April 9, 2005

In the Batter's Box

with Eric LeBlanc

American League Preview

We continue our prognosticating this week with a look at the American League.

AL East

1. New York Yankees: Who did you expect, the Devil Rays? The Yankees should win the division. Whether they can turn regular season success into a championship remains to be seen. The Big Unit is a great addition, but the Yanks are old. And that will kill them come October.

2. Boston Red Sox: Can they do it again? This rag-tag bunch of rough riders may make the wild card or win the division. But I don’t think there is enough magic left for two titles. Their pitching is shaky, but their lineup is still strong.

3. Baltimore Orioles: You have to like a lineup that has Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez and Rafael Palmeiro in the middle of it. But that offense will have to outslug all of their opponents because the pitching staff is awful.

4. Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays are just in the wrong place. Being in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox is like being in a singing competition with Frank Sinatra and Celine Dion. Even if you do your best, you know you're not going to win. The Blue Jays have a great starting rotation led by Roy Halladay and they also have a few good hitters like Vernon Wells. But they also have a lot of holes in their lineup.

5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The Devil Rays just can't catch a break this year. Before their season even started, three of the players they signed in the offseason (Roberto Alomar, Danny Bautista and Marty Cordova) retired and their starting center fielder Alex Sanchez was suspended 10 days for steroid use. And the rest of the season won't be much better with a young starting rotation and another group of castoffs from other organizations. This team needs to surround Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford with better talent.

AL Central

1. Minnesota Twins: Who was talking about contracting this team a few years ago? Now Bud Selig looks insane for thinking about it. And that makes Twins fans real happy. With Cy Young winner Johan Santana leading a good starting rotation, the Twins should win the Central with few problems. Look for Justin Morneau to break out this season.

2. Cleveland Indians: The kids are in control in Cleveland where seven of the nine spots in the lineup will be inhabited by young players. That bodes well for the tribe because they will be energized down the stretch. Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez should become stars this year.

3. Chicago White Sox: The Sox are in a strange position this season. They are not exactly rebuilding, but they aren’t really a serious contender either. They have quality pitching, if Jermaine Dye and Frank Thomas can stay healthy, they can bolster a weak lineup.

4. Detroit Tigers: Although I don’t think the Tigers will contend anytime soon, I don’t think they will embarrass themselves either. Magglio Ordonez is a good addition to their lineup because he doesn’t have to hit homers to be successful. If the other hitters in the lineup would follow suit, then the Tigers may find some success.

5. Kansas City Royals: The Royals look bad this year. I mean real bad. When Jose Lima is your ace and Tony Graffanino is your starting third baseman, you might be a last place team. Look out 2004 Tigers, the Royals are heading in your direction.

AL West

1. Los Angeles Angels: The name doesn’t seem right, but the team looks good. With Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera, Steve Finley and Garret Anderson in the middle of the lineup, the Angels will have plenty of offense. But can Bartolo Colon and the rest of the starters keep runs off of the board? This will be the challenge as the Angels try to take the wide open AL West.

2. Oakland Athletics: Can a team get rid of two of the best pitchers in the majors and still win their division the next year? No, and the A’s will find out just how much they miss Hudson and Mulder in mid-season when they try to turn around another slow start. Rich Harden is good, but the A’s offense is not good enough to survive without three or four good starters.

3. Texas Rangers: The Texas Rangers are an interesting bunch. With hitters like Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano the Rangers will score a ton of runs this season. The thing is, will they be able to keep other teams from scoring as many runs? Beyond Ryan Drese and Kenny Rogers, I don't see the Rangers playing too many 1-0 games. Teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels will give them tons of problems. They may score enough to contend, but they won't win the division.

4. Seattle Mariners: The new and improved Mariners don’t look all that good. The pitching staff could be good, but it could be bad. Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre could lead the offense to many victories, or they could get hurt (in Sexson’s case) or revert back to just decent players (in Beltre’s case). Any way you look at it, the Mariners will be better, just how much better is the question.

Eric LeBlanc’s column will hopefully also be better this year, just how much better really depends on how much of the columns you read. He can be told how much better he is at (985) 758-2795 or by e-mail at EricL@heraldguide.com.