Danville, Kentucky— The AL Central represents America’s
best. It’s a division of friendship, veterans, and baseball men. It’s a
division with World Champion teams. At its best it’s the best way to spend a
summer, while at its worst it’s still better than most division’s best. These
are the cities of the heartland because their people’s determination in the
face of economic peril, winter, or child support payments remains strong.
Today, we begin previewing America’s League, the American League. The big
picture is that Game 163, which came so tantalizingly close to happening in 2014,
is likely to happen in the 2015 AL Central Division. While nobody can predict
the outcome of that game, TWTW Sports will attempt to predict the other 162
games.
Detroit Tigers
Coming off a University of Kansas basketball-esque 4
straight AL Central Division titles, Detroit has played host to a baseball
renaissance since the city’s appearance in the World Series in 2006. However,
doubters would tell you that the Detroit Tigers’ window for an MLB championship
is slamming faster than your fourth wife’s front door after you drop your kids
off for the week. Whether or not this window of opportunity shuts or is
shattered open by a 94-mile-per-hour yellow-hammer curveball rides on the back
of one man: Justin Verlander.
The nerds would tell you that this team is unable to absorb
the loss of Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and the inevitable regression that the
cruel passage of time brings to aging superstars. But those aren’t the
storylines that educated baseball fans are paying attention to. The Detroit
Tigers 2015 season will live or die on the arm of the face of its franchise:
Justin Verlander. A few things about the Tigers are locks: MVP/Triple Crown
Winner Miguel Cabrera, MVP-snub Victor Martinez, lottery-ticket J.D. Martinez
and Yoenis “La Potencia” Cespedes will hit roughly 75-90 dingers collectively.
The bullpen will allow roughly 200 dingers collectively and introduce many
Michigan-natives to the dangers of alcoholism. And defensive wizard Jose Iglesias
will dazzle us with highlight reel-plays, having healed and studied under the
tutelage of Omar Vizquel in the offseason. None of these factors will translate
into a 5th AL Central title and playoff run without Justin
Verlander.
Nerds would point to his declining velocity and strikeouts,
peripherals, and maybe his super-model girlfriend. But nerds don’t actually
watch the games. It’s true that 2014 Justin Verlander looked like something out
of Space Jam, as if aliens had stolen his talent, due to a core-muscle surgery
in the off-season that disrupted his training routine. But folks, this man has
thrown two no-hitters. He is an MVP. A Cy Young winner. He took a no-hitter
into the 6th inning vs the offensive power-house American League
Champion Kansas City Royals last season. Not 16 months ago he single-handedly
defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 2013 ALDS, allowing 1 run in three
playoff appearances by sheer willpower alone. Max Scherzer is the type of
pitcher that would labor to pitch 6 innings before he left the game,
effectively throwing Mike Ilitch’s money into Detroit’s bullpen dumpster fire.
Justin Verlander feels humiliation and emasculation at the idea of leaving a
game. After 2015 there will be no doubt who the true ace of the Motor City is.
Folks, this is a man who burns to once again scale the
mountain of success. Will he return to the heights of his 2011-2012 seasons,
throwing 100 miles per hour in the late innings? That remains to be seen. What
is clear to anyone who actually watches the games, however, is that the Central
Division should be scared of the idea of a winner like Justin Verlander having
a full off-season to work out and hone his pitching arts. Verlander is a
come-back kid in a come-back city. Folks counted the bankrupt city of Detroit
and its auto industry out in 2008, and the nerds have done the same for the
nearly-bankrupted 2015 Detroit Tigers. Only, the nerds aren’t counting on the
bailout that is a rejuvenated future Hall-of-Famer JV, smashing the window of
opportunity open with his signature curve-piece. As I write this piece, Justin
Verlander has struck out 3 batters in 2 innings of scoreless work during his
first Spring Training appearance. Pencil in the Tigers for 87 wins and at least
a Wild-Card appearance.
Kansas City Royals
They own the Pennant. Yet, to nerds, the 2014 Royals are a
statistical accident. The nerds claim the Royals won way too many close games.
They say chicks dig the long-ball, and the Royals are allergic to homeruns. The
nerds’ favorite newspaper—Wall Street Journal— called manager Ned Yost a dunce.
However, you have to speak a man’s language to understand his genius, and in
2014 anyone that spoke baseball knew Ned Yost and the Royals were for real.
Now, these same nerds, including N.E.O. (Nerd, Especially Odd) Nate Silver’s
system says the Royals will win fewer than 75 games. Yet, as a man that
actually watched the Royals play in 2014, they’ll be playing a 163rd
game again this season.
The best case for the Royals regressing is the loss of
veteran presence of mind champion James Shields. Shields molded a young club into
a seasoned group. In the past, the
Royals didn’t know how to win, but James Shields knew. Shields taught the
Royals how to carry yourself. Shields added calm when necessary and crazy when
the moment was right. Fortunately for the Royals, Shields has taught these
young men what they need to know. Yordano Ventura has earned his honorary
degree from the Shields School of Poise, while Danny Duffy will complete his
final classes this spring.
Outfield defense is to winning championships as to what
being a good painter is to good painting: essential. In Centerfield Lorenzo
Cain holds it down. Cain is the reigning ALCS MVP. He makes the impossible
possible. If you think Kauffman is a doubles park, then you should find a new
religion because your God, or, for you atheist nerds, the randomness of science,
has led you astray. Cain’s range is possibly only surpassed by teammates Jarrod
Dyson, and 3 time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon.
In the end, a clubhouse is about friendship and the Royals
are the best of friends. Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain both chat frequently.
Salvador Perez features his friend Lorenzo on Instagram. Additionally, Ned Yost
never backs down when the nerds in the media say Mike Moustakas sucks. While other Royals bond by partying— from
Eric Hosmer, to all-star Greg Holland. If the Royals hit a rough patch they
will be fine. When someone struggles any Royal can come up to another Royals
and offer the most beautiful words a man can tell another man, “It will be
alright, friend.” Pencil in the Royals for 87 wins and at least a Wild Card
appearance.
Minnesota Twins
The nerds would tell you the Twins aren’t even really in the
playoff conversation. Once again, I would stress that it is unclear if the
nerds watch the games. The Minnesota Twins finished last in the division last
year, winning 70 games. However, the team quietly made some under-the-radar
moves which demonstrate the immense baseball-IQ of the front office in
Minneapolis. The team signed Ervin Santana, known master of the art of pitching
and appreciator of the “smell” of baseball, who deserves credit for helping to
lay the groundwork for the American League Champion Kansas City Royals’ recent
World Series bid. On top of this, the Twins brought back fan-favorite and
veteran clubhouse leader Torii Hunter. Nerds love to point out Hunter’s
atrocious defense, complete lack of plate discipline and age to dismiss him,
but folks, he’s a true glue-guy. Torii Hunter will ensure that the Minnesota
Twins get the most out of the roster they have. To me, Tori Hunter is the best senior moment
since I found out my Obamacare would cover Viagra. When you factor in the
clubhouse chemistry that will be produced as a result of Hunter’s triumphant
return home, the addition of Ervin Santana, and the return of dark-horse Cy Young
candidate Phil Hughes, this eye test reveals a Twinkies team winning 79 games.
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox made quite a splash in the offseason,
signing somebody named Shark, the steroid-using Cabrera, and some bullpen
pieces. The White Sox look good on paper: a formidable top of the pitching
rotation, and Cuban-sensation Jose Abreu, the best hitter in the AL Central not
named Cabrera or Martinez. While the 2015 White Sox will undoubtedly be more
competitive than last year’s iteration, this man is not sold on their viability
as contenders. For instance, their rotation currently projects to be: Chris
Sale, Shark, Jose Quintana, two batting practice machines and possibly John
Danks. It is unclear if they even have a 3rd baseman or a catcher on
their roster. Consider me skeptical. Pencil in the White Sox for 78 wins.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians have no chance. Don’t listen to any nerds. You
can’t make up the loss of an MVP like Jason Giambi. I respect a city like
Cleveland, but I can’t see the Indians losing fewer than 100 games given the
city’s losing culture and bad luck. Cleveland, enjoy LeBron James coming home
because this year in Northeast Ohio, a place where you walked, bled, and ran,
it will be the place you cry. If you’re ready to accept the challenge of
watching the Indians, then good job coming home, non-nerd.
