Last year at this time we were calling the NL Central, the Comedy Central, but things have changed. Entering play on Tuesday night the three best records in the National League belong to the division's top three teams - Chicago (53-36), St. Louis (50-40), and Milwaukee (49-40).

The Cubs, who squeaked to a division title in last year's mediocre race, have won 50 games before July 1 for the first time since 1969, yet they find themselves in

"If we played this well last year, we probably would have clinched already," first baseman Derrek Lee told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It's funny how it goes. ... It's that old adage, we're not running the race looking over our shoulders. But at the same time, we know St. Louis and Milwaukee aren't going anywhere."

Here's how the top three NL Central teams compare:

TEAM STATISTICS (National League rank in parentheses. Stats before Monday's game)
BA SLG ERA Bullpen ERA

Cubs .283 (1) .444 (2) 3.86 (3) 3.65 (5)
Brewers .255 (12) .438 (3) 4.10 (6) 4.04 (10)
Cardinals .272 (2) .423 (5) 4.16 (8) 4.22 (13)


RECORDS, GAMES REMAINING
vs. Cubs vs. Brewers vs. Cardinals
Rec. GR* (Hm-Rd) Rec. GR* (Hm-Rd) Rec. GR* (Hm-Rd)

Cubs-- 2-4 10 (3-7) 3-3 9 (6-3)
Brewers 4-2 10 (7-3)-- 5-4 6 (0-6)
Cardinals 3-3 9 (3-6) 4-5 6 (6-0)


RECORDS, GAMES REMAINING OVERALL
Home (GR*) Road (GR*) vs. NL Central (GR*)

Cubs 33-10 (38) 20-26 (35) 20-16 (46)
Brewers 28-14 (39) 21-26 (34) 22-14 (43)
Cardinals 26-21 (34) 24-19 (38) 23-19 (35)

* GR — games remaining

MLB nl central, cubs, cardinals, brewers