February 25, 201610 yr as of today, with Batl signing of the pitching fa. where do you think the teams of the AL stands and who will they compete for 1 place in their divisions. for me, AL East, it has to be Balt followed closely by Tor. Al West, Hou. AL Central. i am being to much of a chi fan, so i will defer to what is posted.
February 25, 201610 yr Toronto, Boston/NYY/Baltimore/TB (hard to differentiate, probably that order) KC, Cleve/DET/CHW (any order), Minnesota Houston, Texas, SEA, LAA/Oak All three divisions are incredibly deep and tons of parity. At this point, Houston would be the slight favorite, because there are so many questions about the starting pitching for TOR and KC
February 25, 201610 yr ALE: This is a very strong division but I think Toronto will out-slug their rivals to win it. ALW: Houston. ALC: There's so many ifs, ands, or buts surrounding all five teams that I think a case could be made for any of them. For now, I would have to say KC. Good idea, BTW, LDF. It should be interesting to see if our thoughts have changed at the end of ST.
February 25, 201610 yr ALE: BOS ALC: CWS ( biased ) ALW: HOU Wild Cards: TOR, CLE Edited based on Baltimore activity that went south. Edited February 25, 201610 yr by hi8is
February 25, 201610 yr ALE: Toronto (their offense is just too damn good) ALW: Houston (they made some really great moves to set up a deep run in the playoffs) ALC: Everyone (If the Sox can start out hot and build a decent lead then they have a shot. If not KC will probably pull away at the end of the season)\\ Wildcards: Baltimore (they look to be solid all around) ALC Second Place Team (to deep of a division to not get a wildcard spot) Edited February 25, 201610 yr by Condor13
February 25, 201610 yr I don't understand the Cleveland love at all. Their pitching may be a bit better than the White Sox but their lineup is awful. Worst OF in baseball and it's not close.
February 25, 201610 yr No idea. The AL is wide open, everyone is going for it except maybe Oakland (but Beane could be going for it and we just dont know it yet). This is maybe the best the AL has been top-to-bottom in my lifetime, there are going to be a lot of teams with good rosters who are less than .500 after this year.
February 25, 201610 yr QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 11:33 PM) No idea. The AL is wide open, everyone is going for it except maybe Oakland (but Beane could be going for it and we just dont know it yet). This is maybe the best the AL has been top-to-bottom in my lifetime, there are going to be a lot of teams with good rosters who are less than .500 after this year. Hadn't thought of this. I wonder if that idea suggests bullpens will be extra important this year. I guess I'm making the assumption that due to extreme parity there will be more close games. But maybe that's not true at all
February 25, 201610 yr Brantley's an MVP-caliber player, when healthy. You also have Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Lindor and Gomes, so those five players alone comprise a very nice and youngish core (Gomes missed most of last season). Obviously, Santana and Kipnis have been a bit up and down, but they're both talented guys, especially Kipnis. Then you have the veterans in Napoli and Uribe, who can be very effective, IF HEALTHY. Almonte shows a lot of promise and the Indians have some really nice looking prospects not that far away. The biggest questions are going to be 3B and RF. Joey Butler and Cowgill are expected to battle for time as back-ups. Barring a late addition – the Indians are still looking to add at least one more hitter – the three outfielders with job security headed into spring training are Rajai Davis, Abraham Almonte and Lonnie Chisenhall. Davis can play all three positions, but is expected to spend most of his time in left while Brantley heals. The switch-hitting Almonte will play center and Chisenhall, who flashed Gold Glove moves when he made the move from third base at midseason last year, will be in right field. The outfielders that win the last two spots are going to have to be versatile so Francona can use them in matchup situations. Take Almonte for instance. Last year he hit .250 (15-for-60) against lefties and .250 (43-for-172) against righties, but the .250 he hit against righties included five homers and 20 RBI. Against lefties, he had no homers and four RBI. So Francona could slide Davis from left field to center when the Indians face a tough left hander, while going to his bench to find a left fielder. http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2...or_clevela.html Edited February 25, 201610 yr by caulfield12
February 25, 201610 yr They're in the same position as us. They need defense to back up their pitching. Still though, Carrasco, Salazar, Kluber and Bauer is one hell of a front four. Brantley is better than any of our outfielders alone and Lindor is the friggin goods. Still have weaknesses though just like any Central team, including Kansas City.
February 25, 201610 yr Author QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 06:43 AM) Hadn't thought of this. I wonder if that idea suggests bullpens will be extra important this year. I guess I'm making the assumption that due to extreme parity there will be more close games. But maybe that's not true at all i agree, that is why, imo you see teams getting that extra proven pen guy. i think most team will sacrifice a positional player for pitchers. that has been my thoughts for some time, that was why i have been ranting on getting another sp. i think many team will really use their pitchers more this season.
February 25, 201610 yr AL East Toronto Boston Baltimore Tampa Bay New York AL Central Kansas City Chicago Detroit Cleveland Minnesota AL West Texas Houston Los Angeles Seattle Oakland Wild Cards: Houston, Boston Jesus the AL is stacked.
February 25, 201610 yr Given the tough competition in the AL. How many wins it takes to win the Central? 86? 88?
February 25, 201610 yr Author QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 01:19 PM) AL East Toronto Boston Baltimore Tampa Bay New York AL Central Kansas City Chicago Detroit Cleveland Minnesota AL West Texas Houston Los Angeles Seattle Oakland Wild Cards: Houston, Boston Jesus the AL is stacked. a great visual post of the whole AL. ALC is still too tough for me, but for me, i think it is a race between kc and cle. however, if the sox gets OF'er, i can see them competing with det.
February 25, 201610 yr Author QUOTE (2005thxfrthmmrs @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 01:20 PM) Given the tough competition in the AL. How many wins it takes to win the Central? 86? 88? i will now stay away from predictions. i suck at that.
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