Season Review 2008: AL Central

During the 2008 season, the AL Central was most analogous to a Rocky Marathon.  At the top, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins provided drama, intrigue, and quality play.  Rockies I and II gave us an Oscar-winning movie and Mickey’s “you’re going to eat lightning and crap thunder” speech, as well as a training montage, during which Stallone chased a chicken around the back lots of Philadelphia.  Just like Rocky III and the mildly homoerotic training sequence between Apollo Creed and Rocky—which culminated with an awkward man hug on the beach—the Cleveland Indians failed to meet expectations.  Just as Mr. T offered a ray of sunshine with his performance as the truly villainous Clubber Lang, the Cliff Lee Reclamation Project outshone the team’s mediocrity for much of the season.  In fourth, the Kansas City Royals provided glimpses of hope for the future as their young pitching staff became a thorn in the side of opposing offenses and young talents Billy Butler, Mike Aviles, and Alex Gordon discovered a level of comfort at the Major League level.  Though much of their season was unwatchable, similar to the first hour of Rocky IV, they ended with the equivalent of Rocky, while training in the Russian hinterlands, outracing a car, climbing a mountain, and ultimately putting an end to the Cold War.  As for the last-place Detroit Tigers, like Rockies V and VI, most are more comfortable believing that they did not exist.

Chicago White Sox:  The White Sox and their 89 wins squeaked past the upstart Minnesota Twins in a dramatic one-game playoff at the end of the season.  However, the Sox were quickly bounced out of the postseason, losing the ALDS 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays.

What worked:   Offense, and lots of it.  Despite always entertaining manager Ozzie Guillen throwing his offense and his general manager under the bus in late May, Chicago led the major leagues in home runs, slugging 235 — 21 more than the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Sox also finished in the top five in the American League in runs scored, runs batted in, and slugging percentage.  This offensive explosion centered around the powerful heart of Chicago’s order: Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and off season acquisition Carlos Quentin.  All three smashed over thirty homers and drove in more than 90 runs.  They were joined by the revelation of Alexei Ramirez at shortstop.  The rookie middle infielder filled in admirably for the oft-injured Joe Crede, and in 136 games, batted .290 with 21 homers, 77 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.

Furthermore, two young arms provided a spark and kept the Sox in games long enough for their potent offense to do the necessary damage.  Gavin Floyd, 25, and John Danks, 23, led a solid pitching staff, which also comprised Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, and consistent closer Bobby Jenks that posted a 4.06 team ERA, sixth best in the American League.  Though both Danks and Floyd tired down the stretch, it was Danks who, on September 30 ^th , pitched eight innings of two-hit ball against the Minnesota Twins and led the Sox into the playoffs.

What didn’t:  Despite their league-leading home run and slugging totals, the White Sox offense struggled with timely hitting.  Chicago ranked eleventh in the league in team batting average and ninth in on base percentage.  While first baseman Paul Konerko posted 22 HR and 62 RBI, he hit an anemic .240.  Similarly, the winter signing of Nick Swisher did not pan out the way general manager Ken Williams would have hoped.  Swisher missed some time due to injury, slumped badly through most of the season, hitting a measly .219 and striking out 135 times.  The mid-season trade for Ken Griffey Jr. made headlines, but did little for the club, as Junior batted .260 with only three homers with the Sox.  Finally, the season-ending wrist injury of Carlos Quentin, the team leader in homers, runs batted in, and a major part of the team’s success, sealed the fate of the Sox.  For a team that relied so much on the three headed monster in the middle of its lineup, Quentin’s absence was a crushing blow.

Shopping List:  Jermaine Dye’s contract expires at the end of the year, and the Sox have already begun stirring up some trade talks involving the right fielder.  Besides the uncertainty of Dye’s future, the main issue facing Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen this winter is age.  Jim Thome will turn 39 this season.  A.J. Pierzynski turns 32 in December.  Paul Konerko, who played much of 2008 as if he were 75 years old, turns 33 in March.  Due to the success of youngsters Danks, Floyd, and Ramirez, the White Sox are looking towards a youth movement in 2009.  They have already inserted Josh Fields into the lineup at third base, and aim to platoon Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens in center and Jayson Nix and Chris Getz at second.  As of November 20, they also signed Cuban sensation, 19-year-old pitcher Dayan Viciedo to a major league contract for four years and reportedly $11 million dollars.  As such, they are attempting to shore up the back of the starting rotation.  While Floyd, Danks, and Buehrle had successful seasons, Vazquez and Contreras were less consistent.  And with an offense that is growing increasingly older and reliant on the long-ball, pitchers that will consistently put up quality starts are in high demand on the south side of Chicago.

Minnesota Twins:  In 2008, the Twins bid farewell to one of the best pitchers in the league and a fan-favorite perennial All-Star centerfielder and missed the playoffs by one run.  They finished 88-75, losing the play-in game against the Chicago White Sox on a home run by Jim Thome.

What worked:   Two words: fundamental baseball.  Ron Gardenhire deserves a raise.  He entered the season having lost Johan Santana and Torii Hunter and had an opening day roster that included Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Willie Mays Hayes, Roger Dorn, Pedro Cerrano, and Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn.  Nevertheless, the Twins piled up the wins and refused to quit throughout the season, falling just one win short of the postseason.  Young outfielders Denard Span and Carlos Gomez provided speed and base runners.  The Twins were the equivalent of a Nicholas Cage movie.  Though they excelled at very little, they did everything pretty well and ultimately left you feeling very satisfied.  They ranked fourth in the majors in runs scored, runs batted in, and batting average.  When Francisco Liriano returned from elbow surgery and the minors on August 3 ^rd , he provided a tremendous lift to this young team.  In 11 starts, Liriano went 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA, recording 60 strikeouts in a little more than 65 innings of work.

What didn’t:  Although the Twins excelled at situational hitting, moving runners along and pushing runs across, they sorely missed the big scary bat in the middle of the order.  In an American League that has increasingly become the home of the bopper, Morneau led the team with 23 homers.  Besides Morneau and Mauer, the Twins had no one that truly scared the opposition.

Similarly, the signing of Livan Hernandez did not exactly work out.  Despite posting ten wins and living up to his reputation as a pitcher that eats up innings, he accrued a 5.48 ERA before being traded to the Rockies before the deadline.

Shopping List:  With Joe Nathan still consistently anchoring the bullpen, the Twins are free to focus on finding some power and starting pitching.  However, many of the big names will command outlandish contracts, which will not allow Minnesota to contend in the bidding process.  One name on Minnesota’s short list is Rafael Furcal.  In an organization that has young talent maturing in the outfield and Mauer and Morneau occupying catcher and first base, the free agent shortstop would shore up the middle of the field and also provide some veteran leadership to the younger speedsters.  Ultimately, it seems that the Twins are making a big push for next season, when they will replace the Metrodome and its marshmallow roof with brand new Target Field.  Though one does wonder what will happen when the weather of Minnesota wreaks havoc at this new open air facility.  Perhaps they should add a retractable roof to the shopping list?

Cleveland Indians(by Michael Taylor):  81-81, Third Place

What Worked : Fighting for his professional life out of spring training, Cliff Lee found the corners of the strike zone with his fastball and soon found himself with an ERA under 1.00 midway through the month of May. He went on to finish the season 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA amid constant speculation that, for a guy who was demoted to Triple-A just a short season ago, he could not keep up this amazing statistical pace. Lee became the second Indian in a row to win the AL Cy Young Award following C.C. Sabathia.

Sabathia meanwhile was a part of the Indians sell-off of upcoming free agents at the trade deadline. The Indians, who had fallen out of contention, made a splash with deals for prospects that included 1B/OF Matt LaPorta, catcher Carlos Santana, and outfielder Michael Brantley.

The Indians offense led by All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore came to life late in the season by leading the AL in runs scored after the All-Star break. Sizemore became the Indians second 30-30 man in team history (the other was Joe Carter in 1987) and also added a second Gold Glove award and his first Silver Slugger award to his trophy mantle.

With Victor Martinez injured, backup catcher Kelly Shoppach broke out to hit 21 home runs, including a night in which he hit a major league record tying five extra-base hits against Detroit. Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo also finished the season on a tear, hitting .400 with five home runs and 24 RBI over the seasons last month, winning the AL Player of the Month in September. Choo finished with a .309 average with 14 homers and 66 RBI in 94 games.

What didn’t: It’s tough for a team such as Cleveland with a smaller market payroll to be able to have their number three and four hitters, and number two and three starting pitchers all go down with significant injuries.

The Indians offense slumbered through the first half of the season, hitting as low as .218 during the month of May while Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner pulled the offense down with them before officially going on the disabled list for the majority of the season.  Cleveland also was without 2007 stud Fausto Carmona for two months of the season with a hip injury, and number three starter Jake Westbrook underwent Tommy John surgery in June and should return at some point in ’09.

On top of the injuries, Cleveland’s reliable bullpen from their 2007 playoff run crashed and burned, finishing 13 ^th in the AL with a 5.11 ERA. Joe Borowski blew up early in the season as the closer before giving way to an array of fill-ins that included setup men Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, and later Jensen Lewis.

Shopping List: After a season of disappointment, GM Mark Shapiro has an important winter ahead of him. There is a glaring hole in the infield with the absence of a third baseman, a need for another experienced starting pitcher, and the biggest hole is at the backend of the bullpen.

The Indians have been exploring all options in the closer market, and with K-Rod and Brian Fuentes out of range, they likely will settle up with a shorter-term option such as a Trevor Hoffman while former top prospect Adam Miller (now in the bullpen) grooms for the job. The biggest move may come via trade, as the infield free agent market is quite thin. The move doesn’t have to be a third baseman either. Jhonny Peralta is playing third base in the winter Dominican League, and may be moved there permanently with Asdrubal Cabrera moving to his natural shortstop position. Kelly Shoppach is a key piece that may be on the move for the upgrade. 

Kansas City Royals: The Royals went 75-87 and finished 13.5 games behind the first place White Sox.  At the beginning of the season, no one really expected much from Kansas City.  The Royals quickly proved everyone right.

What worked:   Much like the last decade, 2008 was a rebuilding season for the Royals.  The signing of Jose Guillen paid immediate dividends, as he led the team with 20 homers and 97 RBI, and did not physically attack or verbally abuse anyone from the front office.  Outfielder David DeJesus had another productive season, hitting over .310, with an OPS of .818.  Most importantly, the Royals experienced a youth movement of their own.  Highly touted prospect Alex Gordon had a year of experience under his belt, and produced respectable numbers throughout his sophomore season.  Gordon hit 16 homers, drove in 59 runs, and scored a team-high 72.  Rookie infielder Mike Aviles also made the future in Kansas City a little brighter.  In 102 games, he batted .325 while belting ten home runs, with 51 RBI, and scoring 68 runs.

The Royals also found a core of young pitchers around which to build.  Gil Meche and Zach Greinke posted strong seasons, both finishing with more than ten wins, ERAs under 4.00, and 183 strikeouts.  The twenty-four year old closer, Joakim Soria, had a fantastic year, converting 42 of 45 save opportunities and posting a 1.60 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts in 67.1 innings.  The Royals also played 81 home games at beautiful Kaufman Stadium and have access to the best rib joints in America.  So, they’ve got that going for them, which is nice.

What didn’t:   Just about everything else.  The Royals offense ranked twelfth in the American League in runs scored, on base percentage, slugging, and OPS.  Their pitching ranked tenth in ERA and WHIP, and ninth in the number of quality starts.  Despite a fast start from Brian Bannister, the league quickly remembered that he doesn’t throw very hard and throws a lot of pitches, most of them balls.  There’s a possibility that the Royals may have finished better had they hired Walter Matthau as an assistant coach.  Then they could have run Tatum O’Neal out to the mound every five days instead of Bannister’s balloon-like 16 losses and 5.76 ERA.  On second thought, the crack budget would have been astronomical.  That’s a tough hurdle to overcome for a small market team.

Shopping List:  The Royals have already made some moves.  They just procured Coco Crisp in return for reliever Ramon Ramirez.  Crisp provides this offense with a spark at the top of the order.  Between him and Aviles, hitters like Gordon, DeJesus, and Guillen will find themselves in a higher number of RBI situations.  While the Royals are strong in the bullpen, they could really use some starters to go along with Greinke, Meche, and upstart Kyle Davies.  They have signed Brandon Duckworth to a one year deal, but that move is far from shoring up the rotation.  The Royals will not be in competition for some of the big ticket names, and as such, should focus on people like Julian Tavarez or Horacio Ramirez.  Ultimately though, instead of shopping, the Royals should work to lock up their core of Aviles, Gordon, Greinke, Meche, Billy Butler, and Soria for the long term.

Detroit Tigers: Despite making headlines in the off season for the signing of Miguel Cabrera, much like 24’s most recent season (not to be confused with the recently released 24: Redemption, that was phenomenal), the Tigers fell far short of expectations in 2008.  The team many predicted would challenge for a World Series title finished 74-88—14.5 games out of first place.

What worked:   As many predicted, the Tigers had an incredibly formidable offense.  With a lineup that featured Curtis Granderson, Maglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Gary Sheffield, Placido Polanco, Edgar Renteria, and Marcus Thames, the Tigers put up 821 runs, ranking fifth in the majors.  They also ranked in the top ten with 200 home runs (4 ^th ), 780 RBI (6 ^th ), and a .447 slugging percentage (4 ^th ).  Miguel Cabrera lived up to his contract, leading the AL with 37 home runs and finishing third in the league with 127 RBI.  Despite early injuries, Curtis Granderson continued to develop into a bona fide star, scoring 112 runs, just five behind the league leader and AL MVP, Dustin Pedroia.  Granderson also batted .280 with a .365 on base percentage, 22 HR and 66 RBI.

Armando Galarraga provided the lone source of comfort for Detroit’s embattled pitching staff.  In his first full year of service, the 26 year-old Venezuelan went 13-7 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Though he tired down the stretch, increasing his ERA 3.39 to 3.73 in the month of September, Galarraga provided hope for a future where Tigers’ pitchers would not commit ritual suicide on a daily basis.

What didn’t:  Simple, pitching.  The Tigers’ rotation was equivalent to Saturday Night Live over the past few years.  Galarraga, much like the performances of Tina Fey and Justin Timberlake, deflected attention from how truly dreadful the rest of the rotation had been.  While the Tigers’ offense scored 821 runs, their pitching and defense allowed 857 runs to the opposition.  Detroit’s pitching ranked twelfth in the American League in ERA (4.90), WHIP (1.51), quality starts (67), and saves (34).  Remove Galarraga from the equation and those numbers get worse.  Despite striking out 163 batters, Justin Verlander lost 17 games and posted a 4.84 ERA.  No amount of steroids or pine tar could help Kenny Rogers, as he lost 13 with a 5.70 ERA.  Nate Robertson should have remained an undersized guard with the New York Knicks; he lost 11 and recorded a 6.35 ERA.  Finally, the Dontrelle Willis Reclamation Project did not go as well the Cliff Lee Reclamation Project.  Willis started seven games, won none and lost two.  He finished the season with a 9.38 ERA.  Armando Galarraga was the “D**k in a Box” video short, the rest of the rotation was anything involving the fat actor that used to star in the Keenan and Kel Show.

Shopping List:  With Edgar Renteria filing for free agency, the Tigers need a shortstop.  They have already considered trading for Julio Lugo and Jack Wilson.  They also have looked into signing Alex Cora.  However, Detroit already has a strong lineup returning, what they need is pitching.  They can build around the success of Armando Galarraga, but Justin Verlander needs to return to his old form.  The Tigers must stock their bullpen with bona fide relievers.  The Tigers’ pen posted a gaudy 4.65 ERA and blew 28 save opportunities.  The late season trade for Kyle Farnsworth was not the answer they were looking for, as the righty finished with a 6.75 ERA in Detroit.  Though general manager Dave Dombrowski has stated that the Tigers are not interested in spending money on big name free agents, he should probably consider investing in a better training staff so that he can keep players like Granderson, Sheffield, Rogers, Joel Zumaya, and Fernando Rodney on the field.