The Bocker.com

We are back sports fans with our rousing Major League previews. We’ve been going division by division and after today’s AL Central preview we have only three more to go. So for those of you that have hung with us this long worry not, we are half way there and this gimic has almost run it’s course. Again Anthony and I generally agree on the standings for this season, but Anthony has some questions as to whether or not the Detroit Tigers will really compete for a championship this season.

Tony: James, I think for the first time in maybe three seasons, the AL Central has thinned out and is no longer a division that can be won by 3 or 4 different teams. Gone from contention status are the White Sox and Twins, leaving only the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers as Central Champ hopefuls.

Because baseball lacks relegation though, I do feel obligated to mention some of the happenings of the Kansas City Royals. The big news (big in the non-Chiefs/Big-12 Sports News Division anyway) in Missouri (or is it Kansas?) this past offseason was the hiring of Trey Hillman, a legit, managerial prospect that the Yankees would have hired if the Joe Girardi hire failed to work out. Hillman has plenty of experience in the minors and in Japan and is a refreshing hire when many hopeless franchises are content to just hire an old team favorite or a managerial retread. The Royals will still finish in last, but it’s clear now that the franchise seems to have a plan that involves building the future and letting a manager cultivate a team based around a few promising youngsters. For now, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Luke Hochevar will experience growing pains through a 70-win, last place season, but with the central leveling out and other prospects a year or so away (Mike Moustakas anyone?) it’s possible that the Royals could jump the White Sox in the standings next year. That’s hope in KC by the way, promises of future 4th-place finishes.

The Chicago White Sox aged very quickly from their World Series run in 2005. It was as if their entire team made a deal with Mephistopheles a la Joe Hardy or Faustus (depending on your point of reference) and collectively had a career season in winning the World Series 3 years ago. Based on last season, it seems like the devil went and took back his end of the deal as Chicago looked to have rapidly aged all over the field without adequate replacements on the farm. I think the Palehosers’ meat of the lineup of Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko are all better off in a DH role at this point and have all seen their best seasons come and go. Adding Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera deepens the lineup, but neither of these AL West ex-pats will be able to turn the tide on the whole Chicago offense. The pitching staff is similarly average. Mark Buehrle is two seasons removed from a good year and I still don’t understand why it made sense to trade a very serviceable and relatively young John Garland to upgrade SS (Orlando Cabrera) for a team that is not good enough to contend. John Danks and Gavin Floyd look to be another pair of prospects high on potential and short on results. The one area of growth last year was from closer Bobby Jenks, who emerged as a truly top notch closer. He had the highest highlight from the White Sox 2007 season, as he retired 41 consecutive batters to tie an MLB record. For the White Sox to compete this season however, Jenks will likely need to retired 141 batters in a row and probably hit .310 as Chicago’s third outfielder.

James, you follow and pull for the Twins, who are probably your next-favorite AL-team after the O’s, so tell me, why did Minnesota resign
Joe Nathan this week after letting Torii Hunter go and trading Johan Santana this off season?

Wallace: I would like to say that I disagree with Sports Illustrated’s assessment of the Minnesota Twins this season, but I just can’t do it. In case you’re one of the millions of Americans that shuns the printed word like a past her prime Valerie Bertinelli I’ll break it down for you, they picked the Twins to finish in last place this season. It’s amazing to think that a team could ever finish behind the Kansas City Royals in that division but 2008 may just be the year the impossible happens. As Anthony has already said, the Royals have a small stable of blue chip talent that gives them the edge over the three man offense that is the Minnesota Twins. Yes that’s right kids, the only major league ready bats in the Twins’ lineup this season are Justin Morneau, Delmon Young and Joe Mauer. Morneau has already shown what a stud he is after two straight years of of 30 HRs and 100 RBIs, Mauer, when healthy, is a top young talent and Delmon Young had his breakout season last year before the “Devil” Rays decided he wasn’t worth keeping and traded him to the Twins. Outside of those three you are looking at a lot of light bats, youngsters and retreads. The brightest of “The Others” this year is Carlos Gomez. He takes over the centerfield spot that the departed Torii Hunter held for years in Minnesota. Gomez struggled from the plate last season with the Mets but he had flashes of blazing speed and remains a high-ceiling prospect. The problem is that he will be forced to learn against major league pitching this year and rushing a player before he’s ready can damage a career like Gomez’s before it even begins.

The other big story with the Twins was the loss of Johan Santana. Why did they want to trade the best pitcher in the game? Well, maybe because they wanted to clear cap room to sign closer Joe Nathan, who will have a hard time racking up saves when the starters fail to even hand him a lead. Maybe he can take some of that extra cash and go to magic school where he can learn the spell that turns Boof Bonser into a staff ace. (That joke was brought to you by hack comics everywhere. Support hack comics by laughing nervously at their “jokes” and telling them that things will surely get better. Even though they are 40, living in their mother’s basement and only own one pair of pants. These types of details need not be brought up in their presence.) I have always rooted for the Twins to do well in the absence of a major league team in Baltimore the last 10 years, but this season will most likely see small crowds and a lost season as the team gets ready to move into their new, open air ballpark in the next few years. Probably the only bright spot for Twins fans this year will be the knowledge that very soon the Metrodome will be a put out of it’s misery.

So the question then lies, who will win the Al Central this year? And will this division get two playoff bids? The answer to the first question is the Detroit Tigers and the second can be answered with a simple no.

The Tigers’ off-season acquisitions of Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria give their lineup the kind of power that will strike fear into opponents this year. The Yankees have shown that in the regular season offense can carry a team to 90+ wins, but make no mistake, the Tigers aren’t all bats. With a rotation consisting of Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and a rejuvenated Dontrelle Willis, this team will be able to still win games should the bats fall silent. Throw in Jim Leyland, one of the smartest managers in baseball, and this team might even compete with the Yankees and Red Sox for the privilege to represent the American League in the World Series.

This leaves us with the Cleveland Indians. A surprise last season, I believe they are in for a let down this year. Mainly because I think Fausto Carmona will feel the effects of overwork and will struggle this year. Young pitchers whose innings pitched increase by more than 50% the next year seem to always get hurt or struggle in the season after the increase occurs. Carmona pitched 215 innings last year after only pitching 74 the year before. While I think he’ll have a long and illustrious career, this season could be a let down for the youngster. C.C. Sabathia will probably pitch similar to last year but Paul Byrd, who somehow had 15 wins last season, will most likely fall back to earth. Mostly because he’s a mediocre pitcher. Couple the pitching with a lack of punch in the lineup and the Indians will struggle to keep pace with the Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers. Sure they have some big home run hitters, like Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner, but to trust that Ryan Garko and Jhonny Peralta are going to continue to pound the ball is silly in my opinion. Call me crazy but I don’t want to pin my hopes on those two.

Am I wrong Anthony about the Indians? Do they have enough to compete with the Big 3 this season?