Now for the Wild Al Central... actually, the NL central looks just as wild too.
The Twins still look the best team here but only slightly. They have a great lineup with Joe Mauer’s .327 and great catching ability along with Justin Morneau and Jim Thome. Also with a returning Joe Nathan, it makes the end of games much more bearable. Maybe the big question mark is how is Francisco Liriano going to do this year.
As for the White Sox, they do have Jake Peavy which gives them a boost at the rotation but their pitching really rests on whether Mark Buerhle is going to play better. He had a 4.28 ERA and was 13-13 last year. The hitting looks alright with Paul Konerko being the main guy but much more needs to happen with the other hitters like Gordon Beckham.
As for Detroit, still a lot of craziness surrounding Miguel Cabrera and his arrest but, assuming that legal his problems don’t become an issue, the Tigers have a shot at usurping the Twins. Their starting rotation seems like the point of concern and who is around Justin Verlander. Brad Penny has not been a great pitcher as he’s shown to have struggled in the AL in 2009 and Matt Scherzer and Rick Porcello are nothing to hang a season on.
As for the Royals, they don’t seem like a threat and trading away Zach Greinke hurts there development cause. They do get Jeff Francis but he has arguably never been a great pitcher. As for the Indians, it seems another bad year is coming as Travis Hafner struggled 2010 batting .278, with 13 HR’s and 50 RBI’s in 118 games. Fausto Carmona did have a better ERA in 2010 with 3.77 compared to the two previous seasons which gives their team hope for the future.
Another year where it could go to either the Twins, the Tigers, or the White Sox. My money is going to the Twins as they seem like they have become an established power in the AL Central for years to come.
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