailSzczur. Later, Brett tweeted again saying that Chicago Cubs prospect Matt Szczur had been sent to minor league camp. (For those of you that don’t know, Szczur’s last name is pronounced “Caesar”.)

For fun, I took a look at the other men who have played the game with a name similar to the Roman general. Here they are:

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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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Remember, there’s only 4 days left to like Baseblog on Facebook, follow on Twitter or Tumblr and be entered to win ten free months of Sports Illustrated. Keep spreading the word and at the end of January we’ll find out who wins! In the meantime, the “Reliving SI Covers” mini-series will feature some of my favorite covers from the NL Central Division since the year 2000. Take a look at today’s installment.

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MLB.com released its top 10 first baseman prospects list today, which quickly became the top link on many NL Central team’s home pages. Before the massive turnover at first the past few years, the division was home to a few long-tenured household names: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman(former ‘Stro turned Cardinal), and Joey Votto (who is still with the Cincinnati Reds, in fact)

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