Why do the Royals have the same odds as the White Sox? Who the hell is taking Kansas City at 6.5-1 to win this division?

 

The Winner : Detroit Tigers

They are the class of this division without a doubt. Their main strength obviously starts with their pitching staff. With Verlander you can basically say they will at least win one out of every five. Then toss in Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello you have yourself a starting rotation that will scare anybody.

 

As if it wasn't hard enough to score on that rotation on the other end you need to retire a rather stout batting lineup. Reigning triple crown winner, and MVP Miguel Cabrera is the anchor of the offense. They have surrounded him with some great talent in Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter and others. I just can't see any team in this division outscoring them in any particular series this season never mind when you look at it on the whole. I won't say the Tigers will run away with this division but there is no doubt in my mind that they win it and it probably won't come down to the end of the season this year.

 

The Contenders: Chicago White Sox

 

The White Sox are the only team that really has a chance to knock off the Tigers. The difference between the two is the offense. The White Sox are an awful lot weaker with the bat in their hands than Detroit is. In order to compete with the Tigers they are going to need a few guys to have career years, and given that they already did that last season I do not see it happening.

 

But if they do get it going, it will be because of their pitching staff that they are in playoff contention. Chris Sale seems to be the next great starting pitcher in this league after an incredible 2012. But surrounding him they have a few old and/or unreliable guys that again will need to have yet another career year.

 

I just can't imagine a scenario in which they can acquire enough talent to really compete for this division coming down the stretch.

The Rest: Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins

 

In order to be 25-1 to win your division you should have to be the 2013 Houston Astros. But instead that is the odds the Twins were dealt. That being said, I am still not touching it. They have too many unproven young guys mixed in with former studs that have seen their careers taper off mostly due to injury. They absolutely could make a run this year and be in the wild card hunt and it wouldn't surprise me. But it would surprise me if they finished within 10 games of the Tigers.

 

Believe it or not the Royals actually made a splash this off season. They brought in Tampa Bay stud James Shields and Angels outcast Ervin Santana to help out their rotation but Billy Butler is still their only real bat. Even if those two pitchers change the pitching culture in Kansas City they clearly do not have the offense to even reach .500 this year so those 6.5-1 odds really baffle me.

 

Then there are the Indians. Capable of scoring in bunches but incapable of stopping anyone from scoring. They have a long way to go to be good once again, so this is going to be a LONG year for any remaining Indians fans. At least you have Kyrie Irving to watch, shit, at least you can look forward to the Browns, shit, is Lebron coming back? Sorry Cleveland, rough times, rough times.

 

mlz

Thursday, March 28, 2013