American League Preview: AL West

Texas Rangers:
2007: (75-87) 4th Central
2008 Projection: 68-94 4th Central




Prospects. That is about all you can say about the Rangers. After trading away Texiera the Rangers are sitting with a slew of new talent to watch out for. Add Nolan Ryan as the new President and you have something to watch in the upcoming years. The only underrated veterans added to the lineup were Ben Broussard and Milton Bradley who will have to carry a heavier load than they are accustomed to. So it comes to down to the new talent to watch over the season to see how they will progress and they come in the form of Josh Hamilton, Jason Jennings, Eddie Guardado, and Kaxuo Fukumori.

Bottom Line: The Rangers have something to look forward to, it’s just not the 2008 baseball season.





Oakland Athletics:
2007 (76-86) 3rd west
2008 Projection: (83-79) 3rd West






The A’s are sitting a year removed from a 93 win season and have made a few moves to try to get back to that level. In 2008 90 wins may be out reach but low to mid 80s is not. The outfield gets some help in the form of Emil Brown coming over from Kansas City. Another player to watch in the outfield will be Ryan Sweeny, a second year player who with unimpressive numbers last year could be a key fill in over the season. Digging deep for help, the A’s have also picked up two candidates for come back player of the year. It has been reported that they picked up seasoned vet Mike Sweeny to a minor league contract as well as throwing Kevin Foulke into the two spot in their rotation straight out of retirement.

Bottom Line: While the stats for the 2007 rotation were not completely unimpressive they will need to do their part carry the load until the lineup can pick up some momentum.





Seattle Mariners
2007: (88-74) 2nd the West
2008 Projection: (90-72) 2nd West





The Mariners were overlooked in 2007 as most of the Western Division usually is, but there is no denying the Mariners were a decent ball club. Their biggest issue came from their starting roation which posted 4.73 ERA (10th), 70 QS (12), a BAA of .281 (13th), and a WHIP of 1.48 (11th). For a club that still managed to win 88 games that’s not half bad, especially considering two huge off season acquisitions in the form of Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva.

Bottom Line: Pair the pitching additions with a decent season of offensive production from Richie Sexson and the rest of their lineup and the Mariners should be able to make the West a little interesting.





Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2007: (94-68) 1st West
2008 Projection: (95-67) 1st West





The Angels once again look to be the favorite in the West if they can hold off the Mariers. The story here that will field the basically the same team that we saw in their 2007 campaign. The biggest acquisition was center fielder Torri Hunter (.287 28 HR 107 RBIs 2007) from Minnesota. That’s not to mention the fact that he has one seven straight golden gloves. He should add some added balance to an already good lineup and hope to make up for a forgettable ALDS in 07. In the bullpen they signed Jason Bulger who posted a 2.84 ERA and should add some needed relief in late innings.

Bottom Line: If Hunter continues to produce in his new SoCal home while the rest of the lineup and rotation stay healthy then the Halos are poised for another division title.


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American League Preview: Central Division

Kansas City Royals
2007 (69-93) 5th Central
2008 Projection: 70-92 5th Central



After another disappointing year for the Royals, and another off-season waiting for deals to be made. Well no deals were made, a couple contract extensions for pitchers that produced sub par stats. The Royals were 7th in ERA, 12th in BAA, 13th in OPS, 11th in Saves, 10th in WHIP and 13th is Quality starts. The Royals went out and picked up Brett Tomko from the Padres on a one year contract worth 3 million, and signed Ray Mahay and Yasuhiko Yabuta to two year deals. This provides a little more help to their rotation and bullpen but not enough to carry them by any means. On a side note, they did sign pitcher Hideo Nomo to a minor league contract (Comeback player of the year anyone?).
On the offensive front their biggest move was picking up Jose Guillen on a three year contract worth $31 million. Last year Guillen hit .290 with 23 HR and 99 RBI’s for Seattle. This should get them some much needed support in the lineup. The only problem with Guillen is that he is also facing a 15 game suspension for violating the leagues drug policy, which of course has been appealed. Other than that their lineup is filled with young players with potential, we’ll just have to wait and see if they can overachieve.

Bottom Line: New Major League Baseball manager Trey Hillman has his work cut out for him. After being in Japan managing the Nippon Ham Fighters for the last five years being thrown in the bottom of the AL Central will be a true test.




Minnesota Twins:
2007 (79-83) 3rd Central
2008 Projection: 74-88 4th Central




Lets face it, the loss of Santana is a devastating blow to a pretty decent rotation. Add the loss of Hunter and were looking a crippled Twins ball club. The offseason acquisition of Delmon Young should help a little, as should locking down Morneau to a six year deal. Another good move for the club was picking up Craig Monroe from the Cubs in addition to Jason Pridie and Brendan Harris from the Rays. It is a tough call predicting whether a decent lineup and decent rotation will be enough to be competitive in this division. At best the Twins will be looking at a race for third with the underachieving White Sox.

Who to Watch:
Francisco Liriano will be taking over the one spot in the rotation after Santana’s departure. The reason to be skeptical is that he hasn’t pitched in a year due to Tommy John surgery. In 2006 he posted a 2.16 ERA, .205 BAA, 1.0 WHIP, and a 12-3 record. If his progress is as good as they say it is then Liriano will be the Ace in this rotation and one of the best in the AL.





Chicago White Sox:
2007 (72-90) 4th Central
2008 Projection: 82-80 3rd Central



Three year removed from a World Series championship, saying the White Sox didn’t play to their potential last year is an understatement. With a lineup containing the likes of Thome, Konerko, Dye, Uribe, and Pierznynski they were ranked 12th of lower in every major Batting category last year. With no major moves during the offseason these boys need to star hitting or end up with the decisive label of past their prime and end up at the bottom of the central, again.
They were also ranked towards the bottom of the AL in pitching statistics, failing to get the job done week in and week out. However, with a likely rotation of Buehrle, Vazquez, Danks, Contreras, and Floyd they hope to not fall to the same fate as their lineups productivity.
Bottom Line: Play to your potential and your back in the hunt, don’t and you will be gracing the bottom of the division once again.





Cleveland Indians:
2007: (96-66) 1st AL Central, ALCS Visit
2008 Projection: (94-68) 2nd Central, Wildcard





After being one win away from the World Series last season the Tribe didn’t make a whole lot of moves during the offseason. Other than resigning Casey Blake to a one year deal as well as securing our bullpen by exercising contract options on Borowski, Byrd, Betancourt, and Fultz. the Tribe only made one notable move. They acquired second basemen Jamey Carroll from the Rockies for the always interesting player to be named. This move is interesting for Indians fans because that brings a veteran player in to backup Cabrera.
Look at the Stats for Cabrera and Peralta:
Peralta: .270 21 HR 72 RBI
Defensively he posted a .974 Fielding % with 19 errors.
Cabrera: (Keep in mind this is over 45 games as a rookie)
.283 3 HR 22 RBI with .995 Fielding % and 1 error

I have had the feeling that Cabrera was being groomed to take over at shortstop because of his defensive attributes. I think that there are two scenarios that are not out of the question:
1. Peralta and Cabrera switch positions
2. Cabrera moves to short, Carroll takes over second and Peralta gets sent to the highest bidder.

Bottom Line: C.C Sabathia and Carmona need to perform like last year while getting the wiley vets like Westbrook and Byrd to perform like they did in the postseason. If this happens and Hafner has a year closer to what he did two years ago then the Tribe contends again.




Detroit Tigers:
2007: (88-74) 2nd Central
2008 Projection: 97-65 1st Central




Were looking at a Tigers team who won the ALCS two years ago, put up a decent record last year but failed to make the playoffs mostly due to two factors. First the Indians surged and pulled away. Secondly, the Tigers allowed this to happen by basically posting a post all star break slump and giving the division race to Cleveland. The Tigers didn’t sleep during the offseason though, working hard to make sure an 07 repeat is unlikely.

Offseason Acquisitions:
Miguel Cabrera
Jacque Jones
Edgar Renteria
Dontrelle Willis

This should supplment losing Sean Casey, Andrew Miller, Chris Shelton, and a few others.

Rotation:
Justin Verlander
Jeremy Bonderman
Dontrelle Willis
Kenny Rogers
Nate Robertson

Combine that with a lineup that includes Gary Sheffield, Pudge Rodriguez, Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, and Edgar Renteria and you have the ingredients of an ALCS appearance.

Bottom Line: If everyone stays healthy and they can keep their momentum through the all-star break then they not only are the favorites in the central, but possibly the American League as well.


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American League Preview: AL East

Lets run down the best league in baseball one division at a time. Starting with the…

The Eastern Division

Baltimore Orioles:

2007: 69-93 4th East
2008 Projection: 67-95 5th East

Looks like the Orioles are in for another rough season at Camden Yards. Interim manager Dave Trembley will be returning this season after leading the O’s to a 40-53 record after taking over on June 18th of last year. The Orioles are a statistical nightmare with the only shimmer of light coming from leading the AL in stolen bases with 144. After a December 13th deal that sent 2002 MVP Miguel Tejada to the Astros for Luke Scott, Troy Patton, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate, and Mike Costanzo the O’s are in real trouble. The only hope is that Trembley can mold some of the young talent and take his squad out of the cellar after a year or two of prospect development, I don’t see any miracles happening in Baltimore.



Tampa Bay Rays:
2007: 66-96 (30 GB) 5th East
2008 Projection: 70-92 4th East

Tampa Bay wants to leave 2007 in the past, they’ve dropped the Devil and are going with a more hip rhyming scheme. Next task: Fix their pitching at any and all costs. They came up ranked 14th in ERA, BAA, OPS, SV, and WHIP. Over the last four years Joe Madden has taken them to a combined 154-221 record, hardly anything to write home about.

Rotation:
1. James Shield: 12-8 ERA 3.75 (Resigned to a 4 year contract worth 11.25 million)
2. Scott Kazmir: 13-9 ERA 3.48
3. Matt Garza; 5-7 ERA 3.69
4. Edwin Jackson: 5-15 ERA 5.76
5. Andy Sonnastine: 6-10 ERA 5.85
Silver Lining: Between them they have an average of two years in the show between them. Let’s hope they are still developing.

With a salary sitting around 35 million a year and ranked 28th in spending they have another year to develop before major deals need to be made. Outlook: Sports Radio keeps talking about the Bulls and how they were #2 once.


New York Yankees:
2007: 94-68 (2 GB) : 2nd East, AL Wildcard
2008 Projection: 85- 72 3rd in the East

In 2007 the Yanks were first in every major statistical batting category. My issue with the Yankees can be seen from a couple different perspectives. First i’m not sold on Joe Girardi’s managing credentials. I don’t know if he has what it takes to even finish out his three year contract. I think the amount of pressure on him from the City, the Press, and the Management is enough to make a man weaker than Torre crack. Secondly, I think that age is becoming a huge factor. Its nice to have a blank check when it comes to signing talent, but there comes a point where the all-star team you are assembling doesn’t come together. I am a big believer in a balance between young players and seasoned veterans making a team what it is. Just because you have the payroll of the Red Sox doesn’t mean you have the chemistry, just ask ARod and Jeter. That being said I do realize they won 94 games last season and made the playoffs, as a fan you should take that any day. The issue is that it is New York and looking at postseason performances, something just isn’t clicking.

Off-season Dealings:

LaTroy Hawkins: 1 Year
Mariano Rivera: 3 Years
ARod: 10 Years
Andy Pettitte: 1 Year
Jose Molina: 2 Years
Jorge Posada: 4 Years
Bobby Abreu; Exercise 2008 Option

Bottom Line: Play like the veterans you are, realize you play in New York, forget some of you played with Girardi or miss the playoffs.


Toronto Blue Jays:
2007: 83-79 (13 GB) 3rd in the East
2008: 89- 73 : 2nd in the East

The Jays were the surprise team in the East and arguably in the AL, but received little to no attention. A well above average Blue Jays team doesn’t exactly sell as many newspapers as an underachieving Yankees team. The fact of the matter is that where the Red Sox were #1 in almost every statistical pitching category, the Jays were #2. The Jays squad posted a 4.00 ERA, BAA of .251, an OPS of .706, a WHIP of 1.29, and had 91 Quality Saves all second in the AL. That leaves us with lackluster offensive production that landed them completely unimpressive numbers. That is not taking anything away from a team that was injury plagued all season. Despite major blows to their lineup their pitching still managed to propel them to a respectable record.



2007 Injuries:
Roy Halladay, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, A.J Burnett, Troy Glaus, Reed Johnson, Gustavo Chacin, B.J Ryan

Off-season Moves:
Acquired Scott Rolen and David Eckstein: 1 Year Deal
Catcher Rod Barajas: 1 Year deal
Pitcher Scott Downs : 3 Years
IF Marco Scutaro: 2 Years
Jason Frasor: 1 Year
Gustavo Chacin: 1 Year
Brian Tallet: 1 Year

Bottom Line: Stay Healthy. Eckstein and Rolen are great additions to this club, and if the pitching stays health there is no reason they shouldn’t win close to 90 games. Unfortunately, I still think they miss the playoffs considering the strength of the AL Central this year.




Boston Red Sox:
2007: 96-66 : 1st East, AL Champs, World Series Champs
2008 Projection: 92-70 1st East and another ALCS visit

The Red Sox held off the surging Yankees to claim the Eastern Division last year then cruised to the ALCS/World Series against the Tribe. It’s hard to critique a team that seems to have found the balance of pitching and offensive production. As far as batting is concerned they were 2nd in the AL in On Base % (.362), 3rd in Runs (867) and Slugging (.444), and 5th in average (.279). On the pitching side they were first in the AL in ERA (3.87), Average Against (.247), OPS (.705), and WHIP (1.27). The only major statistical categories they did not sit on top of were Saves (2nd at 45) and Quality Starts (6th at 84).

Off Season Moves:
David Aardsma acquired from the White Sox for Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich

Contract Extensions and Deals:
Kyle Snyder : 1 Year
Javier Lopez: 1 Year
Doug Mirabelli: 1 Year
Mike Timlin: 1 Year

Bottom Line:
As long as the Sox keep up the chemistry and poise they have in recent years, as well as keeping their rotation healthy we should see them make another run at a pennant.


The East will again be a lopsided contest. While the Red Sox and the Yankees are always the two teams to beat, do not count the Blue Jays out. I think they have all the ingredients to make a run at second place and even a wildcard spot. That being said I think that the odds of that are slim seeing as two of the three best teams in the American League call the Central Division home.


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