By Nick Diminich, 2015, and Brian Wagner, 2015
With the upcoming 2013 Major League Baseball season, Baseball Writers Nick Diminich and Brian Wagner have their previews and predictions. This week we cover the AL Central.
The AL Central is not a division that turns a lot of heads in terms of talent and depth. While they do have the reigning American League champs in the Detroit Tigers, the rest of the teams were not postseason contenders. Here are our thoughts:
Chicago White Sox
Source: chicagotribune.com
Brian: Robin Ventura’s first year as manager will be remembered as a successful season as he finished only 3 games back of the Tigers for a playoff spot in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. It will be interesting to see if this team can repeat last year’s success after almost the entire division improved this offseason. Ageless wonder Paul Konerko continues to be the most important player on the team. He will have to be even more of a leader now that A.J. Pierzynski is no longer with the team. Adam Dunn, who bounced back and had a typical Adam Dunn season, will need to further prove that the historically horrific 2011 season was not a sign of his decline. The lineup certainly does not lack power with Konerko, Dunn, Dayan Viciedo, and Alex Rios all capable of hitting over 20 homeruns each. In fact, they were third in all of baseball with 211 homeruns as a team and they will most likely have a similar ranking this season (per ESPN). Their season, though, fully depends on their pitching. Their starting rotation, when healthy, is very good. Chris Sale’s first season as a starter showed that he can be a top of the rotation starter. Jake Peavy was healthy for the first time since he was a Cy Young candidate with the Padres. Health, of course, can be unpredictable. If Peavy and John Danks have 30 starts each, this team will contend for the second wild card spot. However, I’m not so sure that will happen. Chicago’s bullpen is also questionable as closer Addison Reed is an unproven commodity. Predicted Finish: 3rd Place
Nick: The Chicago White Sox were a major surprise last year when they competed for the division title up until the last month of the season. First year manager and Manager of the Year Candidate Robin Ventura led a group of somewhat unknowns to an 88 win season, not too shabby. Don’t look for this group to do the same, however, mainly due to the loss of long-time catcher and tough guy A.J. Pierzynski. He had an amazing season last year with the bat, and he got paid for it by the Texas Rangers. The White Sox have a good team, but the Tigers are a great team. Losing Pierzyski will be too much for this team to handle as “Mr. Consistency” Paul Konerko and “Mr. Consistently Strike Out” Adam Dunn begin the twilights of their careers. 23-year-old outfield Dayan Viciedo is a solid young talent, but he’s not yet ready to put a team on his back to win a division. You never know what you’re going to get with Jake Peavy but overall the rotation is pretty solid. The Sox will most likely have a winning record, but not enough to reach the postseason. Look for this team in the next 3-4 years as they add more pieces in this stage of semi-rebuilding that they’re in. Predicted Finish: 3rd Place Continue reading
NYU Sports Business Society Blog 