AL Central
Last year I did pick the division winner right, for what it's worth, but I whiffed quite a bit on how everyone else played out. Teams surprise and disappoint every year, but hopefully this year I can be a little more on point (as I'm pretty sure I've said every day so far this week... maybe I'm just not as good a prognosticator as I would like to be).
2012: 88-74, 1st in AL Central, lost in World Series
The lineup has a little different look to it this year with Torii Hunter returning to the division and Delmon Young moving on, but you still have that dangerous heart of the order with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, now backed up by a healthy Victor Martinez. The starting rotation is really scary top to bottom again this year, anchored by some Verlander guy who from what I hear is really, really good.
2013 Projection: 91-71
2012: 85-77, 2nd in AL Central
This team surprised me and pretty much all of Chicago by being pretty good for most of the year before falling off the table in September. I think the rotation has a chance to be good, and the lineup has a good blend of youth and veteran talent. I asked resident Sox expert Geoffy what he thinks about this South Side team.
"The team's future is just as important as its present, so an all-around effort will be needed if they want to stay with Detroit and an improved Cleveland."I think they can provide that all-around effort to an extent, though I'm not as worried about Cleveland as Geoffy is. This will be a good, competitive team, but not quite to Detroit's level.
2013 Projection: 85-77
2012: 72-90, 3rd in AL Central
Kansas City has been awful for as long as I can remember, but they've slowly been building up talent and now have a pretty good pitching staff to go with a good young lineup. Guys like Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas might not be elite in any sense, but they can put up some good numbers and keep this Kansas City team relevant.
2013 Projection: 80-82
2012: 68-94, 4th in AL Central
Cleveland still has that decent 1-2 punch in the rotation with Masterson and Jiminez, but there's a lot of youth in that lineup now that Travis Hafner and Shin Soo Choo aren't with the team. The presence of Michael Bourn will certainly be a boost, and the bullpen isn't bad, but compared to the rest of the division, I just don't think this team can compete.
2013 Projection: 69-93
2012: 66-96, 5th in AL Central
After getting rid of top of the order talent in Denard Span and Ben Revere, there's barely anything left on this team other Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Scott Diamond will help bolster a thin rotation when he returns from the 15 day DL, and another season of Josh Willingham is a good thing, but it's going to be another rough season at Target Field with so much youth out there.
2013 Projection: 65-97
We're halfway through the divisions. Tomorrow I'll look at how my team will do in 2013 compared with the rest of a decent division.
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