I think they are better than last year.
If Cleveland does win the central I will have to sport the Indian logo until April of next year, as I made a friendly wager with a Indian fan.
The Indians have improved, and last year was a fluke for them.(by fluke I mean they didnt play as well as they should have) I really think it will be a 3 way race between The Indians, The Twins, and The Tigers.
2007-02-11 22:17:41 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Baseball
Hehe Georgie. I would say their chances are a little better than the other two. 40% is a high percentage in this case. I think the twins have a 35% chance and the tigers have a 25% chance.
2007-02-12 02:47:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
They don't have much of a chance. The AL Central pennant will be a close call between the Twins and the Tigers. While the White Sox won't be strong, they will be in the race until the end....Just like they were last year. The AL Central is strong so the Indians will really need to put on a show to be in contention. I don't see that happening.
2007-02-11 22:40:26 · answer #2 · answered by Adam 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Indians will win the imperative branch this 3 hundred and sixty 5 days. The Tigers are too some distance again with too little time left for them to seize up. The Indians have had tremendous starting up pitching, wich wins championships, and well timed hitting. The Indians are between the most ideal communities in baseball. Eric Wedge has done a marvelous interest this 3 hundred and sixty 5 days
2016-12-04 02:01:04 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember the Indians had a shot at the wild card and went down to the last day of 2005. The Indians will be more competitive than last year. The Tigers probably have the better team.
BTW, it's good to be back talking baseball with you.
2007-02-12 05:19:12 · answer #4 · answered by mattapan26 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cleveland's chances depend on two things: pitching and infield defense. The pitching will be okay if they can keep Westbrook on the team and Sabathia off the DL, but it'll take some wizardry for the defense to improve enough for the team to seriously challenge for the division.
If Cleveland doesn't factor into the race this season, I still see a 3-team race among Detroit, Minnesota, and Chicago (probably finishing in that order). All four teams (including Cleveland) can hit, so each team's ability to keep opponents from putting runs on the board will likely determine who finishes where.
2007-02-12 03:17:08 · answer #5 · answered by Judge Ghis 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you the Indians should be improved over last year, however, every other team in the division (with the exception of the Twins) improved also. It will be difficult to make up so much ground in one season and I think even though the Indians should win close to 90 games, it just won't be enough. Look for them to improve this year, then really gear up for a run in 2008!
2007-02-11 22:53:28 · answer #6 · answered by P.I. Stingray 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Slim to none.
Let's face it, the Central is shaping up to be the best in baseball. The competition will be brutal but the Tigres will prevail due to their pitching. The Twins are a big question mark regarding the Liriano situation. Does he come back healthy and will he come back to his 06 shape? The White Sox haven't gotten any better than last year and their pitching is old and maybe the oldest staff in Baseball. The Royals are just plain bad and they excel in throwing good money to bad in the case of Gil Meche for 55 million dollars. I don't see the Indians doing any better than third in the division.
Couple of days to go.
2007-02-12 04:14:16 · answer #7 · answered by Oz 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I still think the Tigers are the class of the central. Twins backed doored the Tigers last year but it won't happen again. Cleveland doesn't know how to win. It's a mind set thing with them. It will be the Tigers and Yankees who will decide the AL pennant.
2007-02-12 02:49:28 · answer #8 · answered by Yankee Dude 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
20%
Would have been 10% if Radke and Liriano were going to play. You could wheel Radke to the mound and he could beat the Tribe - he's got our number.
Bottom line it is Detroit's division to lose, but this is baseball. It is unlike any of the other major sport in that you play every day for 6 months. Injuries add up quickly.The indians fluke was in the bullpen last year and Shapiro went for quantity there (after failing to get top quality last year with unsuccessful runs on Hoffman, and Ryan). Two guys with recent closer experience and one maybe two left handed matchup guys in the pen this year. The outfield got deeper more than it got better (although in baseball deeper is somewhat better in and of itself with an average of 6 games / week). Middle infield got better with Barfield coming aboard (paid a big price in undeveloped talent for that one). SS is still a ?? defensively. Shapiro sent Peralta to some 'program' to increase his range. That would address one of his weaknesses the other being somewhat hard hands for a middle infielder but his feet and hands are coordinated so when he gets to a ball and doesn't boot it he can get rid of it quickly turn the double paly and nip fast guys at first. Middle infield defense will determine a lot for this team becasue the sstarting five are largely ground ball pitchers. The corner infield shpots are a questions mark. Big time talent but unproven for a 162 game set at the ML level. The best thing that could happen is Martinez slowly gets moved to 1st base and Shoppach takes over behind the plate. Fantasy managers will hate that in future years because Martinez will no longer qualify at C. Martinez is a defensive liability behind the plate both as a backstop and an arm. Our rotation doesn't hold people well and we need an arm behind the plate to keep the double play in order (a rotation built on ground ball pitchers). Shoppach is an upgrade defensively.
I question Wedge as manager. This team needs to be a little less station to station than Wedge plays them. they need to put the opponents in field in motion some.
End of the day The Twins aren't as strong as they were last year. The Tigers were for real last year. The tribe was below their potential last year.
Tigers win division =50%
Twins win = 20%
Indians win = 20%
ChiSox = 10%
2007-02-12 01:07:39 · answer #9 · answered by faceman888 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I do see the Cleveland Indians trying to win the American League Wild Card but I see the Detroit Tigers winning the Central Division in the American League.
2007-02-12 04:33:06 · answer #10 · answered by Mr. Knowledgeable VI 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Al Central is probably the most competive in the game today,it will be a dog-fight all the way through 162 games.the games in April will mean just as much as the games in Sept.(maybe more). So cleveland should be second division at best
2007-02-12 02:01:03 · answer #11 · answered by Ricky Lee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋