In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

Next up is the AL Central.

1. Chicago White Sox (9)
Some folks will think that this is too high for the White Sox – that they should be behind the Twins and out of the top 10 in terms of the overall power rankings. Some folks will say that Jake Peavy won’t be healthy all season and that the Chi Sox will once again falter as they try to live station to station on offense. Well, I say the folks that disagree with my opinion are friggin idiots. Harsh? Yeah, but it also needed to be said. I realize that I’m taking a risk by moving the Sox to the head of the AL Central, but really, it’s hard to argue that this division isn’t a crapshoot anyway. Every team has question marks heading into the season but at the end of the day, pitching makes or breaks a team. I realize Peavy missed all of last year due to injury, but the Sox were second in the AL in pitching last season with a 4.14 ERA without him. If he stays healthy, Peavy will only add to Chicago’s solid rotation (which also features Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia) and the addition of J.J. Putz should bolster the bullpen as well. Outside of injuries, the only thing that could potentially hold Chicago back this year is its offense. What do you mean that’s kind of a big deal? I’m banking that youngster Gordon Beckham develops quickly and that Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios return to form. I also think the Sox will get key contributions from the additions GM Kenny Williams made this offseason in Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen. I’m not expecting the Sox to magically transform into the Yankees of the AL Central, but I do believe they have enough offense to get by while their pitching carries them to a playoff berth.

2. Minnesota Twins (10)
Boo! Hiss! Why do you have the Twins behind the White Sox, moron? Minnesota fans aren’t going to appreciate this – especially considering they’re still all hopped up on the Joe Mauer contract juice. But the pitching staff scares the bejeuses out of me. I’m well aware of what Mauer and Justin Morneau can do with 42 inches of lumber and I think the offseason addition of Jim Thome was great. But does this team have enough starting pitching to make a run? Based on the starters’ performances thus far in spring training, the answer to that question is “yes.” Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, Carl Pavano and even Francisco Liriano have all looked good thus far but the Twins will need consistency out of this group throughout the entire season. Plus, Jon Rauch (or Heath Bell or Jason Frasor) has to step in for Joe Nathan, who was lost for the season after deciding to undergo Tommy John surgery. Even though Rauch has looked good himself this spring, Nathan left some pretty big shoes to fill. Another factor that I can’t shake is that the club is moving out of the Metrodome this year into the brand new outdoor Target Field. The Twins have gone 102-61 at home over the last two years and just 73-89 on the road. While it may sound trivial, they had a distinct advantage inside the dome – a distinct advantage they no longer have. That said, after I spent an entire paragraph doubting them, I do believe that the Twins have enough talent to run away with the Central. If the success that the starters have had this spring carries over into the regular season, then they should win the division. And if Rauch pitches as well as he did last season and in spring training this year, then he’ll ease the pain of the club not having Nathan. But something tells me that the Twins take a step back this year – the excitement about Mauer’s new contract be damned.

3. Detroit Tigers (16)
It’s hard to get a read on the Tigers. Are they a team moving forward or are they a team that’s ready to blow itself up and start rebuilding? Justin Verlander is a serious Cy Young candidate and Miguel Cabrera is a serious MVP candidate now that he has vowed to stay sober. (He was actually a serious MVP candidate when he was hitting the bottle the night before games, but being sober only helps things.) But here’s where my concern comes in with the Tigers: If things go bad in the first half, will the front office hold a fire sale at the deadline? No club in baseball has been hit harder by the downturn in the economy like Detroit has and I could see the Tigers creating financial relief for themselves by clearing some big contracts off the books – including Cabrera’s. That said, it’s not hard to see why Detroit fans are excited about the Tigers’ chances this year. Behind Verlander is 21-year-old phenom Rick Porcello and then promising, hard-throwing right-hander Max Scherzer, who was acquired in the Edwin Jackson deal. The Tigers also overpaid to watch Johnny Damon’s power decrease dramatically now that he won’t be hitting in Tornado alley, but fans seem excited about what he can bring to a lineup (i.e. patience at the plate, speed) and a clubhouse (i.e. orange slices and Capri Sun). As I wrote in the write up for the White Sox, the AL Central will be a crapshoot again this year. All three teams at the top of the division – the Sox, Twins and Tigers – have a legitimate shot at winning the Central and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Detroit wears the crown at the end of the year. But after they parted with Curtis Granderson in a cost cutting move this offseason, I worry about whether or not the front office is committed to winning. The Damon deal suggests that they are, but we’ll see what their intentions are around the trade deadline.

4. Kansas City Royals (25)
There’s just nothing to say about the Royals that hasn’t been said for the past 10 years. They’re so bland that sometimes you forget they’re even there. “Hey, who do the Sox play today?” “The Royals.” “Who? Christ, they’re still in the league?!” The problems that the Royals have from top to bottom are a mile long. They lack the basic fundamentals on the field, including but not limited to: base running, situational hitting and overall defense. This is also an organization that refuses to spend and what’s worse is that they have a brutal scouting department. So basically, it’s the worst of both worlds. That said, there is some hope on the horizon. Zach Greinke gives fans a legitimate reason to show up at the ballpark every fifth day and Billy Butler gives fans a legitimate reason to return from the concession stand when the Royals are up to bat. There’s also a lot of excitement surrounding 19-year-old Cuban defector Noel Arguelles and there is still one or two people left that believe Alex Gordon will develop too. But outside of that, the Royals (who?) will battle the Indians for fourth place in the division once again this season.

5. Cleveland Indians (28)
It just seems like yesterday that, after years of rebuilding, the Tribe had set themselves up with a solid core of players that would help them win for years to come. Then, after just one trip to the ALCS (2007), the club is now back in rebuilding mode. Cleveland fans must be thinking to themselves, “All right – who’s the jokester? Seriously guys, where’s CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez? I’m not kidding around – they were supposed to help us compete for a decade and now somebody has misplaced them.” If enough things break right, the Indians could actually finish near the middle of the pack this year. But a lot has to happen. Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona have to have solid seasons and Chris Perez has to fill Kerry Wood’s (out until early May with a strained right latissimus dorsi muscle, which can also be found in dolphins I think) shoes. Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner also have to bounce back from injuries and some of the young pups like Matt LaPorta and Asdrubal Cabrera have to contribute as well. All in all, the Tribe probably won’t be as bad as many think, but obviously expectations should be kept low seeing as how they are in rebuilding mode. “Rebuilding mode? Again? Are you serious?! Come on!”

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/23/2010-mlb-preview-al-central/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/05/12/adam-carolla-throws-out-first-pitch-at-dodgers-game%e2%80%a6and-the-second-and-the-third%e2%80%a6/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/05/12/adam-carolla-throws-out-first-pitch-at-dodgers-game%e2%80%a6and-the-second-and-the-third%e2%80%a6/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 17:15:06 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=18274 It never ceases to amaze me how bad celebrities are throwing out the first pitch at baseball games.

Case in point, Adam Carolla at a recent Dodgers game:

When told of Carolla’s performance during the first pitch ceremonies, Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre shrugged and said, “It couldn’t have been any worse than Juan Pierre’s throws home.”

1. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (93)—At age 35 and having battled injuries throughout his career, Damon has lost a step or two. But between 1998 and 2002, this sparkplug reached double digits in triples three times.

2. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (90)—Rollins is the heart and soul of the Phillies, and is one of the reasons they won a title in 2008. He’s only 30, but has reached double figures in triples five times, including a career high 20 in 2007.

3. Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays (85)—Crawford is a game-changer, and in his still young career has averaged 15 triples and 53 stolen bases per season.

4. Cristian Guzman, Washington Nationals (78)—Still a very good hitter, but Guzman isn’t the triples or stolen base threat he was in his earlier days with Minnesota. His career high, like Rollins, was also 20 triples, set in 2000 with the Twins.

5. Jose Reyes, New York Mets (73)—Arguably one of the two or three fastest players in the game, Jose has averaged 16 triples and 65 steals over the last four seasons. So how in the world do the Mets not score more runs?

6. Omar Vizquel, Texas Rangers (72)—This one is more about longevity, but Omar did have a career best 10 triples with the Giants in 2006, at the ripe old baseball age of 39.

7. Juan Pierre, Los Angeles Dodgers (71)—Ol’ Juan has slowed down just a bit too, but he’s hit double digits in triples four times during his career, including three straight times from 2004-2006.

8. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (64)—Does anyone remember that Carlos Beltran played seven seasons in Kansas City? I mean, did he really?

8. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (64)—Ichiro bats for average and steals more bases than he does hit extra base hits. But he’s averaged 8 triples per season during his American big league career.

10. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (57)—Jeter is just a true professional and great baseball player, but his career high in triples, 9, came ten seasons ago.

Source: Baseball Reference

From Merriam-Webster.com…

uniform

adj.

1 : having always the same form, manner, or degree : not varying or variable

n.

1. : dress of a distinctive design or fashion worn by members of a particular group and serving as a means of identification ; broadly : distinctive or characteristic clothing

Juan Pierre is my hero. I instantly regret having that thought as I neither believe it nor do I want to lose any credibility as a writer. It’s just that, for the purposes of this piece, Pierre exemplifies what I feel is the perfect uniform attire. In his ten years as a professional baseball player, Pierre has been on five clubs yet always dressed exactly the same despite working with different material, jersey cuts, and color combinations. We’ll use his style with his current team, the Dodgers, as an example. Given the Dodgers white/blue combination, Pierre chooses to wear blue gloves, blue cleats, and blue socks, which I might add, he fully displays by hiking his pants up to his knees. Perhaps I get a kick out of Pierre so much because he dresses like my teams used to do in little league — but what purer form of baseball is there than that? Not only does he look like an anxious pre-teen out on the field, but he usually wears his cap under his helmet when he bats, which little leaguers must do because of the awkward size and feel of the helmets.

Pierre’s style harkens back to an earlier baseball era, when uniforms made the player look trim and clean cut, not sloppy and careless. The only thing Pierre’s getup is missing is a pair of stirrups, but I think Jamie Moyer is the only one advanced enough to pull those off. Point is, Pierre dresses in a classy and non-distracting manner that would make a manager like Tony La Russa or Joe Torre proud. Nowadays, players make so many adjustments to their attire that a team’s uniform is anything but, and quite frankly, it’s irritating.

Extra Armor

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know they’re injury prone and I understand that you have them on your fantasy team, but they’re facing a pitcher, not the Knights of the Round Table. The amount of elbow pads, shin guards, and armbands Barry Bonds wore was straight up laughable. Early 1900s badasses such as Ty Cobb and Jimmie Foxx are spinning in their graves. These guys stepped into the batter’s box without any batting gloves or a helmet, and they still owned pitchers throwing just as hard as they do today. The cup is protection enough, so prove that you need one: grow a pair, take off the rollerblade equipment, and hit the ball.

Takin’ it Easy

When did ballplayers start dressing like the guy sitting next to me at the game? You know that guy – he’s got on his Manny Ramirez jersey, top button undone, hat askew, dreadlocks touching my arm. All right, I made that last part up, but I think this image is slowly becoming the modern style of dress in the MLB. Players simply don’t look like they’re at a job, which is how they should approach it considering the vast amounts money they receive. Look, I love Matt Kemp, but I don’t know how he expects to become the next 40-40 man wearing those two pairs of garbage bags stitched together he calls baseball pants. With loose-fitting pants dragging like that against the field, it obviously has to slow down one’s running, unlike the aerodynamic knee-highs sported by Pierre. Just tighten it up, guys. Try to match and look like a team.

What a Waste

Last week, every single player in professional baseball honored Jackie Robinson by wearing number 42 on the back of their jersey. Every. Single. Player. Believe me, it was a nice gesture, but I think a “42” on the back of their hats would have been just fine. So many of these players are going to be traded or sent down to the minors and never have use for this jersey again. Yes, it will be another memento in the trophy room, but I think a cheaper alternative would have sufficed. Here’s hoping they do the same again next year and the players will just wear them again. And I mention cheaper because the full uniforms athletes wear cost a pretty penny. As someone who has purchased both a league-worn jersey and hat, I can tell you that Majestic and New Era are doing just fine. So please, put this money back into the hands of the fans by lowering concessions and ticket prices. The Padres do not have to wear army fatigued-themed jerseys for one game. They are hideous to look at and the players will never get enough use out of them. Let the troops on leave get in free to the game; have the players wear a commemorative patch of some sort. Also, don’t have the Astros wear green hats as a way to remind people to be environmentally conscious. What better way to remind baseball fans to recycle and conserve than knowing that Roy Oswalt is going to throw away that disgusting puke-green hat right after the game.

OK. I think I’ve blown off enough steam by now. Now I’m going to go put on my Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers jersey and lay down.

1. Juan Pierre, Los Angeles Dodgers (429)—I had to do a double take. Juan Pierre, still playing? Why yes, he’s only 30 years old, and he had 40 stolen bases for the Dodgers last season. He could easily reach 500 by late next season, putting him in the career company of Luis Aparicio and Paul Molitor, among others.

2. Omar Vizquel, Texas Rangers (385)—He’s 42 and a backup now, but how about Omar’s ’99 season in Cleveland when he hit .333 with 42 steals? The fact that Omar finished 16th in the MVP voting that season says more about the steroid era than it does about his season. Today he’d probably finish in the top 5 with those numbers.

3. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (363)—It’s hard to believe Johnny Damon has been in the league since 1995, but he has, and he’s been a pesky leadoff hitter the entire time, averaging an impressive 30 steals per season.

4. Luis Castillo, New York Mets (342)—He’s not the speedster he once was, but Castillo stole a modest 17 bases last year while not at 100%, and he’s still only 33 years young.

5. Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels (318)—Bobby has that rare combination of speed, power and the ability to hit for average. It’s amazing he was on the free agent market this past winter for as long as he was.

6. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (315)—The amazing thing about Ichiro is that he’s only entering his ninth season in the American major leagues. Once he returns from the DL from a stomach ulcer, he’s going to keep adding to this total, probably for several years.

7. Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays (302)—One of the game’s most exciting young players, and he’s only 27 years old.

8. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (295)—Rollins is another guy who does it all, including hit for power and play the field like a wizard. A legitimate MVP candidate year after year, and a big reason the Phils won it all in 2008.

9 (tie). Mike Cameron, Milwaukee Brewers (291)—If Cameron had a higher career batting average than his .250 mark, he’d no doubt have more steals by now as well. But .291 is still pretty impressive for any player.

9 (tie). Jose Reyes, New York Mets (291)—One of the cornerstones of the Mets’ franchise and a guy that has contended for the stolen base title every season of his career. Reyes is only 26 years old, and AVERAGING 62 steals per season. That’s just mind-boggling.

Source: Baseball Reference

#1 Chan Ho Park Signed by Texas in 2002, five years, $65 million.
Coming off 18-10 and 15-11 seasons in the pitchers’ heaven that is Dodger Stadium, Texas gave Park one of the most lucrative contracts ever given to a pitcher at that time. Injuries limited his workload, which wasn’t a bad thing considering his ERAs with the Rangers: 5.75, 7.58, 5.74, 5.66, before he was finally unloaded to San Diego in 2005.

#2 Juan Pierre (signed by Los Angeles in 2006, five years, $44 million) and Andruw Jones (signed by Los Angeles in 2007, two years, $36.2 million).
You know it’s a really bad signing when the team inks someone a year later to play the same position, and he does even worse. Pierre took his below-league-average on-base ability and minuscule power into the offensive void of Dodger Stadium with predictable results: .664 and .655 OPS in his two seasons so far. Andruw Jones received a raise off his worst season in 2007, and demonstrated that bad year in Atlanta was no fluke, batting .158 with three home runs in 209 at bats in 2008. The Jones signing also shifted Pierre to left field, where his wretched bat for a centerfielder would be an even greater liability. By the end of the season, the Dodgers recognized their CF answer had been there all along, in the person of Matt Kemp.

#3 Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle – Signed by Colorado in 2000; Hampton for eight years, $121 million, Neagle for five years, $51 million.
The vertiginous problem of pitching in Colorado led to some terrible decisions. Even though importing a free agent had failed in the case of Darryl Kile (ERAs of 5.20 and 6.61 in his two seasons before he was traded to St. Louis), the Rockies tried again in the 2000-01 offseason, giving $172 million to two lefthanders. Hampton was hampered by injuries and ineffectiveness in his two seasons in Colorado, going 21-28 with ERAs of 5.41 and 6.15 before being shipped off to Florida (and then on to Atlanta); his free-agent contract finally expired last year. Neagle was a decent 31-year-old pitcher with a 105-69 record and 3.92 career ERA when the Rockies elevated him to the front of their rotation; he gave them three seasons of 19-23, 5.56, before earning his release with two years left on his contract.

I’m a little surprised Barry Zito didn’t make the list, but I guess people are willing to give him one more year of brutal pitching before really laying the hammer on the massive free agent bust.

At times, it’s tough to be a Dodger fan. Besides the Yankees, the Dodgers make more transactions involving blue chip players than any other organization. Their starting lineup one day may be completely different the next, as a smorgasbord of future hall-of-famers and one-time greats jump in and out of the lineup. Colletti has taken huge risks in spending enormous sums on big-name players. Manny Ramirez is proving to be his first untainted success after the unfruitful acquisitions of Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt, and Brad Penny. Colletti is paying each of these guys at least $5 million a year and is hearing about it every day.

Then there’s Andre Ethier. After signing a one-year $425,000 deal for the 2007-08 season, Ethier has quickly matured into the Dodgers’ most economic star. Actually, forget “economic.” He is the Dodgers’ best all-around player and will soon become the face of their organization if Colletti plays his cards right. Keep in mind, Ramirez came aboard more than two-thirds into the season. At 36 years-old, Manny is a future hall-of-famer with only a few years remaining. As much as the Dodgers and their fans would love to keep the free-spirited slugger, his contract is up at the end of the season, and all signs point to Manny in pinstripes.

Ethier is only 26 and just finishing his third professional season. He has an unbelievable arm, can hit for both power and average, and has avoided injury. On a roster that contains five capable outfielders—Ethier, Jones, Kemp, Ramirez, and Pierre—Ethier has undeniably earned a starting slot. He leads the Dodgers in homeruns (20) and batting average (.299), is tied with Matt Kemp in doubles (36), and is second in RBIs (71) and triples (6). Ethier is a free agent at the end of this season and, as these numbers show, he’s proven more valuable than those other cash cows.

The Dodgers are finally breaking away from the Diamondbacks and are running a blue streak towards the pennant. This current success can be found in the bats of the veteran Ramirez and the youngster Ethier. Next year, the Dodgers are likely to look much different. (Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Greg Maddux, Chad Billingsley, and Derek Lowe are all up for contract renegotiation.) Hopefully, Ned Colletti will follow those same instincts he had in 2005 and focus on youth by re-signing Andre Ethier.