Last year, this division needed 163 games to be decided.  The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins were both tied at the end of the regular season. A one-game playoff went the Sox' way with a great game from John Danks.

Last year this division was tight, and I think it's going to be even tighter this year. When you look at all these teams, all of them have a pretty good chance of winning the division.

 

1. Minnesota Twins: 90-72

In one offseason, that of 2007, the Twins gave up two of their biggest stars in ace pitcher Johan Santana and outfielder Torii Hunter. It looked like 2008 was going to be a rebuilding year, but it was far from that. Veterans stepped up and prospects paid off, and Minnesota made a heck of a run.

The team was led by Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, who both had beautiful years.  Morneau won the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium and Mauer put up simply stellar numbers all around.

If the Twins can get the great numbers that they've been expecting from Francisco Liriano, they can be so much better. The rotation is young but solid. In a couple of years, it should be one of the strongest in baseball.

If the Twins' young team can stay strong, they could be crowned division winners after a heated race.

 

2. Chicago White Sox: 88-74

The defending division champs will come to close to repeating, but their team just isn't quite strong enough to compete with the Twins. The White Sox have a good team on their hands, but need more depth for their rotation and infield.

Until they find that, I don't see any division crowns going to the White Sox. Last year was just too close and they didn't improve much this offseason; if anything, theymay have regressed a bit

 

3. Cleveland Indians: 85-77

Last year, the Indians gave up their All-Star pitcher, CC Sabathia, in a midseason trade to the Brewers. CC just didn't have it anymore and was having too much trouble; the Indians had to get rid of him and they did.

But the Tribe already has a new ace in Cliff Lee. He had an amazing bounce-back season with 22 wins and an AL Cy Young Award in 2008.

The offense isn't so bad, led by Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez. Those two guys can just tear it up and will lead the team with their bats. The Indians also added Mark Derosa to their team, who batted .285 last year with the Cubs and is looking to have another productive year.

The Indians also had some nice surprises in the outfield with Ben Francisco and Shin-Soo Choo (say that five times fast). Those two put up some decent statistics and are looking to do even better this year.

Overall, this Cleveland club isn't there just yet, but the pieces are starting to come together and 2010 or 2011 could be their season.

 

4. Detroit Tigers: 79-83

Last year, this Tigers team looked like a no-brainer to take the AL Central, but it didn't really work out how they wanted it. Pretty much every offseason move they made backfired on them, except for the acquisition of Miguel Cabrera, who posted his usual digits.

The Tigers looked great on paper last year, yet they surprisingly got swept by the Royals in the first week of the season. Everything went downhill from there. This team just has to get it together and, more importantly, get Dontrelle Willis back to his old form. I think "D-Train" plays a big part in this division in 2009.

 

5. Kansas City Royals: 77-85

The Royals went out this offseason and acquired some nice players, like Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp, but those two guys can't turn this team around. I don't see 2009 being a bad year for the Royals, as a lot of their young players will do well and start developing into great players.

This team just has too many problems to seriously contend. Their pitching rotation isn't established and their bullpen is Joakim Soria with no help.

The Royals are just going to have to wait until they get their shot at playing deep into October. The team's just not ready.