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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

AL Central Division

The Spokesman-Review

CENTRAL DIVISION

In order of 2006 finish

Minnesota Twins

2006: 96-66, first place.

Manager: Ron Gardenhire (sixth season).

Projected lineup: 2B Luis Castillo (.296, 84 runs, 25 SBs, .358 OBP), 3B Nick Punto (.290, 73 runs, 17 SBs, .352 OBP), C Joe Mauer (.347, 13 HRs, 84 RBIs, .429 OBP), RF Michael Cuddyer (.284, 24, 109, 41 2Bs, .362 OBP), 1B Justin Morneau (.321, 34, 130, 37 2Bs, 97 runs, .375 OBP), CF Torii Hunter (.278, 31, 98, .336 OBP), DH Jason Kubel (.241, 8, 26, 45 SOs in 73 games), LF Rondell White (.246, 7, 38), SS Jason Bartlett (.306, 1, 20, 23 2Bs, .336 OBP).

Rotation: LH Johan Santana (19-6, 2.77 ERA, 245 Ks, 47 walks, .216 opp. BA), RH Boof Bonser (7-6, 4.22, 18 HRs allowed in 18 starts), RH Ramon Ortiz (11-16, 5.57 with Washington), RH Sidney Ponson (4-5, 6.25 for Cardinals and Yankees), RH Carlos Silva (11-15, 5.94, 38 HRs allowed).

Key relievers: RH Joe Nathan (7-0, 1.58, 36/38 saves, 95 Ks in 68 1-3 IP), RH Juan Rincon (3-1, 2.91), LH Dennys Reyes (5-0, 0.89, .197 opp. BA), RH Jesse Crain (4-5, 3.52), RH Pat Neshek (4-2, 2.19, 53 Ks in 37 IP, .176 opp. BA).

Overview: Santana is baseball’s best pitcher. After that, the rotation is filled with question marks because Brad Radke retired and Francisco Liriano will miss the season following elbow surgery. Silva, Bonser and Ortiz will try to steady the ship. The bullpen remains reliable with dominant closer Nathan, and the offense has some punch. The Twins always catch the ball and mind their fundamentals, so don’t expect them to fall too far.

Detroit Tigers

2006: 95-67, second place, wild card, A.L. champions.

Manager: Jim Leyland (second season).

Projected lineup: CF Curtis Granderson (.260, 19 HRs, 68 RBIs, 174 Ks, .335 OBP), 2B Placido Polanco (.295, 4, 52), DH Gary Sheffield (.298, 6, 25 in 39 games with Yankees), RF Magglio Ordonez (.298, 24, 104), SS Carlos Guillen (.320, 19, 85), C Ivan Rodriguez (.300, 13, 69), 1B Sean Casey (.245, 5, 30 in 53 games with Tigers), LF Craig Monroe (.255, 28, 92), 3B Brandon Inge (.253, 27, 83, 128 Ks).

Rotation: RH Jeremy Bonderman (14-8, 4.08, 214 IP, 202 Ks, 64 BBs ), RH Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.63, 186, 124, 60), LH Nate Robertson (13-13, 3.84, 208, 137, 67), LH Mike Maroth (5-2, 4.19, 53, 24, 16), RH Chad Durbin (0-0, 1.50 in 3 relief appearances).

Key relievers: RH Todd Jones (2-6, 3.94, 37/43 saves), RH Joel Zumaya (6-3, 1.94, 83, 97, 42), RH Fernando Rodney (7-4, 3.52), RH Jose Mesa (1-5, 3.86, 79 Gs with Colorado), LH Wilfredo Ledezma (3-3, 3.58, 7 starts).

Overview: All those hard-throwing youngsters are back: Verlander, Bonderman, Zumaya. In pitcher-friendly Comerica Park, they only figure to get better with experience. Add in Robertson, Maroth (returning from injury) and closer Jones, and the Tigers have plenty of pitching. Kenny Rogers will start the season on the disabled list, however. Sheffield provides the big bat this team needed. With Leyland making sure there’s no letup from last season, Detroit proves its 2006 turnaround was no fluke.

Chicago White Sox

2006: 90-72, third place.

Manager: Ozzie Guillen (fourth season).

Projected lineup: LF Scott Podsednik (.261, 3 HRs, 45 RBIs, 40 steals in 59 attempts), CF Darin Erstad (.221, 0 HRs, 5 RBIs for Los Angeles Angels), DH Jim Thome (.288, 42 HRs, 109 RBIs), 1B Paul Konerko (.313, 35 HRs, 113 RBIs), RF Jermaine Dye (.315, 44 HRs, 120 RBIs), 3B Joe Crede (.283, 30 HRs, 94 RBIs), C A.J. Pierzynski (.295, 16 HRs, 64 RBIs), 2B Tadahito Iguchi (.281, 18 HRs, 67 RBIs), SS Juan Uribe (.235, 21 HRs, 71 RBIs).

Rotation: RH Jose Contreras (13-9, 4.27 ERA), RH Jon Garland (18-7, 4.51), LH Mark Buehrle (12-13, 4.99, career-high 36 home runs allowed), RH Javier Vazquez (11-12, 4.84), LH John Danks (9-9, 4.24 in 27 games and 26 starts for Texas’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates).

Key relievers: RH Bobby Jenks (3-4, 4.00 ERA, 41/45 saves), RH Mike MacDougal (1-1, 1.55 in 29 appearances – 25 with the White Sox after acquisition from Kansas City), RH David Aardsma (3-0, 4.08 in 45 appearances with Chicago Cubs), LH Andrew Sisco (1-3, 7.10, 1 save for Royals), RH Nick Masset (0-0, 4.15 in eight appearances for Texas), LH Matt Thornton (5-3, 3.33).

Overview: Manager Guillen’s team didn’t add much in the off-season other than injury-prone Erstad and pitching prospect Danks. GM Ken Williams did trade right-handers Freddy Garcia and Brandon McCarthy, which could hurt. But Williams isn’t afraid to take risks, and the rotation still boasts Contreras, Garland, Vazquez and Buehrle, who is coming off a poor second half in 2006. The middle of the lineup is packed with power: Thome, Konerko, Dye and Crede.

Cleveland Indians

2006: 78-84, fourth place.

Manager: Eric Wedge (fifth season).

Projected lineup: CF Grady Sizemore (.290, 28 HRs, A.L.-best 53 doubles, 76 RBIs, 22 steals), RF Trot Nixon (.268, 8, 52 in Boston), DH Travis Hafner (.308, 42, 117 in 129 games), C Victor Martinez (.316, 16, 93), 1B Casey Blake (.282, 19, 68), LF David Dellucci (.292, 13, 39 in Philadelphia), 3B Andy Marte (.226, 5, 23 in 50 games), SS Jhonny Peralta (.257, 13, 68, 152 Ks), 2B Josh Barfield (.280, 58 RBIs, 28 steals with San Diego).

Rotation: LH C.C. Sabathia (12-11, 3.22 ERA, A.L.-best six complete games), RH Jake Westbrook (15-10, 4.17, two shutouts), LH Cliff Lee (14-11, 4.40; will begin season on DL with abdominal strain), LH Jeremy Sowers (7-4, 3.57, went 9-1 at Triple-A Buffalo), RH Paul Byrd (10-9, 4.86), RH Fausto Carmona (1-10, 5.42, seven starts).

Key relievers: RH Joe Borowski (3-3, 3.75 ERA, 36 saves in 43 tries for Florida), RH Roberto Hernandez (0-3, 2 saves with Pittsburgh and New York Mets, 326 career saves), LH Aaron Fultz (3-1, 4.54 in 66 games for Philadelphia), RH Rafael Betancourt (3-4, 3.81), RH Matt Miller (1-0, 3.45; missed most of ‘06 with elbow injury, now sidelined three to four weeks with strained forearm), RH Fernando Cabrera (3-3, 5.19).

Overview: Shapiro revamped a leaky bullpen, Cleveland’s biggest flaw last season as it slipped to 78-84 after winning 93 games in 2005. Borowski is the new closer. The group is better, but still nothing to get excited about. Hafner anchors a high-powered offense, and Sabathia leads a capable rotation. Lee will begin the year on the DL with an abdominal strain. Look for the Indians to have a strong season but fall just short of a playoff berth.

Kansas City Royals

2006: 62-100, fifth place.

Manager: Buddy Bell (third season).

Projected lineup: CF David DeJesus (.295, 8 HRs, 56 RBIs, 83 runs, 6 SBs), 2B Mark Grudzielanek (.297, 7, 52), RF Mark Teahen (.290, 18, 69), DH Mike Sweeney (.258, 8, 33), 3B Alex Gordon (.325, 29, 101 at Double-A Wichita, Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year), LF Emil Brown (.287, 15, 81), 1B Ryan Shealy (.280, 7, 36), C John Buck (.245, 11, 50), SS Tony Pena Jr. (.227, 1, 3 in 44 at-bats with Atlanta).

Rotation: RH Gil Meche (11-8, 4.48 with Seattle), LH Odalis Perez (6-8, 6.20 with Dodgers and Royals), RH Zack Greinke (8-3, 4.34 at Double-A Wichita), LH Jorge De La Rosa (5-6, 6.49 with Brewers and Royals), RH Brandon Duckworth (1-5, 6.11).

Key relievers: RHP Octavio Dotel (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 10 IP in 14 games with Yankees), RHP David Riske (1-2, 3.89 with Red Sox and White Sox), RHP Joakim Soria (1-0, 2.31 at Class A Fort Wayne), RHP Todd Wellemeyer (1-4, 4.14 with Marlins and Royals), LHP Jimmy Gobble (4-6, 5.14).

Overview: Prized prospect Gordon takes over at third base, bumping Teahen to the outfield. Gordon could be a rookie of the year contender. The usually frugal Royals raised eyebrows by signing starting pitcher Meche to a $55 million, five-year contract. Dotel attempts to become a closer again. GM Dayton Moore appears to have a reasonable rebuilding plan.

Associated Press