The AL Central is my favorite race in the league this year. The Tigers and Indians are both stacked this season and I think it will very close all year. I don’t expect either of these teams to have anymore than a 4 or 5 game lead. The rest of this division is pretty weak which will help these two powerhouses build up the wins. Let’s get to the breakdowns.
The Royals will again have a very tough year. They do seem to be getting better though. The rotation has a few good arms with Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and Zach Grienke. I wouldn’t expect too much from them yet. Even if the rotation is better this year the line-up will struggle to score runs again this year. David DeJesus needs to have a bounce back year and Alex Gordan needs to breakout and show people how good he can be. This team is young and should continue to improve but who knows, they are the Royals. I can’t understand why they would spend over 80 million on Gil Meche and Jose Guillen in the past two years; it’s a waste of money because they won’t help them win now.
The Twins should take a step back this season after losing Tori Hunter in free agency and trading Johan Santana to the Mets. They still have a decent line-up with Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer and now Delmon Young. Other than those 4 they don’t have much. Their rotation is also very weak with Scott Baker and Boof Bonser leading the way. The one thing to watch with this team is how Francisco Liriano bounces back from his Tommy John surgery. The bullpen is still solid with Joe Nathan as the closer but I don’t think they will have many leads late in games. Look out for Nathan possibly being dealt at the trading deadline.
The White Sox should have a better season this year but not good enough to contend. They have a good line-up that will definitely score some runs with Konerko, Dye and Thome in the middle of the order. Orlando Cabera and Nick Swisher were brought in this year to also help out and Joe Crede is back from injury and should also help out. The rotation is the scary part for this team. If Buehrle and Contreras can have years similar to 2005 this team could stay in the race but if not it will be a long summer for this team. The bullpen should be good this year with Jenks, Dotel and Linebrink closing out games. This team is the wild card in this division. If the rotation is good they can definitely contend and take some wins from the Indians and Tigers but if their rotation struggles again this year things will get ugly.
The Tigers are the sexy pick in this division and I am not going to give away my pick yet but this team is good. They made the big trade for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabera, they also brought in Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, which I believe is more important. These two guys add a lot of depth to a line-up that could score 1000 runs. The rotation should be plenty good enough to win a lot of games. Verlander will be great but after that there are some questions. Kenny Rogers and Bonderman must stay healthy and have better seasons then last year. I think Willis will be good enough to get wins but not be great by any means. The bullpen is the major question for this team. Can Zumaya and Rodney stay healthy all year? Can Todd Jones continue to find ways to get outs? And whom will they go to in the middle relief? If these questions are answered in a good way it will be tough to beat the Tigers.
But the Indians will be up for the task, no doubt. Cleveland still has a very good line-up led by Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore. They fill in their line-up with very nice role players, people like Ryan Garko and Casey Blake. The starting rotation should be good this year as well. Cy Young winner CC Sabathia is back and ready to prove he is one of the best pitchers around. Fausto Carmona also brings his 19 wins from last year and looks to possibly claim his first CY Young award this season. The Indians also have the best bullpen in the divisions (in my opinion) because of their two lights out set-up men. Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez will dominate the 7th and 8th inning. Joe Borowski is still a question mark as the closer but he usually finds ways to get the save, it may not always be pretty though.
Predictions and Standings-
Best Newcomer: Edgar Renteria. Yes Miguel Cabera will be a beast but Renteria adds great depth and great defense. He will be more important to this team.
Most Important: Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya. These two must stay healthy for the Tigers.
Best Manager: Eric Wedge. Have to give him credit for what he did last year.
Cy Young: Jeremy Bonderman. He will bounce back this year and be the best pitcher on the Tigers.
MVP: Curtis Granderson. This guy is crazy and he will continue to be great. He will set the table for the mashers in the middle of this order.
Standings-
- Tigers (95-67)
- Indians (94-68)
- White Sox (84-78)
- Royals (76-86)
- Twins (73-89)
The Tigers rotation will be good enough to get them over the top this year. The Indians will stay close all year and this will come down to the last weekend. The Indians will not win this division but they may win the wild card. It is going to be a crazy race all year in the AL. The White Sox will be good enough to keep things interesting into August but they will fall off late.
