Article:AL Central Preview

1st Place, Detroit Tigers Lineup: CF Curtis Granderson 1B Carlos Guillen 3B Miguel Cabrera RF Maglio Ordonez DH Gary Sheffield SS Edgar Renteria C Ivan Rodriguez 2B Placido Polanco LF Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames

Rotation: RHP Justin Verlander LHP Kenny Rogers RHP Jeremy Bonderman LHP Dontrelle Willis LHP Nate Robertson SU: Fernando Rodney CL: Todd Jones

The Tigers pushed themselves ahead of the rest of the AL Central after the blockbuster deal in December that landed them Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera makes the Tigers offense one of the best (if not the top) offenses in the league. Their pitching has some question marks, but so does every other team in the division. Verlander is solid, but Bonderman and Willis are coming off sub-par years and need to pitch like they're capable of. Getting a full season out of Kenny Rogers should help. The bullpen, led by Todd Jones, is fragile and a little thin at the moment, but the team is expecting Fernando Rodney to start the year healthy, and Joel Zumaya back by mid-season. If that happens, the Tigers will be one of the front runners for the AL Pennant.

2nd Place, Cleveland Indians Lineup: CF Grady Sizemore 2B Asrubal Cabrera DH Travis Hafner C Victor Martinez 1B Ryan Garko SS Johnny Peralta 3B Casey Blake RF Franklyn Guttierrez LF Jason Michaels

Rotation: LHP C.C. Sabathia RHP Fausto Carmona LHP Jake Westbrook RHP Paul Byrd LHP Jeremy Sowers SU: Rafael Betancourt CL: Joe Borowski

The Indians return the same starting lineup and pitching staff as last years bunch, minus Kenny Lofton. I think they should have re-signed Lofton for depth in the outfield, but they should do ok without him. Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore are all-star players and all 3 have MVP type talent. The starting rotation looks solid, lead by Sabathia and Carmona. Outside of Betancourt though, I'm not too up on their bullpen though, and thats where they may have some problems. They should be able to score enough runs to keep up with the Tigers, but their bullpen may not be able to keep teams off the board. This should be the year Betancourt takes over the closers job. They have two youngsters in Asrubal Cabrera and Franklin Guttierrez to keep an eye on who could be huge lifts if they can produce offensively. As they stand now, I just can't see them finishing above the loaded Detroit Tigers.

3rd Place, Chicago White Sox Lineup: CF Jerry Owens SS Orlando Cabrera LF Nick Swisher DH Jim Thome 1B Paul Konerko RF Jemaine Dye C A.J. Pierzynski 3B Josh Fields 2B Danny Richar

Rotation: LHP Mark Buerhle RHP Javier Vazquez RHP John Danks RHP Jose Contreras RHP Gavin Floyd SU: Scott Linebrink CL: Bobby Jenks

The White Sox should be in the thick of things in the AL Central all year. Although they don't have a true, proven leadoff hitter, their lineup has plenty of punch and shouldn't have any problem scoring runs. The middle of the order is aging a bit, but can still hit. The additions of Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera give the lineup speed and versatility. I'm not sold on their starting rotation just yet. Buerhle and Vazquez should be fine, but after those two, it gets a little shaky. John Danks and Gavin Floyd are playing big roles in the rotation and neither has been successful in the bigs yet. They also could use another solid arm in the rotation in place of Contreras who has been on a steep decline. The bullpen is solid with Jenks and Linebrink closing teams down in the 8th and 9th innings.

4th Place, Minnasotta Twins Lineup: CF Carlos Gomez 2B Bredan Harris C Joe Mauer 1B Justin Morneau LF Delmon Young RF Michael Cuddyer 3B Mike Lamb DH Jason Kubel/Craig Monroe SS Adam Everett

Rotation: LHP Francisco Liriano RHP Livan Hernandez RHP Kevin Slowey RHP Boof Bonser RHP Scott Baker SU: Pat Neshek CL: Joe Nathan

The Twins lost their two top players from a year ago (Torii Hunter, Johan Santana) and although they got some good young players in return, it looks like '08 will be a year of transition for the Twins. Their starting staff is loaded with talent as well as a whole bunch of questions. Liriano has to return to his 2006 form and Scott Baker will have to resemble a young Brad Radke if the Twins are going to have any shot in this division this year. Their bullpen is once again one of the better ones in the league with Matt Guerrier, Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan holding down the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. They also have some young talent in their lineup with Delemon Young, Joe Mauer and Carlos Gomez. They have the pieces in place to be good, but it may take a year or two for them to develop.

5th Place, Kansas City Royals Lineup: CF David DeJesus 2B Mark Grudzielanek LF Mark Teahan 3B Alex Gordon RF Jose Guillen 1B Billy Butler DH Ross Gload/Jpey Gathright C John Buck SS Tony Pena

Rotation RHP Gil Meche RHP Brian Bannister LHP Zack Grienke RHP Brett Tomko LHP Jorge De La Rosa/RHP Kyle Davies SU: Ron Mahay CL: Joakim Soria

Once again, the Royals have very little hope in the AL Central, but things look to be on up for Kansas City. All the young talent accumulated over the years is starting to form a decent, young lineup. I think at least one of their youngsters (Mark Teahan, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon) will breakout and have an all-star year this season. They also have Joey Gathright waiting in the wings who if given a full time job could very well steal 75+ bases. Their pitching isn't very good, but they appear to have a set rotation going into the season, which is better than they've had in years past. Meche, Bannister and Grienke are all capable big league arms, and Joakim Soria is one of the bright young closers in the game today.