Before I begin analyzing the AL Central, I just want everyone to know that whoever wins this God forsaken division will lose in the first round of the playoffs.
It’s not even how funny as to how bad this division has become. The dearth of pitching in the division is just insane, but it still should be a dog fight to the end of the season.
The real question is, does anyone care who wins the AL Central?
Not really.
You would think it would be fun to just sit here and rip on a division, but it’s just disgusting.
It’s not even a real honor to win the division.
Sorry, AL Central teams, the only way to change my opinion is for at least one of you to get better.
But somebody has to win.
1. Minnesota Twins
The Twins won the division last year and they will do it again, even though the team lost a lot of solid players.
The team lost starters Kenny Rogers and Eric Milton, and in the bullpen they are without Rick Reed and LaTroy Hawkins.
Those are tough shoes to fill, but the Twins tried to make up for it by adding Carlos Silva and they will have Johan Santana as a starter for the entire season.
The team also lost Eddie Guardado as their closer and will replace him with Joe Nathan, who is not that great.
On offense, the team’s biggest lost was catcher A.J. Pierzynski, but the club re-signed Shannon Stewart, which was a great move.
Stewart already has a walk-off home run this season and will provide the team with a very good leadoff hitter.
The team still has Doug Mientkiewicz at first and the best defensive center fielder in Torii Hunter.
Along with Hunter, the team drafted the top prospect in the draft. Joe Mauer, who was going to be a quarterback at Florida State, decided to play baseball and will start at catcher for the Twins, at least when he gets off the DL.
The pitching isn’t great, but they still have Brad Radke and Santana, who only lost one game last season after the All-Star break.
Predicted Finish: 90-72
2. Chicago White Sox
The starting pitching for the White Sox is even worse than the Twins and that’s the main difference between the two teams.
The team lost Bartolo Colon, Scott Sullivan and Tom Gordon and did not really add any significant pitching talent.
I am going to be straight with you-their pitching flat-out sucks.
The opening day starter was Mark Buehrle. You heard me, Mark Buehrle.
Esteban Loaiza won 20 games last season and he is second in the rotation. It sounds weird, but maybe because last season was a fluke.
This team has some serious issues on the mound, but it still has punch at the plate. With Magglio Ordonez, Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee in the middle of the lineup, the team should be able to score some runs.
But they won’t be able to stop other teams and won’t be very good-just better than all the other teams besides Minnesota in the division.
Predicted Finish: 80-82
3. Kansas City Royals
Can Juan Gonzalez play 100 games?
The answer is no, so even though addition will help the Royals, it won’t give them an edge in the division.
The team also added Benito Santiago, who should have retired 10 years ago.
The pitching is young and has promise, but will not be very good this season.
Brian Anderson is the ace of the staff, while Darrell May and Jeremy Affeldt will be the No. 2 and 3 starters, respectively.
Angel Berroa is a stud at the leadoff spot and Carlos Beltran is also a great player for manufacturing runs.
This team could be solid in the future and will challenge for division titles, but not this year.
Predicted finish: 75-87
4. Cleveland Indians
What the hell happened to the Indians? After being the consistent favorite in the division, the team decided to rebuild and has some young talent, but will not contend this season.
Jody Gerut looks like he could be a stud in right field, while Milton Bradley was having a really good season until an injury last year-and then he was traded to Los Angeles this spring.
The other young bats include Ben Broussard, Casey Blake and Victor Martinez.
The pitching, just like much of the hitting, is young.
C.C. Sabathia can be a stud, but needs some help from his offense. Rounding out the staff is Jason Davis, Cliff Lee and Jeff D’Amico.
It’s not going to be a great season, but one worth watching for an Indians fan if you want to see development.
Predicted finish: 70-92
5. Detroit Tigers
Look out, the Detroit Tigers have won their first four games. It’s too bad they lost Dmitri Young for six weeks, but the team has some bats that can do some damage.
Ivan Rodriguez not only adds a bat, but experience that the team is sorely lacking. Bobby Higginson has always been solid and the team added Rondell White and Fernando Vina.
Jason Johnson is the team’s ace this season, but Jeremy Bonderman is going to be a very good pitcher and should be the ace of the future.
The Tigers also signed Ugueth Urbina, but who knows how many chances he will have to save games.
Predicted finish: 68-94