17 days until Opening Day

Well, first off, I went 14-2 yesterday in my bracket, which was better than Obama, so life is pretty good. I don’t want to get sidetracked by the Donte Stallworth debacle, so......
Now, on to baseball. AL Central division!
1. Detroit Tigers-Man, what happened to this team? Their pitching was insanely good a few years ago, but have been destroyed by injuries. Dontrelle Willis, Joel Zumaya, and Jeremy Bonderman all spent more time on the IR than on the team last year. It really screwed the team. The big question is how those three will recover this year? In fact, Zumaya is STILL on IR and still having shoulder problems, his prospects this year are pretty bleak. The Tigers did get Brandon Lyon, who is listed as their closer, had a good year last year with Arizona. However, I think the rest of the Tigers bullpen will not get them where they need to be. This coupled with the giant question mark that is Dontrelle Willis, spells much problems for the Tigers. Galaragga, Verlander, and Robertson are three pitchers that add good things to a starting rotation, but are not a quality 1-2-3.
On offense, I can’t believe Sheffield is still playing. He is 40 years old, and while he put up good numbers for a 40 year old last year, I think he’s one injury away from being completely done. He is also 1 home run shy of 500, so maybe he’s just holding out for that milestone. Miguel Cabrera and Ordonez are the foundation of this team’s offense and will produce this year. They both have power and good average. Also, Curtis Granderson is a fun player to watch, he can do it all. Those three guys can spark any offense, but the question is the rest of the infield. Polanco, Inge, and Everett need to step up and hit in order for this team to do anything. Polanco had an amazing first half of the season last year, but cooled off after the all-star break.
I believe this team will produce many runs, but their pitching, just like last year will really hurt them.
2. Chicago White Sox-With Buehrle, Danks, and Floyd as their 1-2-3 starters, this team has a lot of promise. Plus, their bullpen is solid, and probably the best in the division behind Minnesota. Gavin Floyd had a great year last year, and I think he will add to that this year. Their fourth and fifth starters will be trouble for this team all year. Right now, they have some rookie named Clayton Richard listed at #4, and Bartolo Colon at #5. Yeah, Colon......he......sucks. He has really fallen, and has become the journeyman who hopes to spark it big one last time. Look for Chicago to make a run this season and shop big for another pitcher at the trading deadline.
On offense, this team has managed to maintain the Dye, Thome, Pierzynski, Konerko lineup for a few years now with pretty good success. However, Thome is 38, and Konerko was pretty bad last year. I think this offense is going to falter this year. Carlos Quintin had an amazing year last year, with 36 homers and hit .288. He could be the catalyst for a big offensive year, but I honestly don’t think so. I do not see the White Sox being able to produce enough runs, and their pitching wont be able to keep them around til October.
3. Kansas City Royals-Where are George Brett and Bret Saberhagen? I know those guys are probably 50 now, but they are better players now than the current Royals. I was shocked to see this team was only 6 games under .500 last year. They do have a really good bullpen, anchored by Joakim Soria. He had an amazing year, so look for another team to try to grab him in the near future. As far as starting pitching, I think Zack Greinke is a very talented pitcher, and had an ERA of 3.47 last year. However, he didnt get any run support and wound up 13-10. I think that is a pretty good microcosm of the Royals. With Gil Meche as their "ace", and Greinke, this team has good arms. However, their hitting is pretty lousy. David DeJesus, Jose Guillen, and Coco Crisp is nothing that is going to produce runs or hits well enough to help this team. DeJesus did hit .307 last year, with no one protecting him in the lineup, he will not make a big impact. And to be short, their infield is filled with 4 guys who will not produce. The one ray of hope is Mike Aviles who hit .325 last year. However, no one on this team has any power and they will falter.
4. Minnesota Twins-I am scared of the Twins’. I think this team has the offensive tools to beat up any pitching staff in the league. Between Morneau, Mauer, the addition of Joe Crede at third, and Jason Kubel, this team has a lot of power. Mauer did only hit 9 homers last year, but I bet he will hit at least 25 this year. Also, Michael Cuddyer is a quality hitter. Plus they have Delmon Young, who has amazing talent, but his head is more screwed up than Paris Hilton’s. He might be Milton Bradley Jr. I think this team could put the hurt on a lot other teams, and could be playoff threat IF their pitching holds up. This team has the best bullpen in the division, Joe Nathan is quality, he had a 1.33 ERA last year. He is one of the top 5 closers in baseball. Jesse Crain is also a really good setup man. But their starters, oh boy. These guys, Baker and Blackburn are really young. I’ve seen them pitch last year, and at times they have some good stuff, but are very inconsistent. When you add that to the fact that Francisco Liriano has been ravaged by injuries, this staff is going to have a tough year. I think that this team and the Tigers have a lot in common, and will both be trouble for the rest of the AL central, but will not win it.
5. Cleveland Indians-YAY! ITS TRIBE TIME.....NOW!
Remember, it is an odd-numbered year, and the indians are good in the odd-numbered years (according to Ivan’s theory). While this is my home team, I will try to be objective. Honestly, the success of this team is entirely on the shoulders of Travis Hafner and Fausto Carmona. While they are not the best hitter and pitcher, respectively, on the team, they are the biggest question marks. They also have the ability to anchor this team, or send it off into a spinning mess. Hafner’s ability to get on base, hit the long ball, and walk (in order to make a pitcher throw a lot of pitches) can really hurt other teams. Carmona, as the #2 starter has the ability to really suppress teams on back-to-back days, following Lee. But, these guys can really shake the foundation of this team by failing to come through. They have a lot on their shoulders.
The Indians’ pickup of Mark DeRosa was really big, and I think their infield is the best in the division, but that isnt saying much. Martinez/Garko, cabrera, Peralta, and DeRosa has a lot of hitting and fielding talent. Cabrera’s consistency at the plate will be the biggest thing to watch, but I think he could end up being the leadoff hitter. As far as outfield, Grady Sizemore is great, he really can do it all. I would really like to see Garko play in left, to put some more power in the outfield, but I doubt that will happen. I truly believe that the indians defense is the best in the AL.
The acquisitions of Pavano and Wood are eerily similar, and scary. Both have the potential to revive their career, and both are one injury away from never being heard of again. I think Wood is a little more solid, and probably has better stuff right now, but I’m not holding my breath. I don’t know what to make of Pavano; at this point, if he’s still on the roster in June, I think it’s a victory. What the Tribe does with their 4th and 5th starters will be heavily scrutinized. They essentially need to pick two of: Aaron Laffey , Jeremy Sowers, and Anthony Reyes. I think right now it’s a toss-up between Laffey and Sowers for #5. Both have shown they can be really good and really bad. Overall I think Laffey is the better pitcher, but the next week or two will decide.
As far as the indians middle relievers, Jensen Lewis and Betancourt are about as consistent as the stock market these days. I think Rafeal Perez will have to step up in order for the indians to win close ball games. Also, the indians got former Mets pitcher Joe Smith, and get this, Jana (my fiancee) works with his dad. Smith’s dad said he doesnt know anyone in Cleveland, so when the season starts, he may be calling Jana and I to hang out and meet people. So, thats cool. BAM!
Okay okay, I got sidetracked. Overall, this division is not nearly as strong as the AL East. It has a lot of good players, but a lot of bad spots. It is going to be a tight race for first, and with the exception of KC, I think everyone has a good shot. I truly think that by September 1, all four teams will be within 3 or 4 games of each other. However ,when the dust settles, the ranking of the AL Central will be: 5. KC, 4. Detroit, 3. Chicago, 2. Minnesota, 1. Cleveland