No special header for this one folks. In fact, you may not see one for sometime. This blog is completely about the fantasy issue. What if I owned this guy? Would I not come in last for once? What if I owned that guy? Would I have a better team.
     Thats right folks, it's Fantasy Baseball time. With the leagues starting to form, it's only a matter of time before you join one. Lets take a quick glance at who some of the top picks, the no picks and the dark horses should be in this year's fantasy leagues.
     Ok, for top picks, the obvious choices are Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard. These two were monsters last year, and if Howard can find his Pujols groove (of constant numbers each year), then he'll be up for another MVP award. Sure, he will probably never hit 58 homeruns again, because of the walk treatment, but he'll get you numbers. HR, RBI, Runs and the averages: OB, Slugging and OPS. The same for Pujols. It looks like Pujols and Howard will be the numbers 1 and 2 picks in each draft. just who will be 1 and who will be 2?
     Other top players are Chris Carpentar, Roy Oswalt, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Brandon Webb, Johan Santanna, Joe Maur and Justin Morneau. All of whom will be top picks.
     Some don't pick these guys: Barry Bonds, JD Drew, Luis Gonzalez, Russell Martin, Geoff Jenkins and Gary Sheffield. Bonds will be injuried a lot this year, if he doesn't get arrested first. Drew, well, he agreed to terms almost two months ago with the Boston Red Sox and his deal hasn't been finalized yet because of an injury during an exam. Gonzalez is old and probably won't play as much as people think. If you want a lot of bases, you might want to take him but only as a late round pick. Martin will NOT be the Martin of last year: fact. Trust me. If you need a catcher, go for Brian McCann (who would be an iffy choice as well) or Maur. Jenkins and Sheffield probably won't see much playing time and haven't done well for a few years. Late picks if you desperately need outfield help.
     Some dark horses are: Yadier Molina, Anthony Reyes, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Stephen Drew, Carlos Quinten and Sammy Sosa. Molina and Reyes really came into their own during the postseason, most noteably the NLCS (Molina) and the World Series (Reyes). Both should have really good 2007 campaigns. Kouzy is a rookie 3B with a lot of pop. He'll fit into the middle of the young Friar's lineup and should produce 20+ homeruns, a lot of doules and some RBI. the DBack boys, Drew and Quinten, were stellar last year in the MLB debuts. This year looks better. Some starting experience under your belt is very good for young players, and you can bet that these two will have good years. And lastly, Sosa. Sosa was MIA in 2006 and looks to come back in 2007. He'll be playing a lot of DH, so his wear and tear will be low on his body so he MIGHT produce. In a hitter friendly park, his numbers MIGHT be good. See why he's a dark horse candidate? Lots of mights. He's the Frank Thomas of 2007. Injuries hampered him, full time DH. Take a shot if you're willing, but make it late.
     Thats all folks!

     Ok, lets me first point this out: I am one of the biggest Cardinal fans ever and I celebrated the World Series victory like a mad man. I bought the World Series Champions hat the very next day. Ok, now that that is set, let me start this blog. The Cardinals are in need of pitching. They only have Chris Carpenter (who should have had won the Cy Young Award for 2006. Brandon Webb winning is bullcrap), Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright. Now, thats pretty good. An ace and two standouts. What is this rotation lacking? A proven starter with great stuff who is young. You think about who that is while I say about the next part.
     The Detroit Tigers like the young guys. They need a first baseman, although Sean Casey coming back isn't a longshot. They are also looking for some pop for that lineup. Their only fire power right now is Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield. They could use a young, left handed bat for the first base role. Someone who is versitle if needed. Now, think about that for a little bit.
     Confused about who I'm talking about? I'm talking about Jeremey Bonderman and Chris Duncan. These two should be involved in a deal with each other. Also involved in the trade would be Ricardo Rincon and Chris Lambert. This trade can fill a lot of needs for both teams. The Cardinals former first round pick, Lambert, isn't going anywhere in the Cardinals organization. The Tigers have been known for developing young talented pitchers, and maybe adding a young arm in Lambert to replace Humberto Sanchez might do the trick.
     Ricardo Rincon is injuried, but I'll tell you right now I have no idea if he is healed or not. I have not seen any reports about him in months, but he needs to go. The Cardinal have no room for him anymore, but the Tigers do. They lost Jamie Walker and Rincon could come as a cheaper price than resigning Walker.
     Chris Duncan is one of my personal favorites on the Cardinals. He has a lot of pop, he can play first base, left field and right field. Sure, his showing in the outfield during the playoffs wasn't great. Lets look at the facts though:
- Duncan was a rookie
- Duncan never played the outfield until Spring Training
That can lead to disastorous results. His natural position is first base, and the Tigers need a first baseman. Like I stated earlier, they need a left handed power hitter too. Plus, playing for Jim Leyland could really help him. La Russa has done everything he can to help Duncan, but I feel like Leyland could take him further. He would be a great addition to the Tigers.
     Bonderman has been rumored for a trade recently. The Tigers have a full rotation with Kenny Rogers, Mike Maroth, Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson. If the Tigers trade Bonderman and finish off the rebuilding of their offense, they can focus on pitching. They can add a number one in Jason Schmidt or Barry Zito. Maybe a middle of the rotation guy like Jeff Suppan or Jeff Weaver. The Tigers have a lot of options by trading Bonderman and they can finish off their offense problems early.
     There you have it. As you can see, this trade benifits both sides a lot. I doubt this trade will be made, but if it is, don't be surprised.

     Are the St. Louis Cardinals still the underdog? They beat the favored San Diego Padres three games to one. Then they beat the heavily favored New York Mets four games to three. Now, they lead the favored Detroit Tigers two games to one in the 2006 World Series. Did you see a pattern? Favored, heavily favored and favored. Thats the pattern. Thats right folks, the Cardinals were not suppose to beat the Padres. They definently weren't suppose to be in the World Series, e####ally if you listen to Dayn Perry. Heck, you can make a case that they shouldn't be anywhere near the postseason. I mean, this team had three losing streaks that added to 23 games lost. Can this team really be this close to winning their 10th World Series title?
     The Cardinals are, despite what you hear from Perry, real close to winning this year's title. Perry says that the Cardinals aren't good enough to be this good. They can't a series if they tried. He wants you to believe the Cardinals basically suck. Well, suck on this Dayn Perry: Cardinals are almost World Champions.
     After that rip at Perry because his writing this postseason has really irked me, I will leave you with this (e####ally since I wrote this in the 15 minutes I had before class started) the Cardinals are the best. They have the best manager, the best team and the best closer. Please accept this. Don't be part of the 90% of the world against the Cardinals. If you are part of that 90%, please don't overflow the oceans with your tears when the Cardinals win.
     Just to let you know, this article basically has no information in it. It's just a rip at the Cardinal haters because I'm gloating. That 90% of the world stat is probably not right (more than likely higher), so don't go by that. Made that up. Comment badly if you must, but I think St. Louis Cardinal fans will agree with me. It's been long enough, it's time to gloat because we're up two games to one and we have Jeff Suppan pitching tonight. So eat this article you Cardinal haters, e####ally the following: Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Jeff Brantley, Dayn Perry, Steve Phillips, Dayn Perry and Joe Morgan (I don't like Dayn Perry and Joe Morgan is the worst announcer in history, so they get listed twice =P).

     There are five teams in the Major Leagues that have payrolls of $100 million or more. They are the New York Yankees ($198 million), the Boston Red Sox ($120 million), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ($103 million), the Chicago White Sox ($102 million) and the New York Mets ($100 million). Look at these five teams. What has happened to these teams this year? You have a loss in the first round of the playoffs (Yankees) and a pending loss in the second round of the playoffs (Mets). The other three teams lost their divisions and didn't make the playoffs. Thats pathetic for $100 million plus payroll teams.
     Lets look at who did make the playoffs: Los Angeles Dodgers ($99 million), St. Louis Cardinals ($86 million), San Diego Padres ($68 million), Detroit Tigers ($82 million), Oakland Athletics ($62 million) and the Minnesota Twins ($63 million). Big difference, right? So why don't the teams that do have big payrolls win and the teams that are under $100 million (though the Dodgers are fairly close to $100 million) win? Well, to put it simply, spending. The teams with big checkbooks spend thriftly buying all the best offense they can. The teams with lower payrolls spend wisely and buy up the cheap offense to go along with their personal big bopper creating a balanced lineup and quality pitchers to put in the rotation and the bullpen. What? I didn't say pitching for the big spenders? Maybe for a reason? Yeah, for a reason. Look at the Mets, the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels. They have no pitching staff. Only the White Sox have pitching, and they have a lot of it. The Yankees have two pitchers that collect Social Security after every start (Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson) as do the Mets (Tom Glavine). Then, they fill their bullpen with over priced and washed up pitchers, the same with the back of their rotation. Pedro Martinez was good in 2004 and hasn't been since. Maybe these teams that spend money on offense need to buy some quality pitching.
     I got into an argue with my brother a few months ago. I kept telling him the American League is a pointless league because they buy up all the talent they can and don't care about their spending. He told me the National League does the same. Then I spat into his face with this comment: Name 5 teams, other than the Mets, that have enormus payrolls. He had no answer. Then he came up with this: Take out the top spender and lowest spender in each league and see what the average payroll is (so the number isn't skewed by the Yankees or the Florida Marlins). So, I'll do it now. Here is the average payroll for the American League (excluding the Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and the National League (excluding the Mets and Marlins):
American League Average Payroll 2006: $78,056,695 million
National League Average Payroll 2006: $73,708,125 million
     Now, at first look you say, "haha, you were wrong! There is only a $5 million difference!" Well, that may be true. I would respond with, "How many teams are in the AL? The NL?" True baseball fans would know this right away. There are 14 teams in the AL and 16 in the NL. Then, you figure I took off two teams from both leagues, that leaves 12 in the AL and 14 in the NL. Thats right, the AL has a higher average payroll without the Yankees and three other teams.
     Knowing all of this, you can now understand why the NL loses in the All-Star game and in the World Series. You also know that the AL is stacked with teams that want to win so badly, they'll spend as much as they can to do it (and the Marlins were in the Wild Card chase till a late fade with a $15 million payroll. Food for thought there). Enjoy this new found knowledge!
*All numbers for payrolls were rounded up to the nearest million except in figuring the average. The numbers were taken from Espn.com. Thank you ESPN for the information!*

     Now that the season is over, we can finally start making real predictions for all of the awards. Now, there are so many hard picks, this will not be easy; however, I'll do my best. Before I start though, I will only say who wins and why they do. Then I'll do a little blurb after the winner on who was passed up with the place they finished in after their name in (). Ok, MVP time. The National League goes first because obviously the National League is better than the American League.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 2006
NATIONAL LEAGUE: ALBERT PUJOLS, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
This is a no doubter folks. Who lifted the St. Louis Cardinals into the playoffs? Albert Pujols. Who didn't? Ryan Howard. Who ended a possible third eight game losing streak for the Cardinals? Albert Pujols. The guy is obvious pick. Sorry Philly fans. Ryan Howard does deserve the Most Outstanding player, no doubt; however, the Most VALUABLE Player is the guy that carries you into the postseason, not carries your luggage to the terminal for a flight home.
SORRY TO: Howard (2nd), Carlos Beltran (3rd)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JUSTIN MORNEAU, MINNESOTA TWINS
There is no denying that Morneau wins the MVP for the AL. Without him, the Twins never would have won the division (or go to the postseason for that matter). The guy made the Twins go. Sure, say Johan Santanna made them go, but he led the pitching staff. He led the pitching staff last year too and and "made them go" home. So, obviously Santanna can't do it alone. This is where Moneau came in and won the MVP award and stole it from other deserving players.
SORRY TO: David Ortiz (2nd), Derek Jeter (3rd), Frank Thomas (4th), Santanna (5th), Jim Thome (6th), Jermaine Dye (7th)

CY YOUNG AWARD 2006
NATIONAL LEAGUE: CHRIS CARPENTER, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Yes folks, it's a clean sweep for the Cardinals again. Carp was very dominate all year long. Sure, he had some struggles along the way, but he did towards the end of the year last year. This year, though, can be blamed on a inconsistent bullpen. Because of that pen, Tony La Russa was forced to leave Carp out there on an empty tank at the end of the year and his numbers suffered. Although, a 15-8 record and 3.09 earned run average is pretty damn good.
SORRY TO: Roy Oswalt (2nd), Brad Penny (3rd), Carlos Zambrano (4th)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JOHAN SANTANNA, MINNESOTA TWINS
Another sweep, this time for the Twins. Santanna carried the Twins pitching yet again. He was the MLB leader in all three pitching Triple Crown categories (ERA, Wins and Ks). This guy is dominant and when he took the mound, you know you were gonna win.
SORRY TO: Barry Zito (2nd), Justin Verlander (3rd), Kenny Rogers (4th)

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
NATIONAL LEAGUE: JOE GIRARDI, FLORIDA MARLINS
It's a shame what happened to Girardi. Get stuck with a bunch of rookies, be predicted to win less games than the Kansas City Royals and end up with a 78-84 record then get fired because he strained relations with the front office? Thats gotta blow. Girardi, though, gets the last laugh. He'll be interviewing for jobs left and right and has the Manager of the Year award for 2006 to put on his resume. The Marlins were foolish to let him go, and they'll more than likely regret it. The question is though: How long will Gonzalez last in Florida?
SORRY TO: Charlie Manuel (2nd), Grady Little (3rd), Bruce Bochy (4th), Phil Garner (5th), Tony La Russa (6th)
AMERICAN LEAGUE: JIM LEYLAND, DETROIT TIGERS
In his first year in Florida, he won a World Series. In his first year with Detroit, he almost pulled of the greatest upset: win the division and knock out the White Sox. Part 2 came through, but they didn't win the division. Thats ok though. Mr. Miracle came through and guided the Tigers to their first playoff berth in 19 years and did it while everyone was telling him his team wasn't good enough. Who's laughing now?
SORRY TO: Ron Gardenhire (2nd), Ken Macha (3rd)
NOT SORRY TO: Joe Torre (30th)

And there you have it folks, your 2006 awards. I only did these three because they are the most important, and the MVP has had a lot of debate behind it this year. So, there you go and I hope you enjoy!

     So, now that there's only a week left in the regular season, it's time to get down and dirty with the playoff predicitions. Now, only two divisions have been clinched, two more will be clinched in three days or less and the other two will go down to the wire, along with the Wild Card races (of both leagues). So, I'm going to show you my predicitions below, and all the teams I have in are the teams I think (or all ready know) will be in the playoffs.
     First, the best league out of the two, the National League. This is how the National League side will break down:
NEW YORK METS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
The Dodgers will be the Wild Card team and the Padres won the West. The Cardinals blow out the Padres, again, in a three game sweep. The Mets, with their pitching lacking, get beat by the Dodgers in five games. The Mets have a great offensive team; however, you need pitching to help you win. Ask the Boston Red Sox what all offense and no pitching gets you. Sure, the Mets have Pedro Martinez (who is very inconsistent and still a little injuried) and Tom Glavine (inconsistent) and Steve Trachsel (enough said). That's it though. Oliver Perez is a joke, ask the PITTSBURGH PIRATES! If you get sent down by the Pirates, and then traded, you're pretty much useless. Sure, he has pitched ok in New York, but only ok. In retrospect, he pitched ok in Pittsburgh too. John Maine, a guy that hasn't smelled the postseason. You want to count on him? Good luck with that. The Dodgers, though, have a proven force of attack. They have three starters with World Series rings (two coming in the last three years), a pitcher who won 15+ games a year for more than a decade who is also a 300 game winner and a very good, hard throwing rookie. Their rotation is much better than the Mets and thats what will stop their offense. The Mets' pitching staff will not be able to halt the Dodger's offensive enslaut and they will end up winning the series.
     The Cardinals will sweep the Padres. I know I'm a Cardinal fan and everything so my answer is kind of bias, but still: Cardinals have a better team. The Padres have two good starters and a starter with a good postseason history (whose numbers are flawed because he pitched with the New York Yankees in their World Series run). The Cardinals have the regining (and more than likely repeat) Cy Young Award winner, a starter who has been nothing short of dominate in the second half, and two vets that can eat innings. The Cardinals have a balanced offense with David Eckstein back and three guys that have put up a combined .291 AVG, 60 HR (Juan Encanracion needs one more to be the fourth Cardinal with 20 bombs this year) and 211 RBI behind the regining (and more than likely repeat) Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols. In June, the Cardinals missed his bat a lot and these players (Encarnacion, Chris Duncan and Scott Rolen) didn't step it up to make up for Pujols' bat, proving they need him in the lineup to win. Now that Pujols and Eckstein ar ehealthy, and the three backing up Pujols are having decent seasons (Duncan by the way doesn't even have 300 at bats yet and has 20 homeruns), the Cardinals can blow the Padres out of the water.
     The next series, the League Championship Series, will be a tough one. You have the well balanced Dodgers who just beat the best National Leagaue team during the regular season and the Cardinals, who have been the best team in the National League the last two years. This series will go all seven games, most definently. The Cardinals will come out on top, but by a slim margin. The Dodgers have three great starters and then a so-so starter, whereas the Cardinals have one great starter, a good starter and then two so-so starters. If the Cardinals get their way and have Jeff Suppan and Chris Carpenter start Games 1 and 2, then get Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver to start Games 3 and 4, they'll be in good shape. With the Dodgers being the Wild Card team, the Cardinals would have homefield advantage and Carp and Supp have pitched better at home and vice versa for Weaver and Marquis. Game 5 would belong to Anthony Reyes so Carp and Supp could pitch at home, if needed. The Dodgers would throw Greg Maddux in Game 1 against Carp, Derek Lowe in Game 2 against Supp, Brad Penny in Game 3 against Marquis and then Chad Billingsley in Game 4 against Weaver. This is where the Dodgers need to be creative. They could pitch Maddux in game four and save Billingsley for Game 5, and then pitch Lowe and Penny in the final two games. This would also assure Maddux to be ready for Game 1 of the World Series (if they make it, which won't happen). This could also assure the Dodgers a better suited matchup for an important Game 4 and it lets Billingsley pitch against a fellow rookie. I'll stop myself from my rambling to move on and say the Cardinals are in the World Series.
     Tune in on Thursday for the American League AND World Series Matchup blog!

     That's right folks, the Detroit Tigers actually have something to build on for the coming years. They have an unbelieveable farm system, a great manager and a lot of talent at the Major League level.
     Lets first look at the youth the Tigers have. Of course, we HAVE to start with Justin Verlander. The kid is a BEAST. He can throw 100 mph and has great command. He has good offspeed stuff as well to keep hitters on their toes and fool them. Joel Zumaya is another flamethrower. The kid is destined for 400 saves. He throws 100 mph as well, with great offspeed stuff. He also has energy and makes you wonder where he's going to throw that 102 mph fastball: over the plate or in your ear. Andrew Miller is another one of those young studs. He'll probably start the year at Double A next year, but don't let that fool you. He has some nasty stuff and a great fastball. He was drafted this year out of North Carolina and helped carry the Tarheels to a College World Series victory. Here's another great young pitching stud: Humberto Sanchez. He has the Brad Lidge combo of the devestating fastball and the wicked slider. Also, he'll keep ya on your toes too with his changeup. Remember Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson too folks, they're your 1-2 punch ahead of the young guns. That now leads me to this: Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you your 2008 Tigers starting rotation and closer.
     Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and Chris Shelton are just the beginning. Cameron Maybin is one of the best center field prospects in the game. This gives the Tigers an oportunity to add athletisim to the top of their lineup and use Thames and Monroe as the LF/DH. Oh yeah, Maybin was taken in the 2005 draft, 10th overall. Thats right folks, maybe all those years of losing maybe helped the Tigers win? I think so!
     The Rule 5 draft is a great way to find talent. Ask the Florida Marlins. They plucked Dan Uggla away from the Arizona Diamondbacks and he is now the record holder of the most RBI ever by a rookie in Marlins' history. There was also Johan Santana. He was taken from the Houston Astros and added to the Minesota Twins. No more explanation is needed for that one. They snached Shelton from the Pirates, Wilfredo Ledezma from the Boston Red Sox.
     So, Tiger fans, rest easy. Your future is secure and nothing will screw it up.

***Information for this article was taken from Dayn Perry's Tigers Will Be Winners For Years to Come. Photos were taken from the Google search engine.

     Dayton Moore was hired as the new Kansas City Royals General Manager. He has taken many steps to turning this franchise around. In fact, the Royals might have an outside shot of being 20 games under .500 or better. Now, that doesn't sound big, but it is. It really is for the Royals. Moore traded off for a very good center fielder that never got a shot in Tampa Bay. His name: Joey Gathright. That move bumped David DeJesus over to left field. Do you know what this means? They have two center fielders in their outfield. <km>
     Here's another step the Royals and Moore need to take. There is no way they will make the playoffs with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and the LA Angels battling for the division titles and Wild Card. So, this season is a lost cause. Or is it? Who says it has to be a complete lost cause? Sure they can't get to the playoffs, but they can give the young guys of the future a look. They have some trade bait. Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Redman, Mark Grudzielanek, Scott Elarton, Tony Graffanino and Doug Mientkiewicz. They can trade these guys off within the next two weeks. They have a solid back of the bullpen to build on (Mike MacDougal and Ambiorix Burgos) and a good farm system. They can trade Mientkiewicz and Redman off for some young pitching to go along with Jimmy Gobble, Bobby Keppel (at Triple-A) and Zach Grienke (if he ever comes back). Also, if the Royals can sign their first overall pick, Luke Hochevar, that makes a fourth possible starter. Then if they can add another starter or two in some trades, they're in good shape. They also have Mike Wood. The depth is getting bigger.
     Basically, what I'm saying is, the Royals have a great farm system. They just never tapped into it. Now, they have to. Mark Teahen can move from third base to the designated hitters role. This opens a spot for Alex Gordon. They can also trade Sanders, opening a spot for Billy Butler. Another move, already stated, is to trade Mientkiewicz to open a spot for Justin Huber. Donnie Murphy, Angel Sanchez and Andres Blanco are waiting for Gurdzielanek and Graffanino to leave town so they can come up.
     Something else they could think of doing is adding a young catcher in a trade.
     See, when you think about it, the Royals aren't in horrible shape. They look like it, but with Moore running the show now, you'll see the Royals in contention in 2008 or 2009...maybe even 2007. People said the Florida Marlins wouldn't be in contention, but look at them.

You've heard of Johan Santanna, Randy Johnson and Billy Koch, right? These guys can bring the heat. Well, they're old school now fools and it's time to introduce the newest young guns, the new skool.

The King of the playground: Justin Verlander, DET

Verlander can throw some heat. You may have heard of him. He's the number 3 pitcher on the Detroit Tigers. This kid hit 99 MPH on the radar gun on May 23. Oh yeah, that was a shutout!

The bully: Fransisco Liriano, MIN

Liriano has been compared to Johan Santanna, with one exception: they got him from the Giants. Liriano can touch 100 MPH and will be amoung the best of all-time. The question is is will he be with the Twins on his way to stardom? With the Twins slashing payroll cause the suck, you never know what could happen.

Last, but certainly not least, the kid hding from the King and the bully (they pick on him because he's not in the starting rotation yet): Joel Zumaya, DET

Zumaya is in the bullpen right now, but just wait! He'll be in the rotation in 2007, maybe sometime in 2006 as well. He can bring the heat (can't find what he's topped out at yet) and is strong in the bullpen. Nate Robertson signed a one year deal in March, and they might not want to resign him with Zumaya in the wings.

AL CENTRAL
                                                  
 RECORD                    GB
Chicago White Sox                    95-67                         --
Cleveland Indians                     93-69                         2
Minnesota Twins                       91-71                 
        4
Detroit Tigers                             88-74          
               7
Kansas City Royals                  81-81                     
    14

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The White Sox added Javier Vasquez and Jim Thome. No one knows why, but they work. They had plenty of offense and pitching before...now, they have a surplus. The White Sox will the division hands down.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
The Indians added a new and younger setup man, with a more lively arm and one of the best prospects in the game (Mota and Marte) and only traded off one player (basically), Coco Crisp. Their team is great, and probably the best team they've had in a long time, but still can't compete with the White Sox.

MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins didn't do what they wanted to do this offseason, but still have a great team. They'll put up a fight, but they won't get anywhere. I think their reign over the central is offically over now.

DETROIT TIGERS
Wow, the Tigers have vastly improved. They have a great team and should go places by 2009. However, it's 2006. They'll end up above .500, but they won't catch up to the top 3 teams until September and will fall 7 games out.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
The Royals did what they could to add depth to their team, but will fall short. They need to develop their minor league system, like the Pittsburgh Pirates did. Kansas City, however, will bounce back to a .500 record.