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2012 American League Central Preview: Crouching Tigers, Hidden Sleepers...
Can there be such a thing as "hidden sleepers"?? I don't know, just thought it made sense for the AL Central this year. While everyone seems to believe the Tigers will cruise to another division title, I think there is a chance things might not go exactly as expected... Here are the current odds to win the AL Central at 5dimes.com.
Tigers: -385
Royals: +1000
Indians: +1150
Twins: +1150
White Sox: +1200
Tigers Projected Roster:
Lineup
A.Jackson CF
B.Boesch RF
M.Cabrera 3B
P.Fielder 1B
D.Young LF
A.Avila C
J.Peralta SS
A.Dirks/D.Kelly DH
R.Raburn/Santiago 2B
Rotation
J.Verlander
D.Fister
M.Scherzer
R.Porcello
D.Smyly
Bullpen
J.Valverde (C)
J.Benoit
O.Dotel
P.Coke
D.Schlereth
C.Balester
L.Marte
At first glance, it makes perfect sense for the Tigers to be such huge favorites. After all, they won 95 games last year and added slugging first baseman P.Fielder in the off season, but there are a few things Tiger fans might want to consider before they make their post-season plans.
-Prince Fielder's actual impact wont match the hype: When a fat guy puts on 15 pounds, does anyone really notice? The Tigers lineup was scary last year as it was, there is only so much room for improvement. They're gaining Fielder, but they lose V.Martinez. Now if he went to a team like the A's or Giants, then you could make a case for him making a huge impact.
-Their defense is going to be bad: With P.Fielder, M.Cabrera, and D.Young they basically have three first basemen that will most likely be in the field at the same time a majority of the year. Center fielder A.Jackson is the only regular with plus range.
-Can Verlander and Fister repeat career years?: Porcello and Scherzer have been inconsistent, and who knows what they'll get from the recently named fifth starter D.Smyly... So big years from their top 2 guys in the rotation might be a must.
-And most importantly, it seems like every other team in the division has improved:
Royals: Last year they won 71 games, Vegas has them at around 80 for this year... Their young hitters (Hosmer, Gordon, Moustakas, Cain) are primed to break out; they added J.Sanchez to the rotation and L.Mendoza has emerged in the spring. Losing closer J.Soria to tommy john surgery was a bad break but these guys should be tough all year long.
Whitesox: I don't know how these guys won 79 games last year with A.Dunn having one of the worst seasons in recent memory right in the middle of the lineup. They have four solid arms in the pen (Thornton, Crain, Ohman, Reed) and the rotation should sneak up on some people this year. Youngster C.Sale will take M.Buerhle's spot to go with Danks, Floyd, and Humber... They do need to groom someone to fill in for J.Peavy who should be hurt by May... I really like this teams chemistry and think they are going to be one of the big surprises of 2012...
Twins: These guys wont win the division but they will surely win more than the 63 they won last year. Morneau and Mauer are healthy and they have put together a rotation that will force teams to put ball in play and beat their strengths... defense and their ballpark.
Indians: This is the mystery team of the division in my opinion... We dont know which Ubaldo Jimenez were gonna get, they don't even know when the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona is gonna pitch again, and their lineup has some guys that look promising but are yet to be considered proven... They have some talent in the bullpen but are they really worthy of this "mafia" tag?? If they put everything together they could cause the other teams in this division problems.
Now imagine Verlander getting hurt... Then what?? It happens to guys that throw 100 mph all the time...
Still want to give me 4-1 that the Tigers win the Central??
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Originally Posted by Smoke
