2015 AL Central Division Preview

5.  Minnesota Twins 70-92

The Twinkies will be amongst, if not, the worst teams in all of Major League Baseball. Divisional foes will drool at the chance to face this weak lineup and pitching staff. They will, in fact, be the only losing team in the Central Division this year. The Twins can be summed up as follows:  bad team, no Ron Gardenhire, bad management. It’s a recipe for a Minneapolis disaster.

Torii Hunter won’t finish the year and will be injured half way through.   Balls will be hit to short outfields and not returned. Joe Mauer will be the highlight of the team with his bat having a Joe Mauer year. Unfortunately do to the lack of substance in the line up, pitchers will easily pitch around him.

Phil Hughes will have another good year as the Twins “ace”. Besides that, the highlights will be very far and few between and it will be awfully hard for Ned Yost to pick a Twin All Star.

4.  Kansas City Royals 85-77

The Royals quietly competed during the season last year and struck when the iron was hot. Their run to the World Series was fun and amazing to watch. But like the Red Sox in 2013 when everything just went right for them, that’s awfully difficult to repeat and they won’t in 2015.

The pitching staff is missing James Shields and will struggle to fill his void. Edinson Volquez will struggle in his American League transition. The bullpen will be solid again and Luke Hochevar hopes to add depth returning from his Tommy John surgery.

At designated hitter, Kendrys Morales will provide more consistency and meat at the plate then Billy Butler did last year, but it still won’t be enough for the Royals as they contend early and fade mid-season.  Speed, singles and bunting can only carry you so far.  Not that far in 2015.

3.  Cleveland Indians 88-74

The Tribe pushed hard last year to compete for the final wild card playoff spot and will find themselves on the outside looking in again this year. They will give the Tigers and White Sox all sorts of fits in the race to the postseason and will in hang in there through September.  Key September match ups against the Tigers and White Sox and a last series against the Red Sox will be the difference in them making it to the post season again this year.

The Tribe have no major losses  and that will most definitely help them in their 2015 campaign.  Cleveland had two outstanding performances from Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley last year. Brantley will struggle this year to turn in the same head turning performance that he did in 2014.

The pitching staff and bullpen will be consistent as will the bats. Look for Brandon Moss to contribute this year and make a difference in many games. Their defense was abysmal and will lose them too many games again this year. The ever aging Nick Swisher won’t add much as designated hitter and Ryan Raburn will toggle in the outfield and DH not providing much either except for his occasional Tiger killing game he has.

The Tribe is just about two players from winning the Central Division. Sorry boys – 2016 maybe

2.  Detroit Tigers 90-72

Questions all around for the Tigers coming out of spring training. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez are the key to this team winning this year and won’t have played but a handful of times heading into opening day. Cabrera has battled injuries the past two years and if healthy will compete again for the MVP award. Yoenis Cespedes figures to be a big factor in this team’s ability to compete as does J.D. Martinez’s ability to repeat.

The Tigers needed to and didn’t make a move in replacing Alex Avila as catcher and it will cost them this year again with no real strength and depth behind the plate. The starting rotation will compete just fine even though it is not as strong as last year. David Price will turn in a Cy Young worthy year for the Tigers.

We all know what didn’t get fixed – the bullpen. I’m shaking my head as I write this and will probably turn the games off after the seventh inning when the Joba Chamberlain and Joe Nathan horror show takes over. Bruce Rondon and Joakim Soria could factor in and I wouldn’t be surprised if Soria becomes the closer early in the season.

The Tigers could just as easily finish fourth in the Central Division at nearly .500 if the bullpen falters and Cabrera and Martinez don’t factor. But they’ll earn a wild card spot and their streak of AL Central Division crowns will be over. And we will see another early exit from the 2015 postseason.

Mar 12, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Comedian and Chicago White

1.  Chicago White Sox 92-70

Robin Ventura carried a big offseason bat this winter. David Robertson. Jeff Samardzija. Melky Cabrera. Zach Duke. He is playing to win. Even Will Ferrell made a stop along the way.  Crosstown fans in Chicago will be upset because they believe it is their year to win.

Jose Abreu could contend again for the AL MVP award and I believe Chris Sale will finally win the Cy Young this year. The White Sox with the depth in the rotation and bullpen could not only win the Central Division but be serious contenders to take the pennant this year. Melky Cabrera will stay healthy and off PED’s to contribute highly to this team this year.

My White Sox friends are quietly and cautiously optimistic, but they are contenders this year. They also tell me that this is Avisail Garcia’s break out year for which I not so quietly laugh.

We tally it up and we have the following standings:

Additional 2015 Predictions:

American League

AL East Winner – Boston Red Sox

AL Central Winner – Chicago White Sox

AL West Winner – Los Angeles Angels

Wild Card – Seattle Mariners

Wild Card – Detroit Tigers

AL Pennant – Los Angeles Angels

National League

NL East Winner – Washington Nationals

NL Central Winner – St. Louis Cardinals

NL West Winner – Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card – San Francisco Giants

Wild Card – Chicago Cubs

NL Pennant – Washington Nationals

World Series Champions – Washington Nationals

I should caveat this by saying I just returned from a March Madness vacation in Vegas betting parlays on game.  Operative words – I returned.