AL Central: Don't Forget the Cleveland Indians

I know what you are thinking baseball fans of America. I know that as soon as you heard about the Cabrera/Willis trade you suddenly thought to yourself, "The Tigers are going to be unstoppable!" You probably also at one time thought "This Tigers team is going to shatter every offensive record ever written," or maybe even, "Why play a regular season? Lets just get the whole team fitted for championship rings right now!"

 But here is what America is forgetting to consider. Last year's AL Central Champions are bringing back the same core of players, the same staff that featured two 19 game winners, and the same incredibly deep bull pen and bench. The Indians are not going to just roll over in this division. They are going to defend their title, and possibly even repeat as champions.

Detroit is not the perfect team that many would like you to believe. The bullpen is spotty at best, and god-awful at worst. In the likely event that Todd Jones does not deliver like he has recently, the Tigers will be forced to hand the closing roll to the oft injured Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya. The Indians, who have an equally incompetent closer in Joe Borowski, can at least confidently say that they have one of the best set-up men in the game in Rafael Betancourt.

Detroit's starting pitching is also a tad weak. Once past Justin Verlander, the combo of Bonderman, Willis and Robertson is not very comforting to a Tigers fan. Throw in the fact that Kenny Rogers is no safe bet health-wise, and Detroit could have substantial pitching problems.

The Indians are bringing back a lineup that starred in a very competitive league last year. Guys like Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, who performed below expectations last year, can expect to have big years this year. And if the consistently solid play of Casey Blake, Ryan Garko, and Asdubal Cabrera should hold up, this team will be just as good, if not better then the Tigers.

As Denny Green would say, "If you wanna crown em, then crown em!" But if you ask me, I believe that Cleveland just might be the team wearing the Central Division crown.