European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 31 2007 stars and stripes Page 39 Al tigers have Edge in crowded Central Al from Back Page jonathan1 Papelbon filled a huge Hole when he switched from starter Back to closer late in Spring training and Matsuzaka joins a rotation that also includes Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett i think Hes a perfectionist like a lot of Good players a lot of Good pitchers Boston manager Terry Francona said he wants to make every single pitch sounds like Roger Clemens who could alter the Al East race this summer by choosing to pitch for Boston or new York two of his former clubs of course he could also just stay retired the race out West is expected to be Between defending Champi on Oakland and los Angeles again though the athletics lost Ace Barry Zito when he jumped across the Bay to san Francisco big slugger Frank Thomas also bolted for Toronto the Angels have injury con Cerns pitchers Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver Are expected to miss the Start of the season so maybe 38yearold comeback kid Sammy Sosa and the Texas rang ers can sneak up on a few people under Rookie manager Ron Washington when you were out for a year like i was sometimes they think you Are finished and in not Sosa said i feel hungry again a look at the Al in predicted order of finish East new York Yankees Chinming Wang and Mike Mussina head line a rotation that could be deeper this year especially if Carl Pavano manages to remain healthy Randy Johnson is gone but there Are promising Young arms on the Way the lineup has More than enough firepower to carry this team to another division title Boston red sox the additions of Matsuzaka Drew and Short Stop Julio Lugo might have helped the red sox close the Gap on new York but not enough look for them to stay in Conten Tion longer than last season when a five game sweep by the Yan Kees at Fenway Park in August sent Boston spiralling to a third place finish this time the red sox win the wild card but  need Bounce Back seasons american from Beckett Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp Toronto Blue jays the Blue jays have big stars in Thomas Ace Roy Halladay and Center fielder Vernon Wells the Power Ful lineup will make it Tough on opposing pitchers but this team is relying too heavily on injun a prone starters throughout the rotation lefty closer by Ryan is one of the games Best Baltimore orioles Erik be Dard has developed into a frontline starter now the orioles Are waiting for two other talented Young arms Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen to follow suit under pitching guru Leo Maz zone Kris Bensons injury hurts the rotation Baltimore upgraded its bullpen in the of season which should help but this club cant re ally expect to compete with new York and Boston Tampa Bay Devil rays plenty of promising kids to watch right fielder Delmon Young shortstop Ben Zobrist Catcher dinner Navarro Carl Crawford Rocco Baldelli and Jorge Cantu have Al ready established themselves in the big leagues so there is Hope for the future third baseman Aki Nori Iwamura comes Over from Japan and lefty Scott Kazmir was an ail Star last year he must stay healthy behind him though the pitching staff is a mess Central Detroit tigers All those hard throwing youngsters Are Back Justin Verlander Jeremy Bonderman Joel Zumaya and in Pitcher Friendly com Erica Park they Only figure to get better with experience add Kenny Rogers Nate Robertson Mike Maroth re turning from injury and closer Todd Jones and the tigers have a wealth of pitching Shef Field provides the big Bat they needed with Leyland making sure theres no setup from last season Detroit proves its 2006 turnaround was no Fluke Cleveland indians Shapiro re vamped a Leaky bullpen Cleve lands biggest flaw last season As it slipped to 7884 after winning 93 games in 2005 Joe Borowski is the new closer the group is bet Ter but still nothing to get excited about Travis Hamer anchors a league Central american a g e As t p r e v e w new York Yankees 9765 first lineup remains loaded looks deeper with m additions of Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa Arod can become e e e e e e e o d f e f f s s e e agent after season Toronto Blue jays 8775 second new do Frank Thomas joins a dangerous lineup but m suspect pitching staff is injury prone behind Ace Roy Halladay expect a slip Back to third place pod red sox arms versus Yankees bats the Best rivalry in sports looks fiercer than Ever this year with the addition of Dick and the return of Andy Pettitte like every year expect the championship to come through nyc or Beantown Power rankings graded on a scale of 14 with 1 being poor and 4 being excellent Murf Kotfia Tampa Bay Devil rays 61101 fifth projected payroll Down to million will make it difficult to escape i cellar Young Talent in of Carl Crawford lip Scott Kazmir of Rocco Baldelli of Delmon Young Boston red sox 8676 third japanese Star Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka a key pickup Jonathan Papelbon slated for the Start ing rotation re turns to the Bull pen to retain the closers Job pod Baltimore orioles 7092 fourth bolstered bullpen but Lack Power and proven starting pitching High 0 Hopes for e e Young pod starters Erik be Dard Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen e pod a High powered offence and cd Sabathia leads a capable rotation Cliff Lee 1411 440 Era will Start the season on the disabled list with an abdominal Strain look for the indians to have a Strong season but fall just Short of a playoff berth in the highly competitive american league Minnesota twins Santana is baseballs Best Pitcher after that the rotation is filled with question Marks because Brad Radke re tired and Francisco Liriano will miss the season following Elbow surgery Carlos Silva Boot Bonser and Ramon Ortiz will try to steady the ship the bullpen re Mains reliable with dominant closer Joe Nathan and the offence has some punch Chicago White sox manager Ozzie Guillent team didst add much in the of season other than injury prone Darin Erstad and pitching Prospect Gavin Floyd pm Ken Williams traded right handers Freddy Garcia and Brandon Mccarthy which could Hurt but Williams int afraid to take risks and the rotation still boasts Jose Contreras Jon Gar land Javier Vazquez and Mark Buehrle who is coming off a poor second half in 2006 the Middle of the lineup is packed with Power Jim Thome Paul Konerko Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede Kansas atty royals Gold Glove second baseman Mark Grudzielanek was expected to Start the preview surprising tigers now become the hunted the Central was last years toughest division with three teams winning at least 90 games with indians improved pitching every team in the division could compete for the Crown except the royals Chart Power rankings graded on a scale of 14 with 1 being poor and 4 being excellent Detroit Kansas City tigers 9666 9567 second third 621 00 fifth besides Al champs added playoffs of normally Santana Gary Sheffield and season after biggest tight isted royals is muddled kept nearly entire 2005 raised eyebrows m 9 m f roster in world m by 9 by tact e series i i signing Young several rep Gil tin pitchers starting Meche p Neau p d Justin d pitchers d p to t f f Verlander Jeremy to Bounce Mark million contract j Champ Bonderman and and trim shaky lost at least 100 i s s Joe Joel Zumaya figure especially rotation games four of last g e to keep improving five seasons a i 1 american league West preview As and Angels look like top teams the athletics lost some key players but As usual pm Billy Beane reloaded the Angels must improve on defense to seriously contend Power rankings graded on a scale of 14 with 1 being poor and 4 being excellent iia11 Oakland athletics i 9369 first Barry Zito Frank Thomas and manager Ken 9 0 b Macha gone health i is key i Issue for is i Bobby i Crosby of i Mark j Kotsay and rep i Rich Harden o o f e f f e e n n s s e e los Angeles Angels 8973 second Vladimir Guerrero needs More help on offence pod Ace Bartolo Colon Shoul Der Hopes to re turn by end of april defense must improve led Al with 124 errors last year Texas rangers 8082 third Sammy Sosa attempting comeback with 9 original team new closer p Eric Gagne coming off two injury plagued sea sons Rookie manager Ron Washington replaces Buck Showalter Seattle mariners 7884 fourth manager Mike Hargrove and pm Bill Bavasi e m on the a it hot seat following three straight Las place finishes Ichiro Suzuki moves from of to of and his contract is up after this season a pod season on the do following knee surgery prize Prospect Alex Gordon takes Over at third base bumping Mark Teahen to the out Field Gordon could be a Rookie of the year contender the royals raised eyebrows by signing Start ing Pitcher Gil Meche to Mil lion five year contract West los Angeles Angels one of the Angels strengths is depth on the pitching staff which makes it pos sible to absorb the injuries to Colon and Weaver for a while with closer Francisco Rodriguez and rubber armed setup Man Scot Shields the bullpen is Al ways outstanding perhaps the Best in baseball the addition of Justin Speier makes it even bet Ter Vladimir Guerrero needs help on offence Juan Rivera productive last year broke his leg playing Winter Ball and is expected to miss much of the season maybe a few of the kids Are ready to break out at the plate Texas rangers Michael Young Mark Teixeira and the rangers rarely have trouble scoring runs now Sosa slides into the Middle of the lineup after sitting out a year it sure looked As though he could still hit in Spring training but the regular season should be a tougher test if youngsters bran Don Mccarthy and Robinson Tejeda come through the pitching staff might be better than expected the key could be closer Eric Gagne coming off two injun a plagued seasons with the los Angeles dodgers third baseman Hank Blalock looks for a Bounce Back year Oakland athletics following zits departure Rich Harden takes Over As the no 1 starter he has the stuff to be an Ace but injuries limited him to 28 starts the past two seasons Bobby Crosby is also trying to stay healthy at shortstop and Mike Piazza would be hard pressed to duplicate Tho Mas big year at do Center fielder Mark Kotsay Back surgery is expected to miss the first two months of the season still the As could contend again in this Divi Sion Bob Geren replaces Ken Macha As manager Seattle mariners world series Star Jeff Weaver joins a retooled rotation led by former phenom Felix Hernandez who is in much better shape this year Ichiro Suzuki moves from right Field to Cen Ter and enters the final year of his contract the mariners Are count ing on Jose Vidro at do Raul Ibanez is coming off a big season the bullpen is a major concern manager Mike Hargrove and pm Bill Bavasi Are under pressure due to three straight Las place finishes and diminishing Atten dance a writers Tom Withers and Howard Ulman contributed to this report