American League Central: Indians and White Sox, a Two Team Race

The American League Central will be pretty competitive this year.  Let’s see how the teams shape up.

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland comes into this year looking to not only make the playoffs, but go deeper than they went last year.  If that is to come to pass, they will have to do it on the backs of their pitching.  They will need repeat performances from C.C. Sabathea, and Fausto Carmona, who were dominant last year.  Even though they logged a lot of innings last season, they should be solid again.

The rest of the rotation is full of question marks.  Jake Westbrook was injured last year and posted a 6-9 record and a 4.32 ERA, which is below his standards.  He has been great this spring and I look for him to bounce back and really bolster the rotation.

Paul Byrd should be fine as a four in the rotation.  He tends to be up and down.  He can put together some dominant outings, but when he is bad, he is really bad. 

Cleveland’s starting rotation has potential and should post good numbers.  What I believe will put the Indians over the top is their bullpen.  Joe Borowski led the American League in saves last year, and Raphael Bentancourt had a 1.47 ERA as the set-up man.  It doesn’t end there either as left-hander Raphael Perez had an ERA under 2.00 in 44 appearances. 

Their bullpen has a lot of depth and flexibility and if they pitch as they are capable of, there is no reason they can’t win the division.

The everyday lineup will be potent enough to give their pitchers plenty of run support.  Travis Hafner will be looking to bounce back after a sub par season for him.  He still drove in 100 runs but only hit 24 homers. 

Grady Sizemore will provide his normal all star caliber play, and Victor Martinez will be counted on to anchor the middle of the lineup.  Veteran Casey Blake will continue to supply his steady play and leadership.

Cleveland is very well balanced as a team.  They can hit, the top of the rotation is excellent, and they have a solid bullpen with some young live arms.  No weaknesses on this team.

Projected finish - 1st place.

Detroit Tigers

This division figures to be a two team race, and Detroit has made some off-season acquisitions that they think will put them over the top.  Miguel Cabrera comes over from the Marlins, and gives them a murders row feel to their lineup.  Dontrel Willis, also from the Marlins, will add depth to their starting pitching, and Edgar Renteria takes over at shortstop and brings his .332 average over from the Braves.

You have to believe that some of Willis’ struggles last year were due to playing on a team that had no chance of winning.  I can’t see him posting an ERA of over 5 again with Detroit.  He did struggle this spring, so it will be interesting to see how he does.  If he continues to struggle there will be talk concerning whether he is done as a top to middle of the rotation pitcher.

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