AL Central forecast

Indians
I'm a lifelong Indians fan so my gut says the Indians will flail wildly and finish with a view of the field (though still comfortably ahead of Kansas City). But I'm going for it! I'm getting on the bandwagon. I think the pitching will fall in line, the bullpen will be strong like 2 years ago and all the bats will step forward (Hafner, Sizemore did last year) rather than backward (Martinez, Peralta disappointed). If Marte, Garko and Michaels give them anything then the Indians should rake and challenge the Red Sox and Yanks for most runs scored. I haven’t felt this good about the Indians since…well, last year, when they got a bunch of hype, flailed wildly and finished with a view of the field though still comfortably ahead of Kansas City. But this year is different! I don't know why. 100 wins.

White Sox
Your wildcard team. I'm not buying that last year's slump was from losing Aaron Rowand. Podsednik, Dye, Taguchi, Thome, Crede, they'll all be back. They still have the attitude and I think that will carry them into the playoffs. Who does the pitching? I don't know but they'll figure it out. 95 wins.

Twins
The good ol' Twins, they have that holtistic vibe. They stay together and when they're good, they're really good and they play baseball that's fun to watch and they're all good guys. And they've got the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana, who's still very much in the Pedro-licious sweet spot of his career. Good D, good bullpen but I don't think they got enough pop in the lineup or (without Liriano) the starting rotation. 85 wins.

Tigers
I think Bonderman may be the best pitcher in the AL this year. But I fear Verlander and Zumaya both take a step back. And Sheffield will be fine if they're winning, but ugly if they're losing. I just think those arms will falter, then the bats will falter and Leyland's magic just won't get it done. 82 wins.

Royals
The Vanderbilt of the American League: they try hard and produce good players (Dye, Damon, Beltran was their outfield not that long ago) but they're just not gonna get it done any time soon. 75 wins.