With the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers coming off World Series births, the Minnesota Twins a regular playoff contender, and the upcoming Cleveland Indians, there was no division in baseball that could compete with that caliber of talent.
While the entire season boiled down to a race between the Indians and Tigers, the 2008 season will likely see the entire division have a say in who will be crowned champion.
Tigers' Jason Verlander will be a Cy Young candidate while being backed up by what is now the most feared lineup in baseball.
The Detroit Tigers shocked the baseball world by landing Dontrelle Willis and four-time All-Star Miguel Cabrera in the offseason. Adding a big time pitcher and MVP-caliber player to a veteran lineup and intimidating pitching staff should validate the Tigers to be the front-runner to win the division.
The city of Cleveland may no longer be the home of Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field), but it is still home of the division champions.
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The Cleveland Indians bring back every piece to their near-World Series birth and have added experience and maturity to their lineup after a season of many hard fought games.
While making no dramatic changes to the lineup or rotation, the Tribe still has Cy Young pitcher C.C. Sabathia and one of the leagues most talented players in Grady Sizemore—not to mention Travis Hafner, a monster of a hitter who comes up big in the clutch.
A team that finished one win away from a World Series birth will be backed by a city desperate to win a championship. The Indians will be in the race for the long haul and have an equal shot at a Wild Card, if not a division championship.
The rest of the AL Central is made up of the White Sox, Twins, and Royals.
Ozzie Guillen vowed the Sox would return to prosperity this season after a disappointing 2007 campaign.
With a solid lineup and pitching staff the White Sox should not be counted out of the division race, but 2008 is not their year.
The Twins will be backed by Francisco Liriano, a franchise player that will be in the same position as Johan Santana was the last few seasons. He is a great player on a good team that will continue to come up short.
If the Twins can avoid a slow start to the season their history of second-half success may fuel a playoff run, but it is not likely to last into October.
As for the Royals, sorry to say, they will finish last again. But they're making improvements to their lineup and adding a lot of young talent. Those moves should help them gain respectability around the league and have a bright future ahead.
The American League Central does indeed have the potential to be the best division in baseball.
With an incredible amount of talented players in Grady Sizemore, Miguel Cabrera, and Curtis Granderson, there will be a lot of publicity surrounding these teams, compared to what is normally a home-crowd division.
While I do not see that likely this year with the strength of the AL East and NL West, I do see it being more then a two-team race through August, as it was last year.
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5 months ago
Liriano makes no comparison to Santana bro. Twins could get taken by the royals.. haha probally not but i would have a good time of it.
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