Here is my examination of the AL Central, fellas, remember, this is all what is on paper stats, and not barring injuries:
Starting Rotation: Twins > White Sox > Royals > Indians > Tigers
Bullpen: Twins > Royals > Indians > White Sox > Tigers
Lineup: Tigers > Indians > White Sox > Twins > Royals
Defense: Twins > Indians > Royals > Tigers > White Sox
Bench/Backup Players: Tigers > Royals > Indians > White Sox > Twins
My estimates: Twins win the division, 87-75, Indians go 83-79, Royals go 79-83, White Sox go 77-85, Tigers go 75-87.
The Minnesota Twins are my favorite to win the division. Not because they are my hometown team, but because of their stats overall as a team. Their starting rotation doesn't have a weak spot. Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, and Scott Baker all will most likely have under 4 ERAs. Blackburn and Perkins will have around low to mid 4 ERAs. That is a very good starting rotation, and young, so injury risks aren't as high as a lot of other teams in the Central. The Twins bullpen fell apart towards the end of the 2008 season, but that was because of players coming back from tommy john surgery, so this year Crain and Guerrier will most likely return to form, making their bullpen once again their strongest point as a team. The Twins defense will still be one of the best in the majors, with incredible range in the outfield and in the infield, and with Joe Mauer behind the plate, whoever thinks the Twins defense isn't atleast the top 5 in the majors is crazy. The Twins weakspot is their lineup isn't as potent as it will be next year, even though they were the top 3 in runs. That is because they have a hole in third base, and most of their runs last year was because of their insane hitting with runners in scoring position average, which will most likely come down as the Twins have no real power threat besides Morneau and Kubel. The Twins also have a very thin bench, which is not good at all if you get an injury. My recommendation is the Twins go after trading for a good hitting third baseman or shortstop, if they get a good hitting shortstop they can always move Punto to third. Ty Wigginton would be a great option, as he can also backup the outfield, play third, and can backup second and first base, and he has power.
The Indians are shaping up to be a very good team. Their lineup, anchored by Sizemore, Choo, and Peralta, is a dangerous one. They have also been extremely busy filling in the holes they had last year, getting Kerry Wood to close for them, and Derosa to fill in second so Cabrera can move to short, moving Peralta to third. Their defense will be great, as they have a very good outfield, and their defense in the infield isn't shabby either. They increased their bullpen strength by acquiring Kerry Wood from the Cubs, but their bullpen still has some big holes that need to be filled. Their starting rotation also has their #4 and #5 spots empty, which can be filled as they have some good depth in the minors, but prospects are always question marks. They have a decent bench with Shoppach, a very good hitter, able to play first or catcher, and they have some outfield depth. My solution for the Indians would be to try and trade for an average starting pitcher from a team that isn't ready to compete just yet, such as Jarrod Washburn from Seattle, they could also maybe get Miguel Batista to fill in for their bullpen for a couple of close to ready pitching prospects.
The Royals have been improving their team a little step at a time over the past 3 years, and it has been showing. Not only do they have a very good starting rotation anchored by Greinke, Meche, and Davies, but they also have a very young but capable bullpen. They have a hole to fill in the #5 spot in the rotation, though. They been very busy this offseason, acquiring homerun slugger Mike Jacobs, Farnsworth, Crisp, and Bloomquist. They have a surplus of first basemen, they have Kila Ka'aihua, Jacobs, Shealy, Butler, and Gload. Their defense is average, as they have a decent outfield with Crisp and Dejesus, but Guillen has been getting progressively slower. They also have an average defense, as Alex Gordon is very good at third, and they have Bloomquist and Callaspo at second, who are both known for their defense, Aviles is made more for second, as he has very good hands but not as good of range as a shortstop should have. The Royals lineup is far from bad, though, as it is all around okay. But the thing is, is that the Royals lineup really isn't "anchored" by anybody. The team doesn't truly have a high on-base percentage, high power hitter that most competitive teams have. The Royals are really scraping the barrel when it comes to on base percentage. My solution: The Royals should trade one of their first basemen (Most likely Billy Butler) and either Bloomquist and Callaspo, for a good hitting second baseman/shortstop, and either keep Aviles at short or move him to second. Michael Young would be an excellent choice also. I would also maybe try and sign another arm for the rotation, something that will fill it and not do anything special. Overall, the Royals are going to get better slowly like they have been, and they will be competing for years to come if they keep to their youth.
The White Sox were a surprise in 2008, as they came from the bottom to the top in a very close season that literally came down the last game. Their lineup is very good as it is anchored by Dye, Quentin, and Thome. Their starting rotation is very good and very young, but they have the number 5 spot with a hole. Danks and Floyd came as a huge surprise for many baseball experts. The one problem with the White Sox is, they aren't getting any younger. They have holes in third, center, and second base that need to be addressed before the season if they wish to compete. Josh Fields will most likely take third, as he has a lot of power, but not very good plate discipline. Their defense is absolutely horrendous, as their players are getting old. AJ behind the plate isn't anything special, their outfield is slow, and nobody knows what the infield is going to look like. The White Sox overall as a team aren't horrible, but the holes that they do have need to be addressed. Their bullpen isn't anything impressive. They don't really have a major hole in their bullpen, it's just that a lot of their 1 inning slingers are just about average. Besides Bobby Jenks, nobody in the White Sox bullpen can be considered dominant. The White Sox bench is fairly empty, too. They have some decent outfield depth, but their infield depth is non-existant. I think if the White Sox want to stay competitive, which they are close to being, they have options. They should either suck it up and resign Orlando Cabrera, and maybe move Ramirez to centerfield, they could go for Fred Lewis of the San Francisco Giants to patrol center and leadoff (If the Giants get Manny), sign either Ray Durham or Orlando Hudson to play at second and leadoff with Ramirez at SS, or maybe even sign Jim Edmonds to play center for them. They have options to fill.
The Detroit Tigers, the favorite to win the World Series by a lot of people at the beginning of last season, was the biggest disappointment of the year. They spent the big bucks getting D-Train and Miggy Cabrera, and still fell short. Way short. Looking back at how they lost, it is pretty simple. They had no pitching, and still don't. Pitching wins ball games more than batting does. They have one of the best lineups on paper of the MLB, anchored by Ordonez, Cabrera, and Granderson. They have one of the strongest benches in the MLB with the likes of Thames, Sheffield, Inge, and plenty of options in the outfield and infield. The Tigers also were pretty busy this offseason, adding in Edwin Jackson into their very weak rotation and made it a little better, and got Laird from the Rangers to fill in a huge hole they had at catcher. Along with having one of the best lineups and benches, they also have one of the worst rotations and bullpens. Their starting rotation flopped bigtime last year, with Verlander not doing squat as an "ace", D-Train not able to pitch in the strike zone, Nate Robertson being a flop, and Bonderman unhealthy. Their rotation right now, in fact, is the same rotation that existed last year except now they have Edwin Jackson, a decent starter in his own right, but is one pitcher going to fix the whole mess of a starting rotation? No. If Verlander returns to form, Miner continues to do decent, Edwin Jackson does good like he did last year, Bonderman stays healthy, and maybe Robertson or D-Train bounces back, then the Tigers will do good. But that is a lot of "ifs" and a lot of them seem impossible. The Tigers bullpen is also very very lost. Zumaya, the Tigers setup man, cannot throw a curveball, and Rodney is their closer. How unimpressive can a bullpen get? They also have a very good defensive shortstop in Adam Everett, but besides that their defense is rather rangeless. Overall if the Tigers want to succeed, they need to sign some starting rotation pitchers that will eat innings and have around a mid 4 era, as their lineup is beefy enough to overcome an average starting rotation. Sign two mid-quality pitchers like Jon Garland, Odalis Perez, Randy Wolf, etc. Sign a good quality bullpen arm like Dennys Reyes, and trade for another one. Maybe package Inge and a prospect for one.
