Steve’s MLB Preview: AL Central

The is by far the most talked about division on this site, so let’s talk about it some more, shall we? Last year, the Indians finally lived up to their potential and took the division after being down for a few years while the White Sox and Twins took a step back. This year, I think it will be more of the same..

1. Cleveland Indians – Team Upside finally broke through in 2007, winning the division title away from defending AL Champs, the Tigers (even though everyone forgets the Twins won the division in 2006). This year’s Indians team is largely unchanged from the team that won 96 games last year, and I think they have enough youthful goodness to hold off Detroit again and win the Central, but don’t be completely surprised if this year’s team is more like 2006, where they had a losing record, since really no one on their team has proven to be a consistent performer.

2. Detroit Tigers – 5 years ago, the Tigers almost broke the record for worst most losses ever in a season. After 2 more dismal years, they turned in around in 2006 and won the pennant and nearly made a return trip to the playoffs again last year. I think they will make it back this year, again snatching up the Wild Card. A lot has been made about the acquisition of basically the only talent left on the Florida Marlins in Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, but I’m not sold on them. Cabrera is a good young talent, but is slowly eating himself out of the major leagues (just check out the picture of him from the old Is It Sports? Site from 2005!!), and we’ll see how he handles American League pitching. Willis has been pretty inconsistent his whole career, and I don’t expect him to have an easy time with American League hitters. I think the Tigers look a lot better than the Indians on paper, but they are more open to having some of their old players breaking down. Oh, and this just in….Curtis Granderson broke his hand, so now their starting CF could be Brandon Inge. Watch out! Oh, and definitely don’t chop firewood around him.

3. Minnesota Twins – Unlike Ryan, I don’t think this is a 4 team race. It’s a 2 team race. I think both the Twins and White Sox are a step below the teams above, but the Twins are going to be a little better than the Sox this year, and from looking at his picks, we’re being very polite to each other this year. The Twinkies decided to fill holes with former Devil Rays and Astros, picking up Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, Mike Lamb, and Adam Everett. As usual for the Twins to me, that registers pretty high on the “meh” scale. I think the pitching situation could be a mess, relying on Livan Hernandez and a supposedly healthy Liriano. I’m sure the Twins also have some slap hitters in their system that are good at hitting ground balls past confused White Sox infielders that will roll on their plastic grass to their baggy, so that’s why the edge goes to the Twins.

4. Chicago White Sox – Don’t be fooled, the White Sox are going to suck. They could even finish in last place this year. Injuries hurt this team a lot last year, and not only did it ruin the season for them, it ruined their future because it proved that most of their “prospects” are horrendous and untradable. Apparently, they are planning to start Jerry Owens in CF and Nick Swisher in LF instead of Swisher in CF and Josh Fields (who is capable of hitting 40 HR, but got sent down) in LF and Jerry Owens in CF for the Birmingham Barons. Hitting 2nd will be Orlando Cabrera, which is another scary thought. Like I said in my Angels preview, something better be seriously wrong with Garland. Second base looked like it could have been filled by an actually impressive young star, Cuban Alexei Ramirez (a comrade of Vladimir Guerrero?), but of course, he could be sent to the minors as well. The pitching staff is lead by aging stars Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez, and Jose Contreras, and they will be relying on BOTH John Danks and Gavin Floyd to fill the other spots. Now, Danks is still relatively young, but Floyd is only a week younger than me (I’m 25) but still seen as a “prospect” even though he has shown nothing. I know as a engineer, if I haven’t shown anything by now, I’d probably be fired. Hello Charlotte? who else do you have down there? Without going into too much elaboration, I think the Sox bullpen could be alright and they will definitely be needed a lot this season.

5. Kansas City Royals – Does a team that has had 1 winning season since 1995 deserve an in-depth analysis? No, they do not.