1) Detroit Tigers2007 Record: 88-74 (2nd in AL Central) Manager: Jim Leyland (3rd Season) New Additions: 3B Miguel Cabrera, LHP Dontrelle Willis, SS Edgar Renteria, OF Jacque Jones Key Losses: 1B Sean Casey, IF Omar Infante, LHP Andrew Miller, OF Cameron Maybin Outlook: The Tigers gave up a lot of young talent, but in return may have improved more than anyone else at the big league level. Offensive machine Miguel Cabrera as well as new shortstop Edgar Renteria join last year's MVP candidate Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Curtis Granderson, among others to give the Tigers the best lineup in baseball. The righthanded hitting on this team is downright scary, and third base coaches should move the coaching box an extra 20 feet down the line. Justin Verlander is a stud atop the rotation, but the Tigers will need Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers, and Nate Robertson to return to 2006 form. Lefthander Dontrelle Willis should be energized by playing for a contender once again, as well as playing under the great Jimmy Leyland. The biggest question mark will be the bullpen with Joel Zumaya out for the first half of the season. Veteran Todd Jones will do enough to hold the fort down, but Detroit needs Zumaya to dominate as he did in 2006 to win the division to advance deep into the playoffs. All in all, Detroit wins around 95 games and wins the AL Central for the first time in team history. 2) Cleveland Indians (wild card)2007 Record: 96-66 (1st in AL Central, lost in ALCS) Manager: Eric Wedge (5th Season) New Additions: RHP Masahide Kobayashi, IF Jamey Carroll, RHP Jorge Julio Key Losses: OF Kenny Loften, OF Trot Nixon, RHP Jason Davis Outlook: Cleveland returns the best one-two bunch in the American League with C.C. Sabathia (in his walk year) and Fausto Carmona. They have a solid back end of the rotation with Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook, and Cliff Lee as well as talented middle relievers, including the Japanese newcomer Kobayashi. The offense may not be the juggernaut Detroit is, but can certainly hold its own with Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta, and Victor Martinez. Like Detroit, Cleveland's biggest concern will be whether or not a veteran closer with subpar stuff (in this case Joe Borowski) can consistently get the job done. If the Indians can make it back to the playoffs, Sabathia and Carmona will be quite formidable as they were last year. The Tribe were a game away from winning the pennant and putting themselves in great position for their first World Championship since 1948, but Mr. Josh Beckett had something to say about that. 3) Chicago White Sox2007 Record: 72-90 (4th in AL Central) Manager: Ozzie Guillen (5th Season) New Additions: SS Orlando Cabrera, OF Nick Swisher, RHP Scott Linebrink, RHP Octavio Dotel, OF Carlos Quentin, IF-OF Alexei Ramirez Key Losses: RHP John Garland, OF Scott Podsednik Outlook: The White Sox are one of the toughest teams in the league to figure. On one hand they are three years removed from a championship, on the other they are coming off of a bitterly disappointing 72 win campaign. Chicago easily could have packed it in and gone into rebuilding mode, but the aggressive Kenny Williams retooled with a vast array of additions. Overall, they had a good offseason, but I still don't think this older team has enough to overtake the Tigers and Indians. In hindsight, perhaps the White Sox would have been better off rebuilding with younger players, but this is easier said than done in a big market like Chicago. The White Sox are in a similar boat as the Blue Jays in the East, a middle of the road team that has the capability of competing with the big dogs if their veteran players can bounce back in 2008 and stay healthy. Specifically this means Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye offensively, as well as Jose Contreras and Javier Vazquez on the mound. The Sox decided to go with these veterans and they need to produce. Dotel and Linebrink offer a much needed bridge to hard throwing closer Bobby Jenks, something the White Sox sorely missed in '07 with a bullpen ERA over five. 4) Minnesota Twins2007 Record: 79-83 (3rd in AL Central) Manager: Ron Gardenhire (7th Season) New Additions: OF Delmon Young, 3B Mike Lamb, SS Adam Everett, IF Brendan Harris, CF Carlos Gomez, CF Jason Pride, RHP Philip Humber, OF Craig Monroe Key Losses: LHP Johan Santana, CF Torii Hunter, RHP Carlos Silva, RHP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett, OF Lew Ford, OF Rondell White, OF Jason Tyner, IF Luis Rodriguez Outlook: Tough offseason for first year GM Bill Smith and the Twins fans as they lose the faces of their franchise in ace Johan Santana and CF Torii Hunter. Smith is being criticized around baseball circles on his return, or lack thereof, for Santana. But there was not much else the Twins could have done here as they held no leverage in the situation. They did not have the resources to sign Santana, and the pitcher's no trade clause gave him the ability to force Smith's hand. Sure, Smith missed out on proven talent with the likes of Hughes and Ellsbury being offered, but you can't fault him for calling Hank Steinbreiner's bluff (the A-Rod situation shows just how seriously Hank takes his arbitrary deadlines). As it turns out, Minnesota gets four unproven players, but it is better than two draft picks. Unfortunately for the Twins, not every market is New York or Los Angeles, and it's pretty much survival of the fittest. The Twins appeared to get the short end of the stick, but we must wait until 2010 to objectively critique the trade from Smith's point of view. As far as the ballclub, Minnesota still has young stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, as well as Gomez and Young hopefully adding to their solid foundation. Joe Nathan is a terrific closer, and it will be exciting to see what Francisco Liriano brings to the table coming off shoulder surgery. It might be a rebuilding year in Minnesota, but the Twins are not your average 4th place club, and will not fold easily in a very good AL Central. 5) Kansas City Royals2007 Record: 69-93 (5th in AL Central) Manager: Trey Hillman (1st Season) New Additions: OF Jose Guillen, RHP Brett Tomko, RHP Yasuhiko Yabuta, LHP Ron Mahay, C Miguel Olivo, IF Alberto Callaspo, RHP Hideo Nomo, RHP Brian Lawrence, RHP Chin-Hui Tsao Key Losses: 1B Mike Sweeney, OF Emil Brown, OF Reggie Sanders, C Jason LaRue, LHP Odalis Perez, RHP David Riske, RHP Scott Elarton, RHP Billy Buckner Outlook: For some reason I just can't get excited about a team whose key additions are hot-head Jose Guillen and pitchers Nomo and Tomko who seem like they have pitched for half the teams in baseball by now. Buddy Bell is out and Hillman is in, really the only reason to pay attention to a Royal game in April. KC will move on from having Mike Sweeney as the face of their franchise. The Royals do have some good young players including last year's rookie of the year candidate Alex Gordon as well as Billy Butler. Brian Bannister won 12 games last year, Gil Meche pitched relatively well, and the first pick in the 2006 draft, Luke Hochevar, has a chance to make the team. |