European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                March 312007 Page 38 american league Tea capsules new York 2006 9765 first place manager Joe Torre 12th Hes Here lip Andy Pettitte lip Kei Igawa rep Luis Vizcai no in Doug Mientkiewicz 1bdh Josh Phelps rep Humber to Sanchez Todd Pratt Hes outta Here of Gary Sheffield lip Randy Johnson oudh berm Williams rep Jaret Wright rep Octavio Dotel 1brf Craig Wilson c Sal Fasano rep 29 in c Jorge Posada 2b Robinson if Mientkiewicz 283443 and Phelps 3082490 for triple rotation re Chinming Wang 196 363 re Mike Mussina 157 Pettitte re Carl Payano did not pm ten in Igawa 149 297 Rivera 55 Proctor re Bian Bruney la Mike Myers Vizcaino re Jeff Karstens hot spot once again thes so tight will be on Arod comma off a turbulent sea son and another playoff Flop As he was dropped to no 8 in the batting order Bottom line the Yankees have won nine straight division titles but after a stunning playoff loss to Detroit last year their second consecutive first round exit the Yankees made a pair of major trades in the of season they dumped Sheffield and Johnson trimming payroll and stockpiling prospects the lineup re Mains loaded Tio Wever Pettitte a Star m pinstripes from 199503 before leaving for Houston is Back Toronto 2006 8775 second place manager John Gib Bons third Hes Here do Frank Thomas is Royce Clayton rep Tomo Ohka rep John Thom son c Sal Fasano of Matt stairs rep Vic Tor Zambrano Hes outta Here lip Ted Lilly c Bengie Molina of Frank Catalanotto rep Justin projected lineup of Reed Johnson 319712 or 49 rib 390 in by e Over Bay 312 22 of Vernon Wells 303 3210617 do Thomas 270 39114 545 3b Troy Glaus of Alex Rios 302 17 82 15 c Gregg Zaun 27212 28 Aaron Hill 291 6 Sec Layton rotation re Roy Halladay 165 319 Era 132 re a Burnett 108 la Gustavo Chacin 94 Ohka 45 re Josh towers 210 Thom rebel la by Ryan 22137 38 re Brandon league re Jason Frasor 32 la Scott Downs la Brian Tallet re Jeremy Accardo re Francisco Rosario re Shawn Marcum hot spot the rotation after Halladay and Burnett the Talent level drops off drastically Victor Zambrano coming off Tommy John surgery has impressed in Spring training and could find his Way into the rotation by May or june Bottom line if Thomas and Glaus stay healthy and Wells continues to produce the Blue jays have the potential to outhit a lot of teams and Wear Down opposing pitching staffs Given the Lack of depth in the rotation and bullpen that might be Toronto Best shot at the playoffs Toron to finished one game ahead of Boston last season to claim second place but still fell Short of the wild card this season the Blue jays must stay healthy and get the Best from their big names a Boston 2006 8676 third place manager Terry fran Cona fourth Hes Here rep Daisuke Matsuzaka of cd Drew is Julio Lugo rep Brendan Donnelly rep Joel Pineiro lip pc Romero lip Hideki Okaji ses outta Here of Trot Nixon 2b Mark Loretta is Alex Gonzalez rep Keith Foulke of Gabe Kapler of Adam Stern is Lugo 278 12 hrs 37 Rols 24 lbs with Devil rays and i Dodg in Kevin Youkilis 277 13 72 100 runs 42 do David Ortiz 287 54 137 119 bus 355 Tbs 636 of Manny Ramirez 321 35 102 439 Obj 619 of Drew 283 20 3b make Lowell 284 20 c Jason Varitek 238 12 of Coco Crisp 264 8 2b dust t Curt Schilling 157 3 97 Era re Josh Beckett 1611 501 career High 36 hrs Matsuzaka 175 213 13 cos 200 is in re Tim Wakefield 711 re Julian h Jonathan Papelbon 42 092 re Mike Timlin 66 436 9 re Joel Pineiro 813 636 1 re Brendan Donnelly la pc Romero la Hideki Okajima hot spot Ethe pitching staff the bullpen got a big boost when the red sox re turned Papelbon to the closers role but the rotation might have suffered when Julian Tavarez a Middle reliever most of his career took Papelbon spot Bottom line the red sox starting pitch ing and lineup Are impressive they should score a lot of runs but their mid dle Relief is a question Mark Matsuzaka has lived up to his Billing with an out standing Spring training the teams Best move was the decision to stick with Papel Bon As the closer a role he likes Baltimore 2006 place 7092 fourth manager Sam per Lozzo second sea Here of Jay Payton of Aubrey Huff rep Danys Baez rep Chad Bradford rep Jeremy Guthrie lip Jamie Walker rep Scott Williamson rep Jaret Wright c Paul Bako Hes outta Here of David Newhan of Fernando Tatis rep Rodrigo Lopez lip Bruce Chen rep Russ Ortiz projected lineup 2b Brian Roberts w86710hrs 85 runs 36 3b Melvin Mora 27416 of Nick Markakis 291 167 m is Miguel Triada 330 2410037 Buff 2672166 c Ramon i  ton 29610 1653 career High 45 j c rotation la Ink Bedard 1511376 Era 171 re Daniel Cabrera 910 474 157 la Adam Loewen re Jaret Wright 117 449 re Steve Trachsel 497 key relievers re Chris Ray 44 273 Baez 56 4j3 9 Radford Walker Wilh hot 25ot Iam Sotu hot spot Trie rotation Bedard is clearly the Ace followed by  Ucuncu we a ctr 1 Cabrera had a losing record Wright has a history of Arm problems Loewen has Only 22 games of big league experience and Trachsel was ignored by almost every team before the orioles came Call Bottom line the orioles Are an improved team from a year ago but still not Good enough to compete with the Yan Kees red sox and Blue jays in the Al East an improved bullpen could make up for the inexperienced starting rotation and Payton and Huff should enhance an attack that last year relied too heavy y on Tejada and Hernandez for Power if Al that happens then the anoles will Proba Bly end their embarrassing run of nine straight losing seasons Tampa Bay 2006 61101 fifth place manager Joe mad Don second Hes Here 3b Aki Nori Iwamura rep Jae Kuk Ryu rep Al Reyes in Carlos Pena inf Brendan hams Hes outta Here rep Travis Harper of Damon Hollins rep Brian Meadows inf Tomas Perez rep Tyler Walker of Rocco Baldelli in to Wigginton 2752479 330 498 do Greg Norton 2961745 520 2b Jorge Cantu 0249 14 of Delmon Young 317310 476 Sig in 30 3b Iwamura c dinner Navar Scott Kazmir 108 324 re James Shields 68 la Casey Fossum 66 re Jae Seo re Edwin Jackson key relievers re Shawn Camp 74 re Dan Miceli 123944 re Ruddy Lugo 24 re Brian Stokes Reyes 4f 215 with St Louis in re Chad Orvella re Tim Corcoran hot spot pitching despite losing 101 games last year the Devil rays entered Spring training with four spots already set in a shaky rotation the absence of a True closer Means the role will be filled by committee Bottom line an opening Day pay Mph of about million Down from Mil lion a year ago will make it difficult for the Devil rays to escape the Al East cel Lar while they have put together a Nice nucleus of Young players in Kazmir Craw Ford Baldelli and Young the starting pitching remains suspect and the Bull pen at Best is unsettled Iwamura an Allstar in Japan was the clubs biggest of season acquisition the pitching and defense must improve dramatically to avoid another 100loss season Minnesota 2006 9666 first place manager Ron Gardenhire sixth sea Here rep Ramon Ortiz rep Sid Ney Ponson in Edh Jeff Cirillo Hes outta Here rep Brad Radke of Shannon Stewart dh1b Phil Nevin inf Terry Tiffee rep 2bs 97 runs Buki Uin Nuoci 278 31 98 336 do Jason Kubel 241 8 26 45 sos in 73 of Ron Dell White 246 7 so Jason Bartlett 3061 20 23 rotation la Johan Santana 196 277 Era 245 is 47 walks 216 Opp re Carlos Silva 1115 59438i he re Boot Bonser 7642218 hrs allowed in 18 Ortiz 1116 557 Are set Ponson la Glen Perkins and re Matt Garza 36 s7638ks in 50 in vying re Joe Nathan 70158 saves 95 is in 68a re Juan Rin con la Dennys Reyes 50089 197 Opp re Jesse Grain re Pat be Shefcy hot spot the rotation after two time Al by Young Winner Santana it s any body guess Brad Radke retired and la Francisco Liriano is out this year after Lig amen replacement surgery leaving big line almost everyone is Back from a team that thrilled fans last season by coming from 1216 games Back to win its fourth division title in five seasons Gardenhire is going to need Mauer mor Neau cleanup hitter Cuddyer Andi the piranhas Punto Bartlett and Castillo to have similar seasons at the plate to Back up a sketchy rotation Detroit 2006 9567 second place wild card Al champions manager Jim Ley land second Hes Here do Gary Sheffield rep Jose Mesa lip Edward Campusano lip Joey Eischen Hes outta Here lip Jamie Walker protected lineup of Curtis Granderson hrs 93 Rols 174ks 335 of Craig Monroe 255 28 is Carlos Guillen of Manglio Ordonez 2b place Ido Gotanco c Ivan Rodriguez 30013 in Sean cases 245 5 36 Brandon Inge 253278l 128 rotation re Jeremy Bonderman 148 408214 in 202 is 64 la Kenny Rog ers u78 384 204 re Justin ver Lander 179 363 in 124 la Nate Robertson 1313 384 208 137 la Mike Maroth key relievers re Todd Jones 26394 re Joel Zumaya 63 194 83 97 re Fernando Rodney 74 Mesa la Wilfredo Ledezma hot spot Between the ears if the tigers forget what helped them win the Al Pennant preparing diligently almost every Day Ana playing hard they might Bottom Une coming off their first world series since 1984 the tigers quickly have become the hunted after being Hunters for More than a decade Leyland insists Only self destructive behaviour and injuries can Stop Detroit this year and he might be right the tigers gave them selves a Chance to contend by essentially bringing Back the same team plus Shef Field outstanding pitching pushed the tigers to the top last year and there s no reason to think the rotation and bullpen wont be among baseball Lebest again in about seven months the tigers will find out if it was harder to get to the top or to stay there Chicago 2006 place 9072 third Guillen fourth sea Here of1b Darin Erstad c Toby Hall rep David Aardsma rep Gavin Floyd rep Nick Masset lip Andrew Sisco Hes outta Here rep Freddy Garcia rep Brandon Mccar thy lip Neal Cotts 1bof Ros Gload rep Dustin Hermanson rep David Riske c Sandy Alomar or projected lineup of Scott Podsednik 261 3 hrs 45 Rols 40 steals in 59 at tempts or hrs 5 2b Takahito Iguchi 281 Ife hrs 67 do Jim Thome 288 42 hrs 109 Rols in Paul Konerko 35 hrs 113 re of Jermaine Dye c315 44 hrs 120 3b Joe Crede 283 3d hrs 94 c a Pierzynski 295 16 hrs 64 is Juan Uribe 235 21 hrs 7i re of Brian Anderson 2258 hrs 33 rotation re Jose Contreras 139 427 re Jon Garland 187 451 la Mark Buehrle 1213 499 Era Ca ree High 36 Home runs re Javier Vazquez 1112 484 re Charlie Haeger 11344 Era or la John Danks or re Gavin Floyd 43729 Era in 11 starts key relievers re Bobby Jenks 34400 Era 41 saves in 45 re Mike Macdougal 11 155 Era in 29 a Aardsma 30408 Mas set and la Matt Thornton hot spot Outfield Podsednik had sports hernia surgery and Erstad is com ing off an injury shortened season Bottom line the White sox went from world series champions in 2005 to playoff spectators in 2006 but instead of a major overhaul they opted to tweak the roster and add prospects the starting rotation is a question Mark especially with Garcia now in Philadelphia that Trade want a Shock because Chicago was expected to Clear room in the rotation for Mccarthy the Deal that sent Mccarthy to Texas two weeks later was a Surprise though Cleveland 2006 7884 fourth place wedge fifth Hes Here 2b Josh Barfield rep Joe Borowski rep Rober to Hernandez lip Aaron Fultz of David Dellucci of Trot Nixon Hes outta Here rep Keith Foulke 3b Aaron Boone 2b Ron Nie Belliard inf Kevin Kouzmanoff in Ben Broussard in Eduardo Perez of Todd Hollandsworth rep Jeremy Guthrie protected lineup of Grady Sizemore hrs Albest 53 doubles 76 Rols 22 Trot Nixon 268 8 do Travis hairier 30842117 in 129 c Victor Martinez in cases rotation la cd Sabathia 1211 322 Era Albest six Complete re Jake Westbrook 1510 417 two shut la Cliff Lee 1411 440 will begin season on la Jeremy Sowers 74 3 re Paul Byrd re Fausto Carmona key relievers re Joe Borowski 375 Era 36 saves in 43 tries for Hernandez 03 2 la Aaron Fultz re Rafael Betancourt re Matt Miller re Fernando Cabrera hot Spote the bullpen which was base balls worst in 2006 and a reason the Indi ans won 15 fewer games than in 05 Bottom line a loaded division will make it Tough for the indians last years experience humbled the club which might have been premature in thinking it was ready to compete with the big boys the indians can hit and pitch no doubt its the catching and throwing part that bewildered them a year ago Barfield will help up the Middle but the Guy the indians Are counting on is Peralta who looked Good this Spring after a subpar 2006 Kansas City 2006 62100 fifth place manager Beh Johw buddy Here rep Gil Meche rep Octavo Dotel rep David Riske rep Brian ban Nister rep Joakim Soria lip John Bale in Ross Gload c Jason Larue Hes outta Here lip Mark Redman rep run Elvys Hernandez lip Andrew Sisco in Doug Mientkiewicz rep Ambiorix Burgos c Paul Bako c Paul Phillips rep Mike Wood projected tuneup of David Dejesus 2951 hrs 56 Rols 83 runs 6 2b Mark Grudzielanek 297 7 of Mark Teahen 290 18 do Mike Sweeney 258 8 33 Job Alex Gordon 325 29 101 at double Wichita baseball America minor league player of the of Tail Brown 287 15 in Ryan Shean 280 7 c John Buck 245 11 is Angel 118 la Odalis Perez 68 re Luke Hudson 76 la Jorge de la Rosa 56 re Zack Greinke 83 434 in double eat key relievers 6otel 00 1080 Era 10 in in 14 Riske 12 Soria rep Todl Wellemeyer 14 rep Brandon Duckworth 15 lip Jimmy gobble hot spot pitching and Overall depth since being hired fast May 31 general manager Dayton Moore has done a major overhaul of the worst staff in the major leagues but every move is accompanied by red flags he gave Meche a million contract Evert though Hes Only 5544 new closer Dotel has been limited to Only 19 appearances the past two seasons be cause of ligament replacement surgery Bottom one if a few of their new play ers come through especially Meche Dotel and Gordon lat night comics will have to mine their material from some other source there will be no Pennant run this year but a 10game swing certainly looks possible o a k u a n d first place manager Bob Geren first sea Here do Mike Piazza lip Alan Embree of Shannon Stew Art of Ricky Ledee do Erubiel Durazo inf Lou Merloni Hes outta Here manager Ken Macha lip Barry Zito do Frank Thomas of Jay Payton rep Kirk Saarloos inf Dangelo Jimenez projected lineup c Jason Kendall 295 l of Tewart of Milton Bradley 276 14 a6w3bercna 6th Gold Glove of Nick Swisher 254 3595 106 runs 97 bus 152 is Bobby Crosby 2299 in Dan Johnson 234937x2bmarktllis 24911 522 errors record Fielding percentage for 2b rotation re Dan Haren 1413 412 176 is 31 hrs re Rich Harden 40424 in 6 re Este ban Loaiza re Joe Blanton la Joe Kennedy 41231 All in key relievers re Huston Street 44331 re of Satin Duchscherer re Kkt Calero Trot Spoff shortstop Crosby was the als top Rookie in 2004 and played even better the following year whew twas Hethy that what Makella Sayears performance so perplexing he batted Only 229 be fore a Back injury ended his season aug 21 Bottom line after the As won a playoff series for the first time since 1990gm Billy Bea Estill decided to fire Macha in part because of discontent in the Geren takes Over a team that must re place its two most dependable performers last year in Zito and Thomas the As a ready were Hrit with one major in Ury this Spring starting of Mark Kot say half Back surgery in Early March and is expect pm to miss the first two months of the season de Bradley has move to of and Swisher will go from 1 r to of that outs More pressure on Johnson to re Vert to his form and not the 2006 ver Sion who started ofor27 and contributed Little at the plate All season los Angeles second place manager Mike Scioscia eighth Hes Here in Shea Hillen Brand rep Justin Speier of Gary Matthews or lip Darren Hes outta Here 1bcf Darin Erstad 2b Adam Kennedy rep Brendan Donnelly lip pc Romero projected lineup a Matthews or is Orlando Cabrera j82 9 of Garret Anderson 280 17 of Vladimir Guerrero 329 33 in do Hillenbrand 277 21 2b Howie Kendrick in Casey Kotchman 1521 c Mike Zipoli 3b chone figgins 2579 62 rotation re Bartolo Colon 15 re John Lackey 1311356 topped staff with 217v3 innings logged 190 re Kelvim Escobar 1114 3611 re Ervin Santana 168 428 in 33 re Jered Weaver 112256 won first 9 key relievers re Francisco Rodriguez 23 173 led league with 47 re Scot Shields 77287 Speier Oliver 41 344 hot spot protecting Guerrero the Ange s still need consistent Power around their 2004 league map oudh Juan Rivera 31023 85 broke his left leg playing Winter Ball and is expected to be Side lined for most or All of the season Anderson has been slowed by injuries in recent years but still is capable of driving in 100 runs and a Good season by Hillenbrand also would help Bottom line the pitching staff should be one of the Best in baseball if Colon can come Back from his shoulder problems and Weaver int hampered by tendinitis in his biceps both pitchers have been brought along slowly this Spring and Are expected to miss the Start of the season los Angeles offence looks relatively solid and Guerrero is one of the Best hitters in the game the Angels lost some of their stalwarts last Winter including Erstad Kennedy and Tim Salmon who retired Texas third place manager Ron Washington first Hes Here oudh Sammy Sosa rep Eric Gagne rep Brandon Mccarthy of Kenny Lofton of Frank Catalanotto of Marlon Byrd rep Jamey Wright lip Bruce Chen Hes outta Here manager Buck Showalter of Carlos Lee of Gary Matthews or rep Adam Eaton 2b Mark de Rosa rep Kip Wells c Rod Barajas projected lineup of Lofton 30179 runs 32 lbs 360 of Catalanotto 300 7 hrs 56 is Michael Young 3141410393 runs 52 in Mark Teixeira 2823311099 runs 45 do Sosa out of baseball in 3b Hank Blalock 266 of Brad Wilkerson 22215 44 and Nelson Cruz c Gerald Laird 296 7 28 Ian kirotetionfrh4klvin Millwood 1612 452 Era 157 is 215 rep Vicente Padilla 1510450156 is in 200 Mccarthy 4746853 rep Robin son Tejeda rep Kameron Loe 36586 or Wright 610519 or Chen key relievers Gagne 00 000 Era save in 2 re Akinori Otsuka 24 211 6 re Rick Bauer re Joaquin Benoit re Wes lit Teton la Ron Mahay la cd Wilson hot Spote the pitching staff it appears the rang ers finally have some capable options in the Rota Tion and bullpen but there Are still several uncertainties following Millwood and Padilla Are 23yearold Mccarthy and 25yearold Feieda the no 5 spot Likely will be filled by Wright or Chen both veterans trying to come Back from subpar seasons Bottom line its the same Story for the rangers will the pitching staff come through if Gagne is healthy Otsuka is Content and the Young starters t Cali rtt Tearaway solid this Spring fourth place manager Mike Hargrove third Seattle do Jose Vidro of Jose Guillen rep Miguel Batista rep Jeff Weaver lip Horacio Ramirez rep Chris Reitsma lip Arthur Rhodes Hes outta Here rep Gil Meche rep Joel Pineiro rep Rafael Soriano 1bdh Eduardo Perez rep Jorge Campillo rep Francisco Cruceta rep Manilio Fruto info Greg Dobbs of to Bohn of Chris Snellg rep Clint a ejected lineup Cochiro Suzuki 322t9 hrs 49 Rols hits 45 lbs 370 3b Adrian Beltre 25 do Vidro 289 7 of Raul Ibanez 289 33 in Richie Sexson 264 34 107 40 Dou 154 of Guillen 216 9 c Kenn Joh Jima 291 18 2b Jose Lopez 282 10 is Yuni Esky Betancourt 289 8 rotation rep Felix Hernandez 1214 452 Era 195 hits in 191 in 23 lip Jarrod Washburn 814 Weaver 310 rep Miguel Batista 118 Ramirez 55 key relievers rep Ujj Putz 41 230 Reitsma 12 868 lip Arthur Rhodes 05 532 4 lip George Sheryll hot Spote pitching of course the rotation has three new starters Ramirez is often injured Weaver had one Good month in 2006 and Batista is 36 the bullpen is suddenly troubled with Spring training Arm trouble and ineffectiveness Bottom line team owners have had it with three consecutive Las place finishes and declining Atten dance at Safe co Field so they upped the payroll to almost million but closer Putz one of Trie few supposed sure things has a stiff Elbow so the sea son rests on these shaky issues Hernandez who s lost 20 pounds being the Ace he was supposed to be last season skittish Weaver aging Batista and of injured Ramirez at least stabilizing a Rocky Rota Tion capsules by the associated press