That time of year again

Nine days from now, the Detroit Tigers open up the season against the Kansas City Royals.  They are playing in KC and if it wasn't on a Monday, I would have tried to get tickets to go.  Opening Day is one thing I would like to partake in when it comes to sports.  It doesn't matter which sport, just one of them and it would be much easier if I lived in a city with a professional team.  Baseball, I think, would be the greatest of these opening day events just because of the environment, focusing mostly on the outdoors aspect of the game.  If you get a sunny day the weather is cool enough, the smell of spring is in the air, the fresh cut grass just adds to the ambiance. 

Break down of the AL Central goes a like this....

Minnesota:  Joe Nathan is gone for the year and they don't have to money to pay for a big name closer because Joe Mauer now owns the state of Minnesota and both Dakotas (yeah, his contract was that much and it is deserved).  Best of luck Jon Rauch in replacing Nathan.  As long as the Mauer contract isn't a huge distraction for the rest of the team and their small paychecks, the Twins will be near the top of the division just like every other year. 

Detroit:  Good bye Granderson and hello Jackson.  Austin Jackson better pan out as a top of the order guy or the trade for him will be an early on bust, but I don't think that the repercussions of this trade will be known for a few years just because Jackson is so young.  I liked this trade even though I will miss seeing Granderson roam the expansive center field of Comerica Park just because it allowed Detroit to dump some contract money and get a little younger.  They needed help in the bullpen and they got it in Phil Coke and Danny Schlereth, but after their top two pitchers it gets a little sketchy.  As long as they don't choke at the end of the season like they did last year, they could be playing more than one hundred and sixty two games this year. 

Chicago:  I hate them, for always and forever.  However, they do have a scary pitching rotation, so props for that.  They have speed and power up and down the lineup that opposing pitchers will have to navigate very carefully.  The weakness is in the bullpen before getting to Bobby Jenks.  Getting to the starting pitchers early and often can exploit the weakness and I hope this happens more often than not, but I don't think it will.  If the rotation stays in tact all year, I think the Sox are the dark horse to win the division. 

Kansas City:  The small market team that never can, but at least they try.  They have the young talent to give veteran teams a headache but they cannot ever make it through the entire season.  Alex Gordon is on the verge of becoming a bust, but they have talent elsewhere in the field (DeJesus, Butler, Podsednik) to balance out Gordon's three year long struggle.  They lost a city and team favorite in Mark Tehan to the White Sox in the off season, but in return they got Scott Podsednik who can steal bases in bunches if he stays healthy.  The problem is in the rotation.  Zack Greinke can only pitch every fifth day, and Gil Meche and Luke Hochevar aren't exactly the best second and third starters.  They will continue to struggle to compete against teams that can pay big name players, but at least they won't finish in the basement of the division because of....

Cleveland:  Fire sale and rebuild.  It is an ongoing process and the fans of the Indians need to be patient for a few more years.  Travis Hafner is way beyond his prime and Grady Sizemore is coming off an injury plagued season.  If Sizemore can rebound, he will be the one bright spot in this otherwise dismal team.  They remind me of the Tigers of the early 2000's in that no one really wants to go play for them.  As soon as one or two big name players go there and start to turn it around for that organization (much like Carlos Guillen and Pudge Rodriguez did for Detroit about six years ago) you will see some competitive baseball return to the state of Ohio, but until then they will continue to compete with the Royals for the bottom of the division.