AL Central

Chicago White Sox –

Season Outlook – The 2011 White Sox remind me a lot of the Tigers teams from a few years ago. Veterans mixed with a few promising youngsters. The Tigers never really got over the hump following their World Series year where they came out of nowhere. I don’t see the 2011 White Sox getting over that hump either. Konerko, Pierzynski, Quentin, Rios and Pierre are all getting up there in age. Well, maybe not Quentin and Rios, but it sure seems like it with their slump possibilities and injury risk. Gordon Beckham and Alexi Ramirez both seem to be coming into their own, but can be inconsistent, expecially Alexi Ramirez, who reminds me a lot of a young Alfonsio Soriano. The lineup could have a lot of long balls, but could also go weeks with scoring very few runs. The pitching staff is solid. Nobody on the staff is very flashy but all are consistent. Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks are very safe starters and Edwin Jackson has the potential to pitch like he did for Detroit in 2009. The bullpen is very good and the young Chris Sale could be a lights out closer if given the chance. The Sox will be a very interesting team on the South Side.

Pros – Pitching consistence, lock-down bullpen, home run potential

Cons – long run-scoring slumps, aging stars, the South Side of Chicago

MVP – Carlos Quentin. Quentin’s first year with the Sox was fantastic. They made the playoffs and he was their MVP. An argument could be made for people such as Konerko or Alexiiiiiiii, but if Quentin can return to 2009 form, the Sox will be a tough team to beat.

MIP – Edwin Jackson. Like I said, Buehrle, Danks and Floyd are consistent. Jackson is a very up and down pitcher. His return to the AL Central could mean a return to form from two years ago in Detroit.

X – Alex Rios. Rios was very good last year. If he is good again this year, with a healthy Quentin and Juan Pierre for the whole year, the Sox could have one of the better outfields in the AL.

Best thing- The best thing about the White Sox is that TVs have a mute button. That is not really something to do with the team, but thank you television makers for allowing me to watch White Sox games and not having to listen to Hawk and DJ.

2010 Record – 88-74

2011 Prediction – 88-74

Cleveland Indians –

Season Outlook – Long story short: the outlook isn’t great. My beloved Indians are in for another long year. Let’s start with the pitching staff. I love Carmona. I understand he is wildly inconsistent, but when he is on, he has some of the most electric stuff in the majors. The problem is getting that stuff over the plate. Justin Masterson has potential to be a powerful starting pitcher, but hasn’t put it all together yet. He did end the season strong last year, so we will see if he can build on that. It appears Jenmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco will round out the rotation. All three are very unproven and very inexperienced. All got some work last year and looked really good at times and really bad at times. The bullpen should be better than the last few years. They finally have a reliable closer in Chris Perez, and Rafael Perez looks to be settles into his 8th inning role. The lineup is young and will struggle at times. The obvious X-factor is Grady Sizemore. More on Grady later. Until Grady comes back, it looks like Travis Buck and Austin Kearns will platoon in the outfield. Shin-Shoo Choo is the most underrated player in the majors. He is a five tool player and would start for any team in the majors. Michael Brantley is still trying to translate his AAA numbers to the majors. The same goes for Matt LaPorta. Both LaPorta and Brantley came over from Milwaukee in the C.C. Sabathia trade, and both are looked upon to bring the Tribe some satisfaction from their sale of the former Cy Young winner. Asdrubal Cabrera and Orlando Cabrera up the middle should be decent. The third base spot, currently held by Jack Hannahan, will soon be filled by Lonnie Chisenhall. Carlos Santana is the prospect that everybody in Cleveland is very excited about. His month or two in the majors last year was very promising until his gruesome knee injury ended his season. Travis Hafner will still be the DH, until his shoulder just falls off, apparently.

Pros – Outfield, Perez as the closer, Carlos Santana

Cons – Starting pitching questions, inexperience, 2nd and 3rd base until the kids come up

MVP – Carlos Santana. I would say Choo, but I feel as though Choo is consistent enough to know what we are getting with him. Santana is the guy the Tribe are looking to, to fill Victor Martinez’s shoes. Santana could own the city of Cleveland if he anchors an offense that brings the Tribe back to relevance.

MIP – Fausto Carmona. Carmona is suddenly the veteran of the pitching staff. He has seen Sabathia, Lee, Westbrook, Byrd, Pavano, and countless others leave, leaving him as the elder statesman on the staff. The other four pitchers will be inconsistent at times. Carmona needs to step up and lead by example. He may never be as good as he was in 2007, but he needs to be close.

X – Grady Sizemore. A healthy Grady could be a great thing for Cleveland. He was the face of the Indians for a few years, and was as durable as they come. That ended in 2009 when he saw two straight seasons cut way too short because of injuries. If Grady is healthy, the Indians will get a major shot in the arm (until they trade him away, which might make me cry), but if he is injury-prone again, then it might be time to move on from Grady and his ladies.

Best thing – Where to begin really? Everything about the Indians is great. Except the quality of play. The best thing is their #1 fan. Me.

2010 Record – 69-93

2011 Prediction – 71-91

Detroit Tigers –

Season Outlook – There is a lot of hope coming out of Detroit these days. About the Tigers, nothing else in the city. I know Detroit needs something to cheer about, but I don’t think the Tigers are going to be that thing this year. They will be competitive and will likely be in the hunt until very late in the season, but I don’t think they will overtake the White Sox or Twins. The lineup is pretty solid. The 3-4-5 slots will likely be very potent with Magglio Ordonez, Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera. Austin Jackson is a solid lead off hitter, but that is where it starts to get dicey. Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta and Will Ryhmes are not consistent at the plate, and catcher Alex Avila is nothing to get excited about. The lineup isn’t a murderer’s row, but the 3-4-5 spots will be scary good. The pitching staff hasn’t changed much. Justin Verlander is still the ace and has Cy Young potential. After Verlander, however, is a lot of questions. Can Max Scherzer live up to his hype? Are Rick Porcello and Phil Coke good enough to be relied on as starters? Is Brad Penny going to be healthy into May? Who knows.

Pros – Heart of the order, Verlander, Detroit 1-8-7

Cons – Dead spots in batting order, Peralta’s range at short, questions in the starting rotation

MVP – Victor Martinez. Miguel Cabrera is a potential AL MVP, but Victor will be the key player for this Tigers team. His clubhouse leadership will be needed this season, especially following the Cabrera drunkenness fiasco. Victor can still hit with the best of them, and he knows how to lead a team.

MIP – Max Scherzer. If Scherzer can be a good number two pitcher, the Tigers could be a very scary team, not only in the regular season, but in the playoffs as well.

X – Austin Jackson. Jackson needs to get on base. A lot. If Jackson can get on, the big boppers can get him in. He needs to be a table setter.

Best thing- The best thing about the Tigers is their hats. I have always love the Tigers hats, even before I went through my Eminem loving stage. The Old English “D” is just so understated and awesome.

2010 Record – 81-81

2011 Prediction – 86-76

Kansas City Royals –

Season Outlook – I am not jumping on the “Royals will not finish 5th this year” bandwagon. Maybe it is my Indians bias, but I think this Royals team is awful. Billy Butler is really good at the plate. Kila Ka’aihue is supposed to be a up and coming star, but he is 27 years old. Why hasn’t he made the jump yet? The ESPN depth chart for the Royals has Melky Cabrera starting in center field and left field. That can’t be good. The starting left fielder is none other than hot prospect, .217 hitting Alex Gordon. The rest of the infield is Mike Aviles, Alcides Escobar, and Chris Getz is playing second. Excited yet Kansas City? The ageless Jason Kendall is still the starting catcher. At least they have good pitching right? Well yes and no. The bullpen should be alright with Robinson Tejeda and Sean O’Sullivan (who looked good at times as a starter last year). The real power is obviously at the closer role where Joakim Soria continues to wallow in obsecurity. He is perhaps the most lights out closer in the majors right now. The starting rotation is just terrible. Jeff Francs is the ace of the staff. Yes, that Jeff Francis. Luke Hochever, Kyle Davies and Bruce Chen fill roles in that rotation too. Better get someone a seat in the fountain at The K, because a lot of homers are going in there.

Pros – Billy Butler, Soria, the farm system

Cons – Starting pitching, inconsistent hitting, starting pitching

MVP – Billy Butler. Butler is the anchor of the lineup. If he doesn’t produce in 2011, it will be a loooong year in KC.

MIP – Joakim Soria. Soria is their best pitcher. He needs to continue to be a lock down closer because the Royals don’t get him many save opportunities, therefore he must convert the ones he does get.

X – Kila Ka’aihue. This guy is being hyped as the next big thing at first base. If he comes up and fails, much the way Alex Gordon did, then the Royals will be in trouble both now, and in the future.

Best thing- The best thing about the Royals is the ease of attending a game at Kauffman Stadium. Parking is right there on site. The tickets are really cheap. If you buy high seats, you can usually move down to wherever you want without some old bastard getting testy with you. Not a bad place to watch a game.

2010 Record – 67-95

2011 Prediction – 68-94

Minnesota Twins –

Season Outlook – The Twins are not going to be as good as they were last year. 94 games was a lot of wins for Minnesota, and I don’t see them getting that many in 2011. I do think they will still win the Central and win 90 games though, so don’t worry Twins fans. The lineup hasn’t changed much, except for the addition of Tsuyoshi Nishioka at second base. I have a good feeling about him. Sometimes for the foreign players, the team they come into makes all the difference. The baseball culture around the Twins with Ron Gardenhire managing is a good one, and it should benefit Nishioka. I like the addition. Joe Mauer will be Joe Mauer. Justin Morneau is still recovering from his concussion and it will be interesting to see how he plays to start the season. Jason Kubel will still be the DH, Delmon Young, Denard Span, and Michael Cuddyer will still man the infield. Alexi Casilla and Danny Valencia should be serviceable at worst on the left side of the infield. The Twins lineup and defense should be just fine. The pitching is about the same as last year also. Carl Pavano is back after a very good 2010. Francisco Liriano is another year removed from surgery and could have his best career year in 2011. Brian Duensing, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker will be reliable as usual. The bullpen has Joe Nathan back, and still has Matt Capps in case Nathan struggles or is injured. Nothing flashy about the Twins, but what works, works. Let’s see if they can actually win a playoff series this year.

Pros – Consistent pitching, Joe Mauer, sound defense

Cons – No dominant pitcher (unless Liriano becomes one), can’t win in the playoffs, Thome doesn’t play enough

MVP – Justin Morneau. Mauer is obviously THE Twins, but Morneau is the guy who needs to produce for the Twins to be elite. His injury scare from last year seems to still be lingering. I hope the best for the former River Bandit.

MIP – Francisco Liriano. If Liriano can be dominant, not good, but dominant, then the Twins are World Title contenders. If not, then they will peter out in the playoffs again. He has the potential, he just needs to put it all together.

X - Tsuyoshi Nishioka. The Japanese second baseman is a huge question mark. Very high risk/reward with him. If he produces at 75% of what the Twins think he is capable of, then watch out AL Central.

Best thing- The best thing about the Twins is Joe Mauer. He is the consummate good guy in baseball. Home town guy, taking the home town discount, and just keeps on playing at a high level without any off field issues. The essential role model.

2010 Record – 94-68

2011 Prediction – 90-72