While the season has technically started already, it was a game between the Mariners and A in Tokyo at 6:00am Eastern as Joe pointed out. I feel the old adage about a tree falling in the forest is apropos here. Central!Poor Cleveland. 2011 started out so good! LeBron gagged the NBA title away and the Indians raced out to an early division lead only to disappear much like their former poster boy, and then the Browns decided to try that football thing for another season. To be fair the early success of the Indians was obviously never going to last; they simply lacked the talent to keep it up all year, plus Grady Sizemore pulls a muscle every time someone does a Google search for him. New manager Manny Acta did the best he could with the ragtag group, and he need similar magic this year to keep the club interesting. They return most of the good from last year team, but pretty much all the bad comes back as well. Ace Justin Masterson is back as is Ubaldo Jimenez, but the real question is which Ubaldo Jimenez the Indians will get. He certainly isn in the good graces of one Joe Reilly right now after plunking former teammate Troy Tulowitzki in the elbow earlier this week.
Having no control means never having to say you're sorry.
In addition to Jimenez and Masterson, the Indians starting rotation was going to feature Fausto Carmona until it was discovered that 28yearold Fausto Carmona is actually 31yearold Roberto Hernandez when he was arrested for identity theft in his native Banana Dominican Republic in the offseason. He hopes to play this year. I wonder how much his old jerseys are going for right about now. The Indians brought in veteran Derek Lowe to replace Carmonandez and Josh Tomlin should continue his decent form from last year. They also return a strong bullpen from last year including closer Chris Perez. Pitching should lead the way for the Indians this year.
The lineup, however, is pretty uneven. The good should be catcher Carlos Santana, right fielder ShinSoo Choo, and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (OK, I might be the only one who calls him that). Stevan Ridley Black Jersey Michael Brantly will play center www.patriotsfootballproshop.com/22_stevan_ridley_jersey_authentic_black_limited_cheap.html and lead off while Sizemore attempts to not be hurt. He, Jason Kipnis, and Casey Kotchman should be serviceable. Travis Hafner is more or less like setting $13 million on fire at this point and Shelley Duncan might somehow be a regular player. There is a fair amount of potential in Cleveland, but not enough to compete in this division.
Not to be outdone by Cleveland in the bad luck department, the Twins 2011 was one of the most unfortunate seasons I can remember. What was supposed to be a formidable team in the AL was one of the worst. Stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were riddled with injuries all year, their usually solid pitching completely imploded, and closer Joe Nathan never returned to form after Tommy John surgery. This year the M M boys and Denard Span are healthy, but mainstays Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer are gone, making the lineup much less potent. Josh Willingham should do well in Cuddyer stead, but replacing Kubel production will be difficult. They regularly run out guys like Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Valencia, and Alexi Casilla. That not going to get it done.
Matt Capps did well as the closer when Nathan was removed last year and should do well again this year, but if the Twins are to make hay in the Central they need their starting pitching to rebound. Francisco Liriano is running out of chances to put together the kind of season of which he appears capable, though his Spring has been stellar. Jason Marquis should be a solid no. 2 and Carl Pavano has proven to be a good pickup for the rotation. They really need Glen Perkins, Nick Blackburn, or Brian Duensing to bounce back after very rocky campaigns last year if the Twins are to remain competitive. I expect their season to mirror that of the Indians.
Chicago White Sox
Where have all the aholes gone?
The White Sox used to boast a lineup of players that made my blood boil; now they just pretend they in the NBA and overpay their players. I not suggesting they should have seen Adam Dunn staggering .159 average coming, but get a load of this:
Kosuke Fukudome, $14.5 million
It entirely possible that these players rebound and earn their money this year, but that looks like a team that going to have a hard time upgrading their roster over the next few years. Their rotation features Peavy, Jon Danks, and Gavin Floyd and should keep them in many games this year. Their bullpen is suspect, however, and their offense will need to really get its act together if the White Sox want to sniff .500. Paul Konerko has been old reliable, but someday soon he going to be just plain old. Pierzynski still calls a good game, but his hitting is fading and at this point in his career Vlad Guerrero could steal a base on him. Gordon Beckham showed promise as a rookie, but really struggled last year as did Alex Rios, and Adam Dunn first season in Chicago was an incomparable disaster. I think they be little better than most are predicting, partly because Ozzie Guillen act was obviously getting old and he gone now. There also less pressure and the Sox can play loose and try to have some fun under new skipper Robin Ventura, but I don think they good enough to keep up with the Tigers or contend for a wild card spot at this point.
Kansas City Royals
Kansas City's official slogan.
If the Pirates are the NL team most deserving of your pity, the Kansas City Royals are certainly the AL equivalent. Every time the Royals produce some talent they have to trade it away because they can afford to pay players market value. Things might finally be getting interesting. The Royals are bursting with potential that needs to be realized fairly soon or else they be back at square one. First baseman Eric Hosmer played very well last year and has been tearing it up this Spring. Third baseman Mike Moustakas has even more upside, but he hasn been as quick to adjust to the game at the top level. Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Jeff Francouer are all coming off productive years and there also potential in Mitch Maier and Chris Getz. The Royals offense should be a lot of fun to watch this year and for several years to come.
There much concern regarding the pitching staff, though. Their opening day starter is Bruce Chen, a guy with a 6058 career record and 4.52 ERA. Luke Hochevar, Jonathan Sanchez, Luis Mendoza, and Danny Duffy are the other starters, and only Sanchez has a better ERA than Chen at 4.26. I dare say there will be many runs scored at Kaufman Stadium this year. They hover around .500 before falling off after the allstar break.
Central division champions for the first time ever last year, the Tigers are oddson favorites to repeat. They do have the best team on paper, but it won be easy to make a defense out of so many designated hitters. The Tigers only loss in the offseason was Victor Martinez tearing an ACL, but GM Dave Dombrowski countered that by bringing in Prince Fielder on a 9year deal. Adding Fielder to a lineup that already features Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young should mean an awful lot of long balls at Comerica Park this year. If catcher Alex Avila and shortstop Jhonny Peralta can be at or near their allstar form of a year ago the Tigers should have one of the best offenses in all of baseball. Their defense, however, will likely be an embarrassment. Austin Jackson is one of the best in the game at center field, but with Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch playing the corners in one of the largest outfields in baseball there will be a lot of fly balls dropping in that otherwise wouldn Cabrera is returning to third base so Fielder can remain at first, Peralta has very limited rang at short and who knows what will happen at second.
The starting rotation has the potential to be the best in the division if not the AL. We all familiar with Justin Verlander work and Doug Fister really played well after coming over from Seattle last year. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are full of talent, but have been inconsistent in their young careers thus far. Defense aside, the Tiger biggest weakness will likely be middle relief. Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde were spectacular at the back end, but guys like Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth need to find their form for the Tigers to be true World Series contenders. Hopefully Al Alburquerque can come close to his absurd 1.7 strikeouts per inning he was putting up before and elbow injury ended his year. And hopefully the Tigers can figure out how to fit his name on his jersey.
Vertically arched lettering, anyone?
I know the trade worked out, but it still burns me that Curtis Granderson is a Yankee now. I also remember the Tigers paying Gary Sheffild $13 million to play for the Mets, so I crossing my fingers that the enormous contract given to Fielder doesn blow up down the road. I suppose it worth it if it bring a pennant, though now I rambling. The bottom line is there isn another team in the Central that can match the Tigers talent. Anything but a division title will be disappointing.
