Tuesday, March 31, 2009

AL Central Preview

I will keep this short and sweet for all you out there. For some it may not be short enough...

Best Pitcher- Zack Greinke. Those two words will hopefully strike fear in batters across the globe. After sorting through his personal problems in '07, and a successful '08, I see this to be a major breakout year for this guy.

Best Hitter- Jermaine Dye. As you will see in the predictions below, I don't see the Chisox going many places this year, but there will be one bright light of hope for them. A former Royal, Jermaine Dye looks to be somewhat healthy and ready to explode at the plate, but he may be the only one on the team.

MVP- A recurring theme you will see from me is a lot of talk about the Royals. I have been watching the preseason games, and have seen that Alex Gordon looks to either be in the Best Hitter category or MVP. Sue me if I'm wrong. (Please don't I'm poor).


1. Kansas City Royals - One of the Royals downfalls last year was production at the plate in order to win games. This year, at least so far, our bats seem to be healthy, and the long ball has been ever present. Bob McClure also looks like he's getting the pitchers ready for a stellar year, especially with Best Pitcher Zack Greinke. I see big things happening with these guys.
2009 record 90-72

2. Minnesota Twins - With Joe Mauer looking to become healthy when the season starts, and some promising results from an ever-dropping ERA from Scott Baker and Glen Perkins, I see a decent run for the Twins. If there are no big surprises/injuries (we all know how that goes, though) then Minnesota should make a good run for second, because we all know the Royals are number one.
2009 record 84-78

3. Detroit Tigers - Some might wonder why the Tigers are in third. Well, I don't have a great answer for you besides them not being too bad, and not being too good either. They just picked up Josh Anderson from the Braves, but lack of production on the mound seems like it will be the Tigers' downfall. This is especially true since pitcher Jeremy Bonderman being added to a list of pitchers that don't look ready to start the season. We shall see if things can pick up and look better for Detroit midway through the season, but don't count on it.
2009 record 75-87

4. Chicago White Sox - Some may see this as some sort of omen. Jim Thome's 2008 salary was $15,666,666. I see that as a double fail for the ChiSox and I do not see them fighting their way to the top of the AL Central this year. If they cannot produce hits, even with Jermaine friggin Dye, then I would not count on a productive year out of these guys. I do believe it will be a fight between Detroit and the White Sox, but that's like watching Cleveland play, well Seattle.
2009 record 70-92

5. Cleveland Indians - This brings us to the worst team in the AL Central. I think they will make the Major League Cleveland Indians look good. (That's the movie for all you youngans out there). There is a high probability this team will lose 100 games this season. Their biggest stars are Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee and both had solids years last year, but it's not gonna matter this year. I hope I'm wrong about this one, I'd like to see another good year out of these guys, but as the old saying goes, "only time will tell, unless you're the Indians."
2009 record 64-98
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