Here’s my look at the AL Central. As with the previous division looks, the chart below is based on last year’s win shares for the core players (starting 9, 5-man rotation and closer) based on information in the CBSSportsline depth charts. See the predictions category for all the previews.
| 2003 Win Shares | Chicago | Cleveland | Detroit | Kansas City | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting 9 | 117 | 77 | 105 | 132 | 121 |
| Starters and Closer | 51 | 40 | 40 | 56 | 55 |
| Total | 168 | 117 | 145 | 188 | 176 |
| Wins | 56 | 39 | 48 | 63 | 59 |
The most encouraging sign in this chart is that the Detroit core is already above the Tigers 2003 win level. The most discouraging sign is the Indians low total, which is the lowest I’ve seen for a core so far. The Indians think they are developing and are going to contend. And with a young team, these numbers can improve tremendously. But they sure don’t look very good right now.
KC is beating out the Twins here, but the big unknown is Joe Mauer. He’s penciled in with a 0 right now. But if he’s as good as people believe, a 20 win share season from him propels the Twins over the top. Looks like it will be a good dog fight between these two teams in the AL Central.
Very telling chart – interesting to go back and check out now. It was pretty much on for the Sox. I always check out Baseball Statistics at Covers to figure out what to expect in a game.