AL Preview
© Greg Spira
The Orioles, Blue Jays and Red Sox could all reasonably compete for the wild card spot. The Orioles are still dangerously old, but they did pick up some decent talent this past offseason as opposed to the flotsam they picked up before the 1998 season. Albert Belle's bat should propel the Orioles to a slightly improved season. The Red Sox, on the other hand, can't be expected to duplicate their 1998 season without Mo Vaughn, but don't expect them to fall apart either. The Sox still have enough pitching talent to remain in the hunt. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays, who would've been wild card favorites if they hadn't traded Roger Clemens, also still have a shot. The pitching and offense is quite young, and no one would be surprised if several young Jays take major leaps forward this year.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, on the other hand, have one of the worst offenses in baseball history, and are likely to finish with the worst record in the league again. The Rays have assembled a pretty good pitching staff, but it won't do them much good until they can score some runs.
The Indians will undoubtedly finish on top of the AL Central again this year, because of the lack of any strong competition. The Tribe has an extraordinary lineup from top to bottom, including such stars as Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar, as well as a deep bullpen. The Indians' starting rotation is not quite as strong, and their young hurlers were clearly overworked last year, but the front office will address that problem if necessary.
The other 3 teams in the AL central are hoping that their young talent can carry them into the wildcard race. It's unlikely, but not impossible. The Tigers are looking for a strong power boost from outfielders Juan Encarnacion and Gabe Kapler, and if they get it and veteran bats such as Tony Clark, Damion Easley and Dean Palmer join in, the Tigers may be able to overcome the weaknesses of thir young, still maturing, pitching staff. The Royals, on the other hand, have to place their hopes on 3 extremely promising rookies - Carlos Beltran, Jeremy Giambi, and Carlos Febles - who will fill one-third of the Royals' every day lineup. Unfortunately, there's little veteran talent on the Royals to support the rookies, so it could be another long year for the Royals. The Twins are hoping that their young rotation will fully blossom this year, because that is the only way they can hope to compete. Offensively, the Twins should improve a little because of their young talents like Todd Walker and David Ortiz, but they have too many holes in the lineup to generate a better than league average offense.
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