2012 AL Central Standings - Part 2

[John Bonnes]

Yesterday, the Tigers earned the top spot with 70% of the vote - but who's next? Just like yesterday, place your vote and then add to the thread below. We'll go again tomorrow for 3rd place honors.

[Shane Wahl]

Well I will be very optimistic and put the Twins here. I wouldn't vomit if the Royals ended up second. The other two teams, I cannot stand. I do think the Twins will have a significant bounce back year. I would take the over at 80 games if Mauer and Willingham stay healthy the vast majority of the year. So with that and a significant pitching improvement, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Twins take second.

[Cody Christie]

I think the Indians, Royals, and Twins all have the potential to end up in the second spot in the division. I picked the Royals because I think it would be a cool story to follow especially with the All-Star Game in KC this year. It might be too big of a jump for the Twins to come back from 99-losses to finish runner up in the AL Central. I also think the Indians will take a step back this year.

[PGTwinsfan]

Going with the Indians for various reasons:

 

Feels like if the Twins don't have a good April, they could easily fall into the funk they found themselves in last year. We will be better (how could we not be), but have a bad feeling about Morneau and the shaky pitching.

 

Really like the Royals, but their pitching keeps them held back until next year.

 

White Sox, I miss Ozzie already...and they will miss Quentin and Buehrle. Too many bloated contracts to make it to the top, well almost to the top.

 

Indians seem like a pedestrian team on paper, but they played well last year and added some pitching. As long as they get some production from Sizemore and Choo, I think they will be WELL short of the Tigers, but come out of the scrum for 2nd place in the crowded AL central quest for 2nd place.

 

Predicting the Tigers in a landslide, followed by 4 mediocre teams that will be struggling for .500 and finish within about 6 games of one another.

 

Hope I'm wrong and the Twins end out on top, followed by a rout of the Yankees in the postseason!

[dave_dw]

I could see any one of these 4 teams finishing 2nd or finishing last.

[John Bonnes]

I agree, but I like both the Twins and Royals better than the Indians or White Sox. ON Fanatic Jack's podcast last night I pumped up the Twins a bit and talked myself into them. I really feel like last year was an aberration in so many ways, and I see so many ways in which the team will "progress to the mean." Better defense, better offense, better starting pitching - and I don't trust the Royals pitching yet.

[glanzer]

I kinda think the final four teams will be separated by 5-8 games in the standings. I chose KC to finish second, probably still right at or slightly below .500. I can't imagine any of these teams giving the Tigers a real run on paper, but that's also what I thought in 2007 when they had that seemingly awesome lineup 1 through 9. If Hochevar and Sanchez have huge breakout years and the Royals get some luck with another starter, I can see them finishing second which would be huge for this franchise. Offensively the Royals seem pretty well set.

[Thrylos]

Other than the fact that the Indians now have the best starter in the division , I do not think that they will do much other than fight with the Royals and the White Sox for the last 3 positions in the Divisions. I seriously think that the Twins will challenge Detroit.

[Steer]

I am going with Cleveland and I have to agree with glanzer that they will not be seperated by many games. I look for the Twins to be around 4th. The killer for them will be lack of power added to their pitching. They may only hit 125 homers. I await a pleasant suprise.

[James Richter]

I'll take the Twins for 2nd place. You don't have to get pie-in-the-sky at all to project them coming in right around .500. From there, the upside is pretty good. If any good things happen - Liriano remembers how to throw strikes, Ben Revere raises his batting average, Scott Baker makes 30 starts, and so on - the win total could easily get up into the mid 80's. The Indians were pretty lucky to get as many wins as they had last year - they should feel like they've progressed if they match that number in 2012. The Royals will be better overall, but Frenchie and Melky aren't going to be that good again, so I don't see them getting much over .500. The White Sox are the only team in the division that is distinctly worse than last year.

[frightwig]

I picked the Indians here, because I think they have the best mix of talent and experience after Detroit. Given good health and a bounce-back year from Choo, I could see them improving on last year's 80 wins--maybe even giving Detroit a good run if they're really lucky. I'd guess the Royals are the most likely to challenge the Indians for this spot, if their young talent can come together this year.

[Esoteric Ball Guy]

I took the Twins. KC still too young and their rotation is unimpressive, CHW isn't trying to win, and CLE isn't quite there. Overall division looks improved so spots 2-5 are wide open.