2003 PREDICTIONS (PART II)
Taking a look at the American
League Central Division and
how I think the teams will
finish.
By Amaury Pi-GonzálezAmerican League (Central)
1-Chicago. I like the White Sox this
year over the Minnesota Twins.
They got one of the biggest
Free Agents of the off season
in Dominican right hander
Bartolo Colón. He won 20
games last year, 10 with
Cleveland and 10 with Montreal.
The Chisox also got closer
Billy Kock from the A’S and
Sandy Alomar Jr from Colorado.
A potent lineup with the likes
of Frank Thomas,Magglio
Ordoñez and Paul Konerko.
They had mediocre pitching
in 2002 and they finished
with a .500 record of 81-81.
However, this year with Colón
in front of Mark Buhrle (19-12)
a very underrated pitcher and
other starters that can win
betwen 12 to 15 games, like
Jon Garland,Dan Wright and
John Rauch, they can win this
division.
Last season they were sixth
in the league in fewer errors,
so the Chisox are a very good
team and should compete all
the way under manager Jerry
Manuel.
2-Minnesota. The Twins last
year at this time were thinking
of contraction. But in 2002
were named Organization of
the Year in Major League
Baseball by Baseball America.
They were #1 in fielding in
the league Their pitching
is very good, specially
their bullpen with
Stockton’s Eddie Guardado
who saved 45 games,
Latroy Hawkins, Johan
Santana,J.C Romero and
Tony Fiore.
Their starters Brad Radke,
Eric Milton,Joe Mays, veteran
Rick Reed and Kyle Loshe
all can pitch over 150 innings
per season.
And their batting is very
respectable(specially inside
that “torture chamber”called
the Metrodome) Koskie,Hunter
Mienkiewicz, Pierynski. These
names sound like a bunch
of UN Diplomats but are a
very formidable lineup.
Tori Hunter is their big star
and a well liked player in
the dogout.
Ron Gardenhire managed this
team to 94-67 last season
and got them into the Playoffs.
The Twins are basically the
same team (budget restricted)
they do have two new faces in
José Moram whom they got
via rule 5 from Texas a young
and promising infielder and
Chris Gómez a veteran infielder
from Tampa Bay.
The Twins are a real “blue collar”
team, fighting all the time home
and on the road. They came back
to win 42 of the 94 victories
they had last season.
A big problem for them seems
to be the Eastern Division were
they had a negative 15-17
record, but they seem to handle
very well the good teams like
the A’S,Mariners,Red Sox and
are always a very dangerous
team, specially at home.
Second place is a good place
for them.
3-Cleveland. The Indians are
going with the young guys these
days. No more Thome,Travis
Fryman,Bartolo Colón Einar
DÃÂÂaz,Charles Nagy, Steve
Finley, Paul Shuey,Bob Wickman
or Jarred Wright.
Talking about a young team?
The Indians new manager
Eric Wedge is 34 years old !
Last season they used 59
different players, a new record
for the franchise.
Their Opening Day starter
is Vallejo’s own lefty C.C.
Sabathia, but after him they
might as well ‘pray for
rain’. They do start to resemble
a bunch like the ones on the
famous comedy movie
Major League.
One posible future Hall of
Famer still plays with Cleveland.
Venezuelan great shortstop
Omar Vizquel, which(in my
opinion)when all is said and
done will have more Gold
Gloves than Ozzie Smith.
Last season only two pitchers
won 10 or more games, and
one (Danny Baez)was a reliever.
Sabathia won 13 as a starter.
Ellis Burks still one of the league
best hitters and as a DH still
good for 20-30 HR and 80 RBI.
It would be extremely difficult
for this team to finish over
The White Sox or the Twins.
4-Kansas City. Their total revenues
from Television rights is under $4
million per year. Not much needed
to be said about a team that
won 62 games last year.
Their two great stars are Mike
Sweeney and Raul Ibañez.
Their pitching staff is very
inexperienced with a bullpen
that could be a revolving
door all season.
Tony Peña was a very good
catcher and given some talent
he might still be a good manager
but with this team LaRussa,
Torrez,Alou…they still will
win maybe 60 games or so.
They hit a combined .256,
the Royals lowest since
1992. In the offensive minded
American League a team that
hits .256 needs to have great
pitching.
The only reason I picked them
to finish fourth is because
the Tigers are in this division.
5-Detroit. There has been no
joy in the Motorcity for sometime.
And 2003 will be another depressing
season for this storied franchise.
Management in Detroit is hoping
that guys like Kirk Gibson, Lance
Parrish and manager Alan Trammell
can maybe return the aura
of success.
Dave Dombrowksi is a great young
General Manager who built a very
good team for a while in the Florida
Marlins but he needs more than
a miracle here to contend.
Their 55-106 record last season
was right there with Tampa Bay.
Take Me Out to Comerica, a nice
ballpark in downtown Detroit is
not an easy proposition. Their
average attendance in 2002
was 18,000 per game. This on
a great baseball city for many
decades.
As a matter of fact last season
the Tigers started 0-11 and the
rest of the way gave a migrane
headache to manager Luis Pujols
and assistant Felipe Alou. Both
of those guys are presently
with San Francisco with reversed
roles. Alou is the manager and
Pujols the coach. Luis Pujols
thanked Felipe Alou for taking
him out of the Motor City and
bringing him to sold out
Pac Bell by the Bay.
A cellar team all the way from
April to September.
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NEXT TO COME:
American League (East)
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