The approach of April can mean only one thing: the start of baseball season. In 10 days comes the return of pop flies, grounders to short and random Angel Berroa errors. In just a mere 10 days, fans will have the chance to take in the ballpark experience of buying overpriced beer, eating lukewarm hot dogs and dodging Jose Contreras' wild pitches. With that in mind, let's take a preview of the American League this year.
AL East: Again, the pennant race will boil down to the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, and it appears that the Sox have the edge this year. The defending champs' lineup, which led the league in runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage last year, returns almost in its entirety, with a major upgrade from Orlando Cabrera to Edgar Renteria, one of baseball's best shortstops on both sides of the ball. The potency of the offense can be captured in this one picture: Jay Payton, the team's backup outfielder, is a career .285 hitter who hit 28 home runs two years ago.
In terms of pitching, the loss of Pedro Martinez will be offset by the addition of Matt Clement and David Wells. At this point in Martinez's career, both Wells and Clement should just be as effective as he is. The also newly acquired Wade Miller, if he can stay healthy, has the potential to be one the best starters in the league. Keith Foulke will anchor a solid pen that now includes former Diamondbacks and Marlins closer Matt Mantei.
The Yankees should give the Sox a run for their money, but that's contingent upon a number of things, namely Randy Johnson's right knee - and the cartilage in Randy Johnson's right knee. But if both hold up, Johnson will give the team the true ace that it lacked last year. Carl Pavano should have a decent, though not All-Star-worthy, year in the Bronx, and should send Johnson some flowers for taking the New York media spotlight off him this year. Mike Mussina should rebound from his abysmal 2004 season, but Kevin Brown may be at the tail end of his career. In terms of offense, the Yankees also have a potent lineup that nearly matches up with that of the Sox.
It's a shame that the AL East race has already been universally written off to these two clubs, because there is some good talent in Toronto and Baltimore. The Blue Jays have some of the best young talent in baseball in Vernon Well and Alexis Rios, but don't have the pitching to seriously contend. Likewise, the Orioles don't have enough pitching to compete, despite an already hard-hitting lineup that just added Sammy Sosa. And even having stars like Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford won't help the Devil Rays climb out of the cellar this year. But it will be fun to watch young hotshots Scott Kazmir and B.J. Upton - if he can remember how to field in Triple A - tear it up.
AL Central: With no significant changes in the AL Central, the Twins should again be the favorite to take the division. Johan Santana should follow up his unreal 2004 with another Cy Young-worthy year, and Brad Radke should also have a strong year as the number two starter. Joe Nathan has emerged as a premier closer, and should preserve be able most of their wins. In all, the Twins' pitching staff should keep them atop a mediocre division, despite their pedestrian offense.
Keep an eye on the Cleveland Indians, though - they're one of the youngest, fastest and most exciting teams in the league. The team's young core of Coco Crisp, Victor Martinez and Ronnie Belliard can flat-out hit, and designated hitter Travis Hafner is a slugging beast. C.C. Sabathia and Jake Westbrook are a strong one-two punch, and it's unfortunate that the team's awful bullpen (see: Rhodes, Arthur and Riske, David) will blow so many saves for them. Don't be surprised if the Indians start to dominate this division next year, when prospects like Grady Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta come into their own.
A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik are welcome additions to the Chicago White Sox's lineup, but the team doesn't have enough pitching or talent to take the division. And the race to stay out of the division's cellar should be a good one, with both the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals stocked with a good amount of young talent and an even larger number of flaws. However, if young pitchers Jeremy Bonderman and Mike Maroth can put it together this year, the Tigers could make some noise now that Magglio Ordonez has joined Pudge Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen in the lineup.
AL West: The AL West underwent the most change of the three divisions over the winter. The Angels, Rangers and Mariners all improved this offseason, while there are huge question marks on the Oakland squad. This will be the first time in years that the A's will be going into the season as underdogs - the Angels, the defending division champs, will be the team to beat. Cabrera is an upgrade over David Eckstein in the field and at the plate, while Steve Finley is a significant upgrade over Jose Guillen in the locker room. They join a lineup that already includes the underrated Garret Anderson and the monster that is Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels bullpen is one of the best in the league, and Francisco Rodriguez should thrive in his new role as closer.
The Mariners have added two legitimate sluggers in Adrian Beltre, who finished second to Barry Bonds in NL MVP voting last year, and Richie Sexson. However, Sexson's health will be in question, as he is coming off a season in which he played in only 23 games. Even the new look of the lineup won't be able to obscure the terrible Mariners' starters (Gil Meche? Joel Piniero? Ryan Franklin? Yikes.) Even 42-year-old Jamie Moyer won't be able to save them from Anaheim this season.
The Rangers have kept intact their young core of sluggers - Alfonso Soriano, Hank Blaylock and Mark Teixeira are becoming annual MVP candidates, and Michael Young and Kevin Mench are strong sluggers as well. It's a shame they have the worst pitching staff in the league, as only closer Francisco Cordero can get anyone out.
The A's face the biggest questions this year. With aces Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder gone, it'll be up to Barry Zito to regain his Cy Young form of 2002 and Rich Harden to become a legitimate ace. Both of these might be possible, as both are having strong springs. The success of the A's will rely on the unproven three, four and five starters. If the World Series last year was any good indicator, Dan Haren will be strong behind Zito and Harden.
In the pen, the A's now have one of the best bullpens in the league, adding hard-throwing Kiko Calero and Juan Cruz, who both strike out about a batter an inning. The A's also have two young fireballers in Huston Street and Jairo Garcia, one of whom should make the club out of spring training with the other not far behind. At the plate, the A's have retained the core of last year's surprisingly potent offense while adding quintessential Moneyballer Jason Kendall. The A's should also look forward to having a full year of Eric Chavez, who astonishingly has never made the All-Star Game despite being one of the best all-around third basemen in the game. In all, the A's could make a surprise trip to the playoffs if their future starts playing well now.
Senior staff writer Stu Woo '08 thinks he could pitch out of the Cleveland Indians' bullpen (see: dream, pipe).
