I've always loved the AL Central.  It's always a battle that comes down to the wire, generally, between the Sox, Tigers, and Indians.  You put the Brewers in this division instead of the Royals, and you'd have the best division in baseball.   The American League Cy Young and MVP players could easily come from this division. 

1.  Cleveland Indians.  I for one, am not ready to hand the division over to the Tigers just yet.  The Indians were humiliated by the Red Sox and have a bad taste in their mouthes.  The starting pitching led by Carmona and Sabathia is a good rotation, and some of their younger pitchers will step up this year, like Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers.  I'm looking for Cliff Lee to bounce back as well.  In last season's playoffs, they looked like a young team that was crumbling.  This season they'll be a rock.  Look for Travis Hafner to have a strong, MVP caliber season and Grady Sizemore to improve on his great numbers from last season, as one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball.  I think they have the perfect balance of starting pitching, bullpen, and offensive depth to win this division and they will. 

2.  Detroit Tigers.   This team looks like the Dream Team, on paper, in terms of starting rotation and potent offense, but this team lacks the bullpen to win the division.  My guess is they'll win the Wildcard instead.  Justin Verlander is a Cy Young canidate, but after him the rotation is overrated, in my opinion.  Jeremy Bonderman was just okay last year.  Kenny "Pinetar Cameraman Shover" is getting over the hill, and will start to get hit hard this season, like Jamie Moyer did once the hitters figured out his stuff.  Dontrelle Willis struggled in the NL last season, and as we all know the American League is far superior in offensive prowess compared to that of the National League.  That being said, he's a quality 3 or 4 starter.  I don't think Todd Jones is the kind of closer you look for on a championship team, and Joel Zumaya isn't 100 percent either.  The offense will have a productive year, but without solid starting pitching and a steady bullpen, they won't compete for a division crown.  They'll be battling with the Blue Jays and Angels for the Wildcard. 

3.  Chicago Whitesox.  This was a squad I admired from a far years ago, but what the hell happened to that once formidable rotation?   If Javier Vasquez is your ace, you're team is in big trouble.  I think resiging Mark Buerhle was a mistake, but given the state of the pitching market it appears to be a smart move.  Trading for Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera were good moves, but they should have been done when the team had a more solid foundation in terms of winning the division.  Getting Cabrera for Garland was the steal of the century though.   I don't see their rotation winning a lot of games.  Vazquez was solid last year, but I wouldn't want to pitch in that park as a fastball pitcher like him.  Jose Contreras is about 103 in baseball years.  The bullpen should be an improvement over last year's, but that's not really saying much.  Paul Konerko should be trade bait by midseason.  My only hope is that he doesn't end up going to the Angels or Red Sox at that time. 

4.  Kansas City Royals.  Last place no more, but barely.  Unlike most people, I think the Royals have a decent enough rotation, better than the Twins, and some really nice looking young players, in terms of potential like Alex Gordon, Brian Bannister, and Tony Pena.  I think a new manager, Trey Hillman, will infuse a little energy into this perennial division loser, but not enough to make any real noise.  Maybe enough to improve on last season's win totals and to bring back the fan base.  These aren't my Daddy's Royals, but at least my Daddy's Royals had Lou Piniella and George Brett. 

5.  Minnesota Twins.  Good job trading Santana.  Bad job trading him to the Mets, when you could've gotten Phil Hughes or Jacoby Ellsbury.  I hate the Yankees but they did have the most appealing deal in place, in my opinion.  From what I hear Carlos Gomez is an absolute stud though.  Joe Mauer is a great hitter but must improve in other categories to have a real impact.  Justin Morneau is great, but not MVP great. Delmon Young will have a break out season. I think Francisco Liriano will have a huge bounce back year, and everyone will be talking about how great and dominant he is again, like a couple seasons back.  The rest of the rotation leaves much to be desired.  I like Livan Hernandez, but he makes absolutely no sense on this team.  I surely thought he would end up with the Mets or a contending team.  The rotation is headed up by unproven talent.  Liriano will be that diamond in the rough, of a clearly rebuilding baseball team.  Question is, when they move into that nice new park, will they still have a fan base?