AL Central

The second installment of my utterly un-researched predictions for the 2007 baseball season.

AL CENTRAL

The teams:
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins

The outlook: The AL Central is the best division in baseball -- period -- and this year's competition is going to be intense.

The please-don't-bunt-it-to-the-pitcher Tigers return basically the same lineup as the team that got them to the World Series last year, with the notable addition of Gary Sheffield. The loss of Sheffield is huge for the Yankees, as they will now have to find a different outfielder for Old-Timers' Day. Postseason innings can take quite the toll on a pitching staff (see Kenny Rogers), and it is a valid question as to whether the Tiger pitching staff will be able to hold up over another 162 game season and carry the tabbies deep into October. The Tigers will have a better first than second half -- look for them to get a slight lead, but fade down the stretch (your 2006 AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins anyone?).

The White Sox should be Detroit's main competition, and they could be a very capable or superior opponent. The 2007 White Sox team has a lot of ifs -- if Mark Buehrle can return to form, if Javier Vazquez can live up to his potential, if Scott Podsednik v.2005 not v.2006 shows up, and if John Danks can be a capable fifth starter. If all those ifs fall into place this White Sox team will be a handful. (Too many ifs? Remember 2005? If Orlando Hernandez can still pitch -- if Jon Garland can live up to his potential -- if this Tadahito Iguchi guy can play second base -- if Shingo Takatsu can remain a dominant closer without prototypical stuff -- and later, if this tall, wide guy named Jenks can take over the closer's duties).

Look for the White Sox and Tigers to slug it out all year, being pushed by the Cleveland Indians, and, to a lesser extent due to the loss of Liriano (injury) and Radke (retirement), Minnesota.

Spaulding prognostication:
AL Central champion -- Detroit Tigers
AL Central Wild Card -- Chicago White Sox

Tigers limp to a divisional crown, but don't get to live October to its fullest.

Up next: AL West

Strike Back at the Gold Glove Awards

Baseball fans now have an opportunity to make up (a little bit) for Joe Crede's slight in the Gold Glove balloting by casting their vote for the third baseman in the This Year in Baseball Awards "defense" category. Not on the defensive ballot? Eric Chavez and Kenny "Dirty Hand" Rogers.

Interestingly the This Year in Baseball Awards "postseason moment of the year" category does not include the Detroit Tigers' five pitching errors. Clearly these awards are far from perfect too.

More Gold Glove Griping

Apparently a "dirty" hand doesn't help you in the infield...

The Chicago Tribune:

For what it's worth, during the regular season Detroit was an average fielding team, allowing the seventh-fewest unearned runs in the American League. The pitching staff combined to commit 15 errors during the season, only 10 more than they did during the World Series. Oddly, Kenny Rogers, who on Thursday was awarded his fifth Gold Glove, had five errors during the regular season, tied with Florida's Dontrelle Willis and Cleveland's Paul Byrd for the most among big-league pitchers.

Huh? How on Earth did this guy get a Gold Glove? What does Kenny Rogers have on Major League Baseball that he can rank at the top in terms of number of errors committed and still get a Gold Glove, and when he has "dirty" hands, he simply gets asked to wash up?

Gold Glove

The Gold Glove awards for the American League came out today.

The Detroit Tigers' Kenny Rogers won a Gold Glove. Pretty sure he also won the Brown Thumb award too.

By the way, Joe Crede should file a police complaint because he got robbed -- Eric Chavez?!? C'mon! Crede deserved the Gold Glove in 2005 and he should have gotten it this year too.