AL Central Preview

CLEVELAND INDIANS – After playing good-but-not-great baseball last season (and ending up with an 81-81 record), the Indians took some bold moves this off-season to improve their team.

For starters, the team snagged both Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood from the Cubs. As one of the league’s great utility men, DeRosa will be able to fill in any gaps that the Indians may have but will predominantly play second base for Cleveland. Wood, on the other hand, is the real prize acquisition, as he gives the team a dominant closer for the first time in recent years.

The team will also get a better year out of Travis Hafner (it would be difficult for him to match his abysmal results from last season) and should get full seasons from starting pitcher Fausto Carmona and catcher Victor Martinez, each of whom missed time last year due to injuries.

Look for the Indians to win the AL Central in the same way the White Sox did last year – by being the best team in a mediocre division.

MINNESOTA TWINS – After tying the White Sox for the division title last year, the Twins lost to that same Chicago ballclub in a one-game playoff, eliminating them from playoff contention. This season, though the team has not added anyone of note, they should be better than the White Sox.

Why? Well, aside from losses the White Sox took (see below), the Twins have not lost anyone from their roster. Also, the team has filled in holes in their roster (most notably at third base and in the bullpen) by calling up prospects from their farm system. The rest of their young players should continue to improve as well; Francisco Liriano will undoubtedly continue to blossom into one of the best pitchers in the league.

The Twins definitely have what it takes to challenge the Indians for the division title in 2009. However, if they’re unable to catch the Indians for the division lead, their record probably won’t be good enough to compete for the Wild Card chase.

DETROIT TIGERS – Last year, the team traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Despite the praise they received for these acquisitions, things didn’t work out so well for them, as they ended up with a 74-88 record and found themselves at the bottom of the division.

This year, the only place for the Tigers to go is up! Considering the talent that they have on their team, it’s not unreasonable to expect them to possibly even challenge for the division title. For that to happen, though, they’ll need to get the most out of their pitching staff – most notably, Justin Verlander can’t have a repeat of last season (who went 11-17 with a 4.84 ERA last season after going 18-6 with a 3.66 ERA in 2007), and Dontrelle Willis will need to improve on the horrendous 9.38 ERA he posted in eight games last season.

The Tigers have too many question marks to be ranked ahead of the Indians or Twins. This isn’t to say that they can’t win the division – it’ll just require everything to come together perfectly.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX – Though the team won the AL Central last season, calling them the best team could be a stretch. Rather than winning based on merit, they won because every other team was worse than they were. Along with the Dodgers (who won the NL West with a mere 84 wins), they were the only division winner to fail to reach 90 wins (they had 89).

This off-season, the team re-tooled to save money and plan for the future. They traded Nick Swisher to the Yankees and Javier Vazquez to the Braves, while failing to really add anyone who will impact the team this year, aside from possibly Bartolo Colon.

Look for the White Sox to have a good year, but unless something clicks, they will not be making the playoffs.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS – After finishing out of last place last season for the first time since 2003, they’ll probably find themselves back again in 2009.

Sure, the team added guys to bolster their lineup – guys like Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp. However, all that did was further cement the Royals in the heart of the mediocrity that is the AL Central.

Their pitching staff is probably the best element of their team. Anchored by Gil Meche (who is 23-24 with a 3.82 ERA in two seasons with the Royals) and Zach Greinke (who was 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA last year), the team has a good rotation. Add in to that mix the presence of All-Star closer Joakim Soria, and the Royals have something cooking.

Too bad the stew’s not ready quite yet.