Looking at the good, bad so far in AL Central
The first month of the season is in the books. How are all those predictions looking?
There still are five months left on the major-league schedule, so nothing is etched in stone.
However, there are some odd early happenings in the American League.
To wit:
The Baltimore Orioles were tied for the AL East lead heading into the final day of April.
Even after winning three of four from the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, the Boston Red Sox still are last in the AL East.
The Texas Rangers are strongly hinting they’re even better than advertised. They lead the league in batting average, runs scored and team ERA.
The Los Angeles Angels paid a massive amount of money ($331.5 million) while adding Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson to a roster already stocked with talent, but they are buried in the AL West basement.
It has been an interesting start, without a doubt, but let’s zero in on the White Sox and the AL Central.
Starting Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, the Sox play 15 straight games against division opponents. That includes a day-night doubleheader Monday at Cleveland.
The Detroit Tigers are the overwhelming favorites to win the Central, but they’re off to a sluggish start at 11-11.
The Tigers still are the team to beat, but maybe there will be a race. We’ll see, but let’s review the division’s first month. We’ll go in the order of my preseason predictions:
Detroit Tigers
The good: You had a feeling Prince Fielder might pull an Adam Dunn and flame out after switching from the NL to the AL.
So far, the big man has been pretty good. Fielder leads the Tigers with a .309 batting average and also has 3 home runs and 11 RBI.
Miguel Cabrera is off to another good start with 7 homers and 20 RBI. He also has been a pleasant defensive surprise at third base.
Justin Verlander has been nasty, as usual, but Drew Smyly (1-0, 1.23 ERA) has been the early ace.
The bad: Left fielder Delmon Young is on major-league baseball’s restricted list after being arrested on charges of aggravated harassment Friday morning in New York City. He is being evaluated for alcohol abuse and anger issues and is facing a suspension.
Detroit is really missing injured starter Doug Fister (sore left side), who could be back early next week. Rick Porcello (1-2, 6.45 ERA) and Max Scherzer (1-3, 7.77) were awful in April.
Cleveland Indians
The good: Closer Chris Perez hasn’t been pretty (4.00 ERA), but he was tied for the AL saves lead with 7.
Well-traveled Derek Lowe (4-1, 2.27 ERA) has thus far been a great addition to the rotation, and designated hitter Travis Hafner is staying healthy and producing. His .450 on-base percentage ranks second in the league.
The bad: The Indians have not hit a home run in 11 straight games, the longest drought in the AL since the Angels went 14 games without one in 2007.
Cleveland signed Johnny Damon, and he should make his debut Tuesday night vs. the White Sox. Damon is going to play left field, which should be interesting since he’s a DH.
White Sox
The good: The starting rotation, led by the revitalized Jake Peavy (3-1, 1.67 ERA) is one of the league’s best.
Paul Konerko still is going strong at 36, and Alex Rios and Adam Dunn are showing some signs of life.
The bad: The Sox still have too many holes in their lineup, and Gordon Beckham (.153) and Brent Morel (.178) have been very easy outs.
Matt Thornton, not Hector Santiago, got the save Sunday. Manager Robin Ventura has relief options in the ninth inning, but none are sure things.
Kansas City Royals
The good: Billy Butler is not widely known outside of K.C., but he has been a hitting machine for the past three seasons and is showing no signs of tailing off in 2012.
Butler leads the Royals in just about every offensive category, including batting average (.329), home runs (5), RBI (16) and OPS (.943).
With 20 strikeouts in 171⁄3 innings over his first 3 starts, 23-year-old left-hander Danny Duffy is showing early promise. Kansas City needs to build a strong rotation if it ever hopes to contend, but Duffy has been experiencing some elbow discomfort, a huge red flag.
The bad: Eric Hosmer was getting some preseason MVP hype, but he was batting .188 through Sunday.
The Royals ranked 12th out of 14 AL teams in runs scored (83) and ERA (4.58) through Sunday’s games.
Minnesota Twins:
The good: Wow, what happened to this team?
Newcomer Josh Willingham leads the Twins in batting average (.353), home runs (5), RBI (15) and just about everything else, but he can’t carry the offense.
The bad: In a word, the pitching stinks. Carl Pavano has the starting rotation’s lowest ERA at 4.91.
Manager Ron Gardenhire is not going to survive this mess.
sgregor@dailyherald.com