The AL Central is Appealing

Over the years, writers and fans mock the AL Central as “Comedy Central” with the Cleveland Indians dominating the division from 1996 to 2001 and the Minnesota Twins dominating the division for three straight years in 2002 to 2004. There was no competition in that division since the division was created in 1994. That could change this year with teams getting stronger and better. The White Sox has had plethora of talent over the years and this year is no different. The Twins are the Twins. The Indians have a very good core of young hitters and pitchers. The Tigers have spent lot of money in adding accomplished veterans to complement their young core players.

The Twins are a chic pick to win the World Series this year because of an improved offense and great pitching. They have had problems with the offense in recent years which is one of the big reasons why they lost to the Angels in the ALCS three years ago and to the Yankees for two years in a row. With the presence of Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer in that lineup, Minnesotans are expecting those two to get the big hits and home runs this year if they get to the playoffs. Twins also got some pretty good hitters besides those two. Torii Hunter, who had a great playoff series against the Yankees last year, is expected to have an MVP year. Jason Bartlett, who is expected to be a candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year, can be a presence in the lineup this year with his ability to hit. Lew Ford, who has made a name of himself last year, is expected to have even a better year than last year. Michael Cuddyer is supposed to break out this year as a hitter with playing time everyday. Twins also have the pitching to do well with a good starting rotation and a very good bullpen. Brad Radke and Johan Santana will form a good 1-2 duo punch and they are expected to have a big year from their second-year starter, Carlos Silva. Joe Mays could make the rotation even better with him being healthy. Scott Baker could be the wild card in this starting rotation. Twins are expected to call him up later this season or even early if Kyle Lohse struggles. A championship team always has a very good bullpen and the Twins have that. They have one of the best bullpens in the majors which features J.C. Romero, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Terry Mullholland, Juan Rincon, and one of the best closers in baseball, Joe Nathan. The Twins have the intangibles and the makeup of being a championship team. With that said, the Twins are going to have some big competition in the division this year so they are going to have to earn it this year.

White Sox are playing very good so far as they are off to a very good start. They have the best record in the majors at 22-7 heading to today’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays. They always had the talent to be a championship team with a very good offense and very good pitching. For whatever reason, they never seemed to play to their potential over the years. So far, everything has clicked thanks to great pitching and their usual timely offense. White Sox starters have been fantastic. Mark Buherle and Freddy Garcia are two of the top pitchers in baseball. El Duque has always been a big-time pitcher going back to his Yankee days. Jose Conteras has been solid. Jon Garland is finally having his breakout year as he is 5-0 with a microscopic 1.71 heading to today’s start against Toronto. They got this kid, Brandon McCarthy waiting in the wings in case Conteras and Garland struggles. McCarthy is a lot like Mark Buherle in which they work fast and they throw strikes. Chicago’s bullpen has been solid. They are getting contributions from Damaso Marte, Dustin Hermanson, and Shingo Takatsu. Those three relievers have formed a perfect setup for the seventh, eighth, and ninth inning. The White Sox have always been a good hitting team so there is no reason to expect that to change even with the departures of Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez. That team has a chance to do something special if everything works out.

There are some writers and lot of fans who picked the Indians to dethrone the Twins this year in the AL Central. There is a good reason to that. Indians got the players that are ready to take the next step. They have done a great job of rebuilding in a short time thanks to Indians GM Mark Shapiro who has established himself as one of the best GMs in baseball with smart trades and great drafting in a short span of time. Indians lineup can mash the ball as well as anyone with Travis Hafner, Grady Seizemore, Casey Blake, Ryan Ludwick, Coco Crisp, and Victor Martinez. They have a good core of starters in C.C. Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, and Cliff Lee. Their bullpen is a question mark especially their closer. It hasn’t been bad as last year so far thanks to the performance of Scott Sauerbeck and Ken Howry, but they got to improve their situation with their closer. Bob Wickman either has to do better or the Indians have to find a guy who can get the job done. Despite the problems with their closer, the Indians are a team that could contend in the division with the pieces they have. Right now, they are not where they want to be, but they are not going to struggle forever. They might have turned the corner a little bit by beating the Twins in a three-game series this week at the Metrodome.

The Tigers have made tremendous strides since they had a forgettable season couple of years ago as the Tigers had the record of 43-119. Last year, they improved their win total by 29 games as they finished 72-90. They are expected to contend for the division thanks to their owner, Mike Illitch spending his Red Wings money on signing a very good hitter in Magglio Ordonez and a very good closer in Troy Percival. They have some good core players that are coming on their own like Carlos Pena, Craig Monroe, Nook Logan, and Marcus Thames. Tigers have surrounded those guys with good leader. They got a good trifecta of starters. Jermey Bonderman is supposed to have a breakout year. Mike Maroth is solid. Wilfredo Ledezema could be the pitcher to watch this season for them. Their bullpen is pretty darn good with the trio of Kyle Farnsworth, Ugueth Urbina, and Troy Percival. They got themselves a good team and they are led by a darn good manager in Alan Trammell. They will be in the race this year as they will eventually heat up this season.

With the struggles of the Yankees and the fact the Red Sox has been so-so so far, there is a good chance that the AL wild card could come out in the AL Central this year. It should be a very good race this season despite Chicago’s sizzling start. Chicago will eventually going to slump so there will be opportunities for the Twins, Indians, and the Tigers to catch up. This is the division that baseball fans should keep an eye on this season.