After flying high for most of the spring, the Cardinals have lost their grip on first place in the National League Central. Since winning a series in Houston a week ago, the Cards have been outscored 42-16 and lost six games in a row. Meanwhile, the St. Louis disabled list is overflowing, and the rival Cubs, among others, are positioned to offer Albert Pujols approximately eleventy billion dollars this winter.

Closing out a May weekend by winning a series with the Nationals isn’t exactly cause for celebration. But for the Orioles, who might charitably have been described as “reeling” as recently as Friday, winning the interleague Beltway Series was a positive end to a wild week.

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Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews has seen more than his share of foul balls. Now in his 43rd season, the Hall of Fame play-by-play man with a dry wit regularly employs a succinct description of a ball hit too hard for a fan to try to catch barehanded. “Bad trajectory,” Matthews occasionally observes, in a tone of voice that suggests you couldn’t pay him to make a play on the foul ball.

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Among its many charms, baseball can serve as a refuge from the real world. Sadly, the real world occasionally intervenes.

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The start of a new season is an exciting time for fans, players and front offices alike, a chance to shake off the cold weather, move on from 2010 and start fresh. No team welcomed Opening Day more than the Mets, who endured a tumultuous offseason featuring everything from a new general manager to questions about ownership’s involvement with the Bernard Madoff financial fraud case.

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With Opening Day about a week away, contract negotiations for 2011 are all but complete. There are exceptions, of course. There’s the occasional extension—the long-rumored Adrian Gonzalez deal comes to mind—and the handful of free agents still looking for work (Doug Davis, anyone?).

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About a third of the teams in baseball project to cut payroll for 2011, and three of those reside in the American League Central. The Tigers, Indians, and Royals will scale back to the tune of nearly $80 million combined this season, making the division home to three of the games’ six biggest cost-cutters. But the austerity measures do not extend to the Twins and White Sox, which each figure to make eight-figure payroll increases. Let’s check out the projected 2011 payrolls for the AL Central.

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Since 2006, only one club in the National League Central has managed to win more than 91 games in a season. The Reds turned the trick in 2010 and won the division title, despite being outspent by four of their other five Central competitors. Spending will remain flat in Cincinnati this season, but the division’s financial landscape is shifting. Let’s break down the projected 2011 payrolls for the NL Central.

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The Rays, Blue Jays, and Orioles are not usually part of the conversation when it comes to the financial arms race that is the American League East. Though none of the three will outspend the Yankees or Red Sox any time soon, Baltimore is the only team in the division that figures to start 2011 with a payroll higher than on Opening Day 2010. As the financial details begin to come into focus, let’s check out the projected 2011 payrolls for the AL East.

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Spending is up in the National League East, where all five clubs should rank higher on the list of Opening Day payrolls than they did at this time a year ago. Advancing up the list are the four-time defending champion Phillies, whose payroll jumps from fourth in baseball to second in 2011. They’re followed by the Mets (sixth to fifth), Braves (17th to 14th) and Marlins (28th to 24th). Even the Nationals, who project to reduce payroll slightly, move up from 24th in 2010 to 23rd this year. With the usual disclaimer that the numbers are subject to change, let’s break down the projected 2011 payrolls for the NL East.

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The American League West provided one of baseball’s feel-good financial stories of 2010, as the low-budget Rangers dethroned the big-spending Angels, the three-time defending division champions. With their ownership situation now stabilized, the Rangers’ 2011 payroll should approach the $90 million range, where the Mariners generally reside.

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The National League West is a mixed bag. Each team in the division has won 90 games in a season at least once since 2007. In fact, the wild West has boasted two 90-win teams in three of the last four years. The one team to win 90 twice in that time, Colorado, has never won a division title.

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