This upcoming season, the battle for the American League Central Division in Major League Baseball will continue between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins.
Minnesota Twins:
It is hard to believe that just a few years ago there were rumors swirling that the Twins might be dissolved as an organization. Now they have established themselves as a constant contender in the Central Division. Minnesota fans should be happy to see the core of the team return for the 2010 campaign. The success or failure of the team will once again lie with their two offensive stars, reigning MVP Joe Mauer and former MVP Justin Morneau.
The biggest addition to this team does not even play. The Twins will open their new outdoor stadium, Target Field, this season. Other new faces joining the Twins include established veterans Jim Thome, who should provide some left-handed pop off the bench, and second baseman Orlando Hudson, who gives the team a great defensive second baseman. The Twins’ pitching staff will consist of the usual batch of youngsters; like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn. Rounding out the rotation are a couple of often-injured starters, Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano. The Twins are the favorite to repeat as Central champs simply because they have the same pieces that allowed them to capture it last year, as well as some new players who will help a lot.
Detroit Tigers:
Tiger fans must be pretty sick of finishing in second because they have had a pretty stacked team the last few seasons. This is a fairly young team that has a few veterans who absolutely need to produce for Detroit to have a chance at catching the Twins.
The Tigers do have two sure things they can count on—first baseman Miguel Cabrera and starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Detroit’s big offseason news was the trade of center fielder Curtis Granderson. The Tigers got a pretty good deal by stocking up on young players from the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. The two players that came over in the deal that will have the biggest impact are new center fielder Austin Jackson and young starter Max Scherzer.
The youth movement going on in Detroit is why the team has problems. Besides Cabrera, the club’s veterans are shaky at best. Players like Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen are just looking old these days. Not only that, but they recently added Johnny Damon to their roster, and he certainly isn’t getting any younger. Strong performances from their young starters like Rick Porcello, Scherzer and Armando Galarraga will be the deciding factor as to whether the Tigers have to watch the Twins take home another division title.
Chicago White Sox:
The White Sox have a perfectly adequate team but do not have much of a shot at the playoffs. Chicago, at this point, lacks enough offensive production to make them one of the real contenders in the league.
The White Sox starting rotation is anchored by the consistently great Mark Buehrle, who tossed a perfect game last season. Following him is the former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, who has yet to prove he can handle the heavier-hitting American League.
The White Sox have a strong looking outfield with Juan Pierre, Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios. Chicago’s most exciting position player is third baseman Gordon Beckham, who had an impressive rookie season hitting 13 home runs with 63 RBIs. The team thinks that he will develop into a big star, so he’s one to look out for. Unfortunately, the Sox are just not as complete a team as either the Twins or Tigers, so a return to the playoffs may just have to wait.
Cleveland Indians:
While the Tigers challenges of getting past the Twins can be frustrating for Detroiters, there are few fans in baseball that have more to complain about than Cleveland Indians fans. Imagine for a moment a team with two Cy Young winners, a young 19-game winner, one of the premier power hitting catchers in baseball and a first baseman that is one of the AL’s top power hitters. Now take them all away and that’s what Cleveland fans have dealt with.
To be fair, the young 19-game winner, Fausto Carmona, and the slugger, Travis Hafner, are still with the team, but they are shells of their former selves. Carmona won five games last season with an ERA over 6.00. Hafner, after hitting 42 homers in 2006, has hit 45 home runs in the last three years.
So what do the Indians have to look forward to this season? In short, not much. One of the few bright spots the team has is outfielder Grady Sizemore, who has proven to be one of the game’s best all around players. This is a team composed of young players with a lot of upside, but they haven’t proven anything. The Indians are really years from competing at all in the Central and are probably even farther off from a deep playoff run.
Kansas City Royals:
The Royals have been one of baseball’s laughing stocks for years now, as they almost always finish in last place. This team is by no means going to put up much of a fight for the division, but they are an undoubtedly better team.
Their pitching staff is strong with last year’s Cy Young winner Zach Greinke leading the way, but their number two starter is the inconsistent Gil Meche. They also have one of the best closers in the game with Joakim Soria. The team’s weakness lies in their youth. The Royals are loaded with young potential stars, but the problem is they are just guys with a lot of potential at this point. There has been some production out of players like Billy Butler, but disappointingly little from others like third baseman Alex Gordon. They know they have had enough bad seasons to stack up in the minors, but the real test will be when the players get to the big leagues. If the Royals make an effort to keep their players on the team and don’t let them leave for free agency, they can one day compete.
Prediction: Twins. Sorry Tigers fans, but the Twins have shown they are just too feisty to beat. Plus this season’s Tigers are just too inexperienced.
You can reach this writer at slindauer@theeagleonline.com.
