pwootten wrote:Everything in this post is tainted by my blind allegiance to the Royals, but I do not see the Tigers being the shoo-in some think they'll be. Their pitching isn't likely to be as strong as 2013. The loss of Iglesias is huge. Prince's 100+ RBI's have to be replaced by someone. The Indians are a huge question mark to me. It won't take much for the Royals offense to improve, plus as another poster said, Aoki and Infante were great pickups that fill holes in RF, 2B, and lead-off. KC's starting pitching will be the question. Lots of hope being pinned on rookie Yordano Ventura.
Like many small market teams, the Royals have a short window of opportunity. I'm hoping they bring a winner back here.
Um,
I was the poster who said that Aoki and Infante were great pickups...I said it in my post right above yours.
As to the Indians being a "huge question mark," you should also check back to my post above yours, address the points I made about Cleveland being a solid (but not a playoff) team, and please explain to me what makes them a "huge" question mark...as opposed to Chicago and Kansas City.
The Tigers are also still the best team in the division, and most likely a shoo-in for it. They easily have the best Front Three in the league in Scherzer, Verlander, and Sanchez; Porcello is a solid fourth, and Drew Smyly has solid potential as a fifth. They finally got a closer, and they got an excellent one in Nathan, not to mention Bruce Rondon and his 100 mph fastball setting him up. Yes, Fielder Is gone, but he was a poor clutch hitter in the second half of the season (and abhorrent in the playoffs), so Martinez should do as good a job, if not better, backing up Miggy in the lineup. Speaking of Miggy, he will be the monster he always has been and possibly a bigger one since he won't have to play third, which will be manned by Nick Castellanos, an excellent hitting prospect and superior defender (to Miggy) at third, who is having an excellent spring. Austin Jackson will still be playing his excellent centerfield, and I haven't yet mentioned Ian Kinsler who will bring more offense to Second than Infante provided and should provide fire and leadership to a team that has really had neither the past five years. And while losing Iglesias will hurt, Dombrowski will certainly address the shortstop issue--as he did when Peralta was suspended--as there are already rumors of Drew heading their way.
As to Kansas City, as I said in my previous post, I think they made good additions and will do ok (similar to Cleveland and Chicago)...but they are not a playoff competitor, and they will not challenge Detroit for the division. Firstly, they lost their number two starter, Santana, and replaced him with (ugh) Jason Vargas. So, besides Shields and Chen (who didn't make all his starts last year), the Royals have substantial question marks in the rotation. Yes, Ventura has an electric fastball, but his command is still in development, and Kansas City really needs him to be a solid Three or Four this year, as they're really toast if they have to fall back on Duffy or Wade Davis. They also have
significant question marks in their lineup, as Moustakas, Escobar, and Cain all had terrible years at the plate last year, and even Billy Butler had a down year offensively....So KC will do ok, but they won't challenge Detroit.
Honestly, Dayton Moore really blew it for the Royals when he traded Wil Myers
and Jake Odorizzi to TB for Shields and Davis. He could have signed Kyle Lohse
and kept both Myers in right field and Odorizzi in the fifth spot, instead of losing both young, talented players (who they would control for 6 years) for Shields (who will be gone next year) and his 13 wins. They probably would have been just as competitive this and last year, and they would have a much brighter future.
Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:52 pm