Sorts of Sports

MLB 2011 Preview: AL CENTRAL

Not to steal the term, but the AL Central is a true wildcard. When you look back at this division over the past 9 years, you can see that Minnesota has dominated, winning the title 6 times. Chicago took the title twice while Cleveland was able to snatch one AL Central title in ‘07 before fading back into nonexistence. This year, I believe we will see a changing of guard as the Detroit Tigers have what it takes to jump up and snatch the division. That doesn’t mean they will be the only team at the dance, Minnesota will not be far behind and can grab the wildcard spot for the AL. Here is how it will all break down.

Winner: Detroit Tigers (94-68)
Detroit, with a few nice offseason moves and the continued development of their younger plays, has what it takes to bring home the AL Central. Their lineup is stacked with power and some speed, enough so that you can hide .250 hitting Brandon Inge and Fat Jhonny Peralta at the bottom of your lineup. The addition of Victor Martinez brings veteran presence to a young club that so desperately needed it. Assuming Miguel Cabrera can stay off the sauce and Joel Zamaya gives up his dreams of being a professional guitar hero player, the Tigers will have what it takes to steal the title from Minnesota.
X-Factor – Magglio Ordonez staying healthy and putting up .290/20/85
Second: Minnesota Twins (92-70) Wildcard
Ya ya ya, I know I know. Forever now, the wildcard has come out of the AL East. Well this is the year it is going to change. The Red Sox are going to dominate but the Yanks and Rays both fell off drastically which opens a spot for an AL Central team to jump up and snatch that wildcard. The Twins haven’t changed much since last year except adding Japanese SS/2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He was a great SS in Japan and seems to be continuing that success over here as he is hitting around .400 through spring training.  With a healthy Mauer and Morneau, this lineup is deadly and can carry their less than par pitching staff all season.
X-Factor – Mauer and Morneau each playing over 140 games.
Third: Chicago White Sox (82-80)
When the most famous person on your team is your manager, it is not a good sign. Chicago will be a mediocre team at best. They did add Adam Dunn this year in the offseason but he is just a big name. Although he does have the ability to hit 40 homeruns and knock in 100 RBI's, he still strikes out more than anyone else in the league. You know when you are a little kid and your coach tells you to choke up and protect the plate with 2 strikes? Well maybe Ozzie should relay that same message to Dunn because he swings like Paul Bunyan no matter the count. After Buehrle, their staff is full of fourth starters that will not have enough stuff to carry them to the playoffs. Sorry Chi Town no playoffs for you this year, at least in the AL
X-Factor – Carlos Quentin not hitting .240
Fourth: Kansas City Royals (70-92)
The poor fans of Kansas City have not seen their team make the playoffs since 1985 when they won the whole damn thing. To say that they have been struggling would be an understatement. This year will not be any different. They have a few solid young guys like Billy Butler and Kila Ka’aihue that can add some power to the middle of their lineup. But unfortunately, they still don’t have what it takes to become a playoff team. You’d think with years and years of being terrible, they would have had enough high draft picks to field a decent team, but they have proven us wrong. They have had their fair share of “can’t miss” prospects like Angel Berroa and Alex Gordon, who have missed badly.  Let’s hope for the sake of Kansas City fans that this next round of “can’t miss” prospects aren’t busts like their predecessors.
X-Factor – Alex Gordon stepping up and fulfilling his potential
Fifth: Cleveland Indians (66-96)
For the past two seasons, the Indians haven’t finished with more than 69 wins. The season before that, they went 81-81. Things have not been great for Indians fans over the past few years. They lost some of their best players to free agency or traded them away. Their one shining star in center field that they were going to build around, Grady Sizemore, found out he has Benjamin Button disease. Their starting lineup consists of unproven young guns or washed up vets that had trouble finding contracts elsewhere. Behind Carmona and Masterson, their rotation is thinner than Lindsay Lohan circa 2008. They do have a shining star of a prospect at catcher and Shin-Soo Choo should be able to help them but they are truly in a rebuilding phase and won’t be out of it any time soon.
X-Factor – Grady Sizemore making a healthy comeback after surgery