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AL Central

Started by Oklahawg, March 08, 2008, 04:32:21 pm

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Oklahawg

I really enjoy watching teams in the this division. Its competitive and democratic, even as the Tigers spent huge bucks building their dynasty. Lots of compelling stories going into 2008.

1. The Indians are a fun team, a healthy mix of vets and young guys in an organization that seems to "get it". I love the top of their rotation, as I'm convinced that CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona are as good as a 1-2 punch as anyone else in the AL, including King Felix and Bedard in Seattle. They have enough rotation depth to give top prospect Adam Miller a few more months in AAA.

The bullpen is frighteningly deep. I'm not a huge Joe Borowski fan (see my comments below about Todd Jones) but the set-up crew is impressive. I think that Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, and even Perez could be closing in other organizations. That's shrewd bullpen planning!

I'd like to see the Indians jettison Dellucci and give Ben Franciso a starting gig in LF. He does nothing but hit well and has a good enough glove. Dellucci isn't anything more than a 4th or 5th OF, and the platoon between he and Jason Michaels is blocking a good talent. The rest of the offense is set up with good or great talent mixing all elements of a good club. The weakest infield link, Casey Blake, won't be pushed in 2008 but the Tribe has solid competition lurking in the pipeline for 2009 and beyond.

The pitching staff guarantees there won't be extended losing streaks and the offense should guarantee they can be in any game. The Tigers are formidable competition but I look for the Indians to be a homefield team in round one of the playoffs.

2. Tigers fans may find second place insulting after the big deal for Miggy Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. That pitching staff isn't the jewel it was two years ago, though. The rotation only has one bona fide stud in Verlander and a set of arms that each brings a question with it. Not all of the remaining starters will make it to October with 180-200 IP. Rogers, Robertson, Willis and Bonderman should be seen as four arms to fill three slots. I wonder if Willis can ever be the stud he was the first year and a half he was up with the fish.

The bullpen is scary. I've never been a Todd Jones fan. I think he was closing games somewhere when I was buying ballcards at the local Utotem convenience store as as fifth grader. Zumaya may never be an MLB pitcher after the ballfield injury and the bizarre injury he incurred as his house was threatened by fires last winter. Rodney has injury issues as well. Suddenly, the end game option to Jones is...gulp...Francisco Cruceta???

The offense will be a machine, though, and Tiger fans may well feel that they are watching a good slow-pitch softball team as they outscore opponents with double-digit run totals. Cabrera is still a pup, folks. He gets a chance to shine, finally, as Detroit fans will show up in droves to watch as the Tigers fight it out for the central title and a backdoor shot at the wildcard.

3. Minnesota has made odd moves, picking up OF depth that is questionable, to say the least, and jumps on what I consider the #3 offer for Santana. Looking at the deal with the Mets, only Guerra seems to have all-star potential. Gomez is no guarantee to be anything more than steals and average-or-better defense. I'd have kept him and turned his departure into 2 first round draft picks.

Nonetheless, there are intriguing players dotting the roster and more may appear if the Twins jettison Joe Nathan in the financial purge pointing towards 2010. Francisco Liriano returns and his first spring outing was solid. He's a legit #1 starter but won't hit his stride until at least mid-summer. Lots of young arms in the rotation behind him, meaning the bullpen gets taxed a lot this year.

Intriguing bats abound, despite the odd off-season moves, with Kubel, Young, Cuddyer, Mauer and Morneau being a solid core of young guys to build around. Brandon Harris is a sleeper for an all-star season.

4. Kansas City fans finally have reason for optimism. A decent collection of hitters is soon to find themselves backing a respectable pitching staff. Shrewd pick-up of Joaquim Soria turned the end-game into a stable strength for KC. Adding a Japanese import caught my attention - folks must look at the Royals as going somewhere - and added to the bullpen, always a weakness in KC.

That uber-prospect Luke Hochevar is being considered as a middle reliever for opening day tells me the starting pitching isn't dreadful. I'll wait and see, however, as I don't think it has the upside by August that the Twins have.

As previewed a paragraph or two ago, lots of bats in KC. I'm old fashioned, though, wondering why the best speed candidate, David DeJesus, only garners single-digit swipes.

5. White Sox seem to be stuck in a quiet rebuilding mode. There isn't an ace on the staff, and Buerhle may be a #3 ultimately. They traded two top-end pitchers to get another outfielder (Swisher) that seems to only crowd things. The roster just feels awkward.

I think Cuban defector Alexi Ramirez may have something to offer the lineup but will not make friends with Southsiders with his glove. The old saying about Domincan players, "you can't walk off of the island", offered as a reason why they are so free-swinging at the plate, might be amended for AR to say, "you can't catch a ride off of the island with that glove but he made it anyway."

Why in the hell this club still has Joe Crede around tells you they have stumbled in the front office. JC is a good player but he blocked Josh Fields and now has Fields taking fly balls in the OF trying to find ABs.
I am a Hog fan. I was long before my name was etched, twice, on the sidewalks on the Hill. I will be long after Sam Pittman and Eric Mussleman are coaches, and Hunter Yuracheck is AD. I am a Hog fan when we win, when we lose and when we don't play. I love hearing the UA band play the National Anthem on game day, but I sing along to the Alma Mater. I am a Hog fan.<br /><br />A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching. - Bart Giamatti <br /><br />"It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away. Puzzling." ― Robert M. Pirsig<br /><br />Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.  – Yogi Berra

trphog

+ 1. I agree with you on the Tigers pitching. Even thought they got Willis, I still think their pitching is average at best. I think that this is going to be the Tribe's year. They have the deepest starting rotation in the majors. Cliff Lee will be the comeback player of the year (hopefully). I agree with you that the Tribe needs to find a better corner outfielder. I am not sure that Ben F. is the answer. He shows flashes of being really good. But he struggles with offspeed pitches. If he and Gutierrez can stay consistent. Their lineup will be potent.

 

Oklahawg

What jumps out at me with Detroit and Cleveland is the way they construct their bullpen (this is for LVW, and his interesting read on building bullpens).

They both have questionable closers (in my eyes) in Jones and Borowski. Yet, they take the pressure off of the closer with stellar set-up crews. The Tigers surged to the top of the heap when they added Zumaya and Rodney in front of Jones. The Indians have three guys who are potential closers setting up Borowski: Betancourt, Perez and Kobayashi.

This is what catches my attention about the Royals. They have invested in the end of the game, finding a good set-up guy for Soria, and going to Japan to do it. They need one more great arm for the 7th/8th inning and they will start to make a move.

Even mediocre teams can impress with solid 7th, 8th and 9th inning work. Teams that impress with the relief corps but question marks elsewhere include Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Oakland (to be discussed in a day or two).
I am a Hog fan. I was long before my name was etched, twice, on the sidewalks on the Hill. I will be long after Sam Pittman and Eric Mussleman are coaches, and Hunter Yuracheck is AD. I am a Hog fan when we win, when we lose and when we don't play. I love hearing the UA band play the National Anthem on game day, but I sing along to the Alma Mater. I am a Hog fan.<br /><br />A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching. - Bart Giamatti <br /><br />"It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away. Puzzling." ― Robert M. Pirsig<br /><br />Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.  – Yogi Berra

ErieHog

Minnesota's OF depth is constructed with flexibility in mind; Kubel is the real sleeper on that team for an All-Star berth, as he has finally fully rehabbed from his 2005 knee injury (he hit .340 with some power the last 2 months of last year).
No cause, ever, in the history of all mankind, has produced more cold-blooded tyrants, more slaughtered innocents, and more orphans than socialism with power. It surpassed, exponentially, all other systems of production in turning out the dead. The bodies are all around us. And here is the problem: No one talks about them. No one honors them. No one does penance for them. No one has committed suicide for having been an apologist for those who did this to them. No one pays for them. No one is hunted down to account for them. It is exactly what Solzhenitsyn foresaw in The Gulag Archipelago: "No, no one would have to answer. No one would be looked into." Until that happens, there is no "after socialism."

Oklahawg

Quote from: ErieHog on March 09, 2008, 03:15:59 pm
Minnesota's OF depth is constructed with flexibility in mind; Kubel is the real sleeper on that team for an All-Star berth, as he has finally fully rehabbed from his 2005 knee injury (he hit .340 with some power the last 2 months of last year).

Good call. Too bad he can't eat innings between the iffy rotation (I'm not convinced for 2008, but 2009 looks good) and the anchor, Joe Nathan.
I am a Hog fan. I was long before my name was etched, twice, on the sidewalks on the Hill. I will be long after Sam Pittman and Eric Mussleman are coaches, and Hunter Yuracheck is AD. I am a Hog fan when we win, when we lose and when we don't play. I love hearing the UA band play the National Anthem on game day, but I sing along to the Alma Mater. I am a Hog fan.<br /><br />A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching. - Bart Giamatti <br /><br />"It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away. Puzzling." ― Robert M. Pirsig<br /><br />Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.  – Yogi Berra

ErieHog

Quote from: Oklahawg on March 09, 2008, 05:51:12 pm
Good call. Too bad he can't eat innings between the iffy rotation (I'm not convinced for 2008, but 2009 looks good) and the anchor, Joe Nathan.

The rotation bothers me far more than the bullpen; they're all innings eating arms; the Twins longstanding practice of using the long relief role to get a young promising starter MLB innings under their belt should continue to stand them in good stead.

Closer - Joe Nathan
Setup - Pat Neshek
Setup - Juan Rincon
Setup - Matt Guerrier
Setup - Jesse Crain
LH Reliever - Dennys Reyes
Long Man - Blackburn/Perkins

No cause, ever, in the history of all mankind, has produced more cold-blooded tyrants, more slaughtered innocents, and more orphans than socialism with power. It surpassed, exponentially, all other systems of production in turning out the dead. The bodies are all around us. And here is the problem: No one talks about them. No one honors them. No one does penance for them. No one has committed suicide for having been an apologist for those who did this to them. No one pays for them. No one is hunted down to account for them. It is exactly what Solzhenitsyn foresaw in The Gulag Archipelago: "No, no one would have to answer. No one would be looked into." Until that happens, there is no "after socialism."

BradyHolzhauer

AL CENTRAL:

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Kansas City Royals

bellavistamike

I like the Tigers and do expect them to be good, maybe real good. Even though the pitching isn't as strong as it might look on paper, they look like they'll pull a Yankees and just out score everyone.

But, I figure this may be the Indians' year. They are due and they are good. And they can hit and run and catch...

selfexplanatory

Tigers
Indians
White Sox
Royals
Twins
This year's nominee for the Coopy award.
Quote from: majp51 on June 02, 2010, 03:27:42 pm
Err, now I know it's easy to bash Shiloh Christian, but I'm pretty there aren't that many high schools in Arkansas that have a player picked in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft.
Or have you forgotten where Damian Williams played school?

kimjongsqUeAl

Go Tigers!!
Indians
White Sox
Twins
Royals
The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
- Thomas Jefferson

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge...
- God