A look at the moves made so far this offseason by AL Central clubs…
White Sox
- Acquired/re-signed: Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, J.J. Putz, Freddy Garcia, Juan Pierre, Freddy Dolsi, Jacob Marceaux, Wander Perez, Ryan Braun, Miguel Negron, Dylan Axelrod, Freddie Bynum, T.J. Bohn, Greg Aquino, Erick Threets, Mark Kotsay, Alejandro De Aza
- Lost: DeWayne Wise, Scott Podsednik, Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Jon Link, John Ely, Wilson Betemit, Jerry Owens
Indians
- Acquired/re-signed: Brian Buscher, Jason Grilli, Mike Gosling, Anthony Reyes, Mitch Talbot, Luis Rodriguez, Hector Ambriz, Saul Rivera, Shelley Duncan, Austin Kearns, Jose Constanza
- Lost: Jamey Carroll, Kelly Shoppach, Greg Aquino, Vinnie Chulk, Masahide Kobayashi, Zach Jackson
Tigers
- Acquired/re-signed: Adam Everett, Daniel Schlereth, Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Enrique Gonzalez, Macay McBride, Robinzon Diaz, Brad Thomas
- Lost: Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Clay Rapada, Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, Freddy Dolsi, Dusty Ryan, Matt Treanor
Royals
- Acquired/re-signed: Jason Kendall, Brian Anderson, Scott Podsednik, Josh Fields, Chris Getz, John Parrish, Noel Arguelles, Wilson Betemit, Edgar Osuna, Scott Thorman, Reggie Taylor, Cody Clark, Irving Falu, John Bannister, Jorge Campillo, Brad Thompson, Edwin Bellorin, Bryan Bullington, Juan Mora, Josh Rupe, Steve Lerud, Jorge Bonifacio, Buck Coats, Philip Humber, Devon Lowery, Julio Pimentel, Francisco Rosario, Adam Bostick, Bruce Chen, Nelson Payano, Vance Wilson, Ernesto Mejia, Shane Costa, Damon Hollins
- Lost: Mark Teahen, Lenny DiNardo, Miguel Olivo, Coco Crisp, Tug Hulett, John Buck, Josh Anderson, Tony Pena Jr.
Twins
- Acquired/re-signed: J.J. Hardy, Carl Pavano, Clay Condrey, Yancarlos Ortiz, Henry Arias, Jose Lugo, Chris Province, Mike Maroth, Brock Peterson
- Lost: Brian Buscher, Boof Bonser, Carlos Gomez, Armando Gabino, Bobby Keppel, R.A. Dickey, Philip Humber
Ryan Braun on the White Sox?? Typo or is their two ryan brauns?
same thought wtf haha i just checked i dont see any ryan braun on there roster… its gotta be a mistake.. i think everyone would have heard about that trade going down.
Nope they traded for him! Terrible mistake for the brewers, they only got 2 class A pitchers in return! I thought Ryan Braun did good for the brew crew, guess they weren’t paying much attention.
no they didnt
The white sox got Ryan braun??????????
Two Ryan Brauns, one is a pitcher.
Ha. I bet White sox fans hearts skipped a beat.
Where’s Rodney on Detroit’s lost list?
Hey Tim,
Didn’t the Angels sign rodney from the Tigers.
Ryan Braun is not on the White Sox. (the outfielder anyway)
Didn’t the Sox lose Jermaine Dye?
Ryan Braun (this one) is a releif pitcher that came from the royals in the Mark Teahen trade.
Why doesn’t Jermaine Dye count as someone the White Sox lost?
The White Sox added Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, J.J. Putz, Freddy Garcia, Juan Pierre, and Mark Kotsay!!!
Wow! They will be AWESOME!!!
Oh wait, it isn’t 2004.
the Twins are starting Nick Punto. Wow! They will be AWESOME!!!
well vizquel is good defense, putz is still a great reliever, pierre can still run/steal, kotsay can hit, garcia is ok and jones is a wild card.
Vizquel < Getz
Putz < DJ
Pierre = Pods
Kotsay < Dye
Jones < Thome
Garcia = as big a question mark as Contreras and Colon really
The Sox didnt do well at all this offseason. Dont understand what Kenny is doing here at all. Not looking forward to watching either of the Chicago teams this season 🙁
well dye didnt do anything last years second half so kotsay>dye, ur right with thome vs jones but that isnt a fair fight since one is a dh and the other is a fielder, getz is better than vizquel, and dj carrasco was a great pitcher just he didnt do that well after being in for more than 1-2 innings. putz will be a better setup man than him.
“well dye didnt do anything last years second half so kotsay>dye”Kotsay also wont get anywhere as many plate appearances as Dye, so it should really stick at Dye < Kotsay or at best, Dye = Kotsay.Also, if we are just going off last years production, this change needs to be madePierre <<< PodsPierre has a consistent .290/.335/.365 line the last 5 seasons with the really bad SB%. As sad as it seems, Pods blew that out of the water with the .304/.353/.412 line in 2009. But overall, the two have near identical production soPierre = Pods OverallbutPierre 2010 < Pods 2009
i agree with you with dye=kotsay but how can you say pierre 2010<pods 2009 when 2010 hasnt happened yet?
because “Pierre has a consistent .290/.335/.365 line the last 5 seasons”. Pierre hits it like clockwork when given enough PA. (baring slight SLG variations). And yes, he would have hit it last year too – he posted a .273/.326/.337/ line after June 1st and .281/.333/.363 after Manny returned, just in minimal playing time.
How is Getz better than Vizquel? Vizquel still offers great defense at two premium positions in SS and 2B. Getz was a negative fielder last year and a mediocre fielder at best.
Carrasco’s nothing more than a low end starter or a mop up man. Saying a healthy Putz is worse than him is absolutely crazy.
Dye’s horrendous outfield defense made him nearly a negative player last year in terms of value. Kotsay’s a freaking bench player who had more value than Dye last year.
Thome’s most likely going to come back. Jones has the possibility of putting up some decent platoon numbers like he did last season in Texas.
Garcia, if healthy, can put up good enough numbers for a 5th starter. There’s always Daniel Hudson there as an emergency backup. Unlike most years, the Sox have some depth in the 5th spot this year.
And I don’t know how you can say Pierre and Podsednik are the same. It is very likely that Podsednik never does what he does with the bat last year again. Given that, he and Pierre are basically the same player on offense, but Pierre is the much better base runner and defender. Plus, he’s shown that he stays healthy. Podsednik can’t say any of that.
The White Sox made minor changes this year, all of them that could potentially make them a better team. There’s a lot of IFs on the team, but it’s not like there’s no IFs on the Twins either. The Twins might just have one of the worst outfield defenses in the division. Both Young and Cuddyer are horrible.
Getz hit for a .313 wOBA in his only season in the bigs. Omar is at .270 the last three seasons. The minimal amount of defensive innings either would see is not going to outweigh the huge difference in batting value. Omar also cost 1 MM more and is under control for 1 season verses 5. Putz lost all semblance of control after his injury and there is nothing saying it should be expected to come back. When you are walking nearly 6 for every 9 innings, you are a liability in the pen. Hoping for a Putz who was only good in 2 (of his six) seasons 3 years ago now prior to major injury… Well, its wishful thinking to say the least. Kotsay is a negative value fielder himself the last two seasons, and it wouldnt be Dye’s fielding v. Kotsay’s fielding anyway; Dye would be used mainly as a DH. Kotsay also comes with a .298 wOBA the last three seasons while off only a .309 mark. Compare that to Dye who last year posted a .344 wOBA. Again the Bat is an extreme downgrade while defense (especially since Dye would be at DH) is not going to make up for that.Thome likely isnt coming back, but if he does it means Jones is probably removed from the roster. The 13 hitters are currently Konerko, Beckham, Ramirez, Teahen, Quentin, Pierre, Rios, (DH), Kotsay, Vizquel, Nix and the two catchers. Its highly unlikely Kenny is going to carry only 11 pitchers just so he can keep both Thome and Jones on the roster. “he and Pierre are basically the same player on offense, but Pierre is the much better base runner and defender.”Pierre is not a better fielder (they are about the same) and is actually a lesser baserunner per the baserunning metrics. The two are near identical except Pods has the ability to hit much, much better (Pods has a big power advantage since Pierre is one of the weakest hitters in the game) while Pierre might stay healthier. Then, Pierre is costing Kenny an extra year of commitment, an extra 6 MM cash and 2 prospects as well. This is a clear downgrade to equality at best.
Why are you using Vizquel’s past three seasons’ wOBA for sample here? You realized he played two of those years in a pitcher’s park right? His wOBA of .301 last season is something he’s more likely to replicate this year, which isn’t that far off from Getz’ .313 wOBA. Given that, Vizquel is still a very good fielder, his fielding value definitely makes up for his poor hitting, as he had a 1.2 WAR last year in a platoon/bench role while Getz was the starter for most of the year. Yet, Getz had trouble being anything more than league average. Defense does matter here, it matters a lot. With Putz, I said if he was healthy. If he’s completely healthy, he will definitely have better control. Last year’s 30 inning sample was an anomaly. You’re going to judge him based off of those 30 innings alone, where it was documented that he had nagging injuries pretty much the whole time? If he’s healthy, he’s a huge upgrade over Carrasco, whose value isn’t too valuable now given the fact that the Sox have 4 reliable starters. He got the chances he got last year because Contrears and Colon sucked a lot and got pulled early in a lot of their starts. Kotsay is definitely not a negative value fielder if used correctly. He’s a negative value fielder in the outfield, where he is not used often. However, he is a well above average first baseman, which is going to be his role this season. Kotsay’s also a decent bench player, which is what he will be. The fact that Dye’s value last year as a starter was equal to, if not worse than Kotsay’s really says something. Even if Dye DHs and puts up a .344 wOBA, I’m not so sure that it would be good enough. Using the roster as a reason for not re-acquiring Jim Thome is ignorant. There’s no need for two back-up middle infielders. In this case, Nix would be the one to go and as much as I like Nix, he’s expendable. Pierre is definitely the better fielder. His career UZR/150 is +5 at all three outfield positions, with most of it coming from center field, which gives him a lot of value. So if Pierre is even an average center fielder (which we can say he is right now based on his UZR over the past 3 seasons), he is an above average left fielder, as in a +5-10 left fielder. Podsednik is an average to below average left fielder and watching him out there is absolutely horrendous. According to FanGraphs’ speed index, Pierre was a 7.9 last year, which is very good. Podsednik was a 6.4, which is just good. Podsednik and Pierre both stole 30 bases last year and both got caught a similar amount of times, however, you have to realize that Podsednik stole those 30 bases in 150 more PAs than Pierre. Pierre clearly has more speed at this point and he is a speed upgrade over Podsednik as well. Podsednik is a slightly better hitter given his power. However, what makes you think that he will repeat 2009? He’s older and he’s had a history of inconsistency. In the past 7 years, he’s had 3 productive seasons (2003, 2005, 2009) and in only 5 of those did he actually get to the plate more than 500 times. Pierre, on the other hand, was only injured once during those 7 years and had 5 straight seasons of 700 PAs or more. He’s a model of consistency (albeit at being pretty mediocre). I’d much rather have Pierre at $8 million for the next two years without Jon Link and John Ely than Podsednik for one and an option. It’s a security thing, because I know what I’ll get out of Pierre. There’s enough question marks on this team. I’d rather have somebody who can give production I can gauge. On top of that, Pierre’s a better defender and base runner.
“Why are you using Vizquel’s past three seasons’ wOBA for sample here? You realized he played two of those years in a pitcher’s park right?”
the wOBA is park adjusted
“If he’s completely healthy, he will definitely have better control. Last year’s 30 inning sample was an anomaly. You’re going to judge him based off of those 30 innings alone”
Zero way of knowing what type of control he will have, but it is infinitely more likely to be somewhere between the 3.45 BB/9 – 5.45+ BB/9 marks of 04/05 and 08/09. And not judging him off his last 30, judging him off his last 76 plus career as a whole. In his career he has two good seasons and had major injury after it. To expect control like the only 2 strong seasons he ever had instead of something somewhere between the other 4 is, well, wishful thinking.
“Even if Dye DHs and puts up a .344 wOBA, I’m not so sure that it would be good enough.”
If Dye posts a .344 wOBA as a DH, he would have a WAR of 1.5. Kotsay wont produce that.
“There’s no need for two back-up middle infielders.”
Outside the fact that there would be a 3B playing 2nd, a RF playing 3rd and an average at best fielding SS. Nix meanwhile plays 5 positions to Thome playing 0. Yes, Nix would be with the club and Jones wouldn’t get a ML spot. Otherwise the team wouldn’t have a back-up 3B on staff.
“Why are you using Vizquel’s past three seasons’ wOBA for sample here? You realized he played two of those years in a pitcher’s park right?”
the wOBA is park adjusted
“If he’s completely healthy, he will definitely have better control. Last year’s 30 inning sample was an anomaly. You’re going to judge him based off of those 30 innings alone”
Zero way of knowing what type of control he will have, but it is infinitely more likely to be somewhere between the 3.45 BB/9 – 5.45+ BB/9 marks of 04/05 and 08/09. And not judging him off his last 30, judging him off his last 76 plus career as a whole. In his career he has two good seasons and had major injury after it. To expect control like the only 2 strong seasons he ever had instead of something somewhere between the other 4 is, well, wishful thinking.
“Even if Dye DHs and puts up a .344 wOBA, I’m not so sure that it would be good enough.”
If Dye posts a .344 wOBA as a DH, he would have a WAR of 1.5. Kotsay wont produce that.
“There’s no need for two back-up middle infielders.”
Outside the fact that there would be a 3B playing 2nd, a RF playing 3rd and an average at best fielding SS. Nix meanwhile plays 5 positions to Thome playing 0. Yes, Nix would be with the club and Jones wouldn’t get a ML spot. Otherwise the team wouldn’t have a back-up 3B on staff.
“Pierre is definitely the better fielder. His career UZR/150 is +5 at all three outfield positions,”Youre mainly using production from his age 24-28 seasons when giving career marks. He is now 32. Neither are CFers at this point, and the two project about the same at left. “According to FanGraphs’ speed index”the Fangraphs speed score counts SB, SBA, Triples and Runs% – that’s it. It doesn’t really give that good of a running ability idea at all. Pierre only had a higher score because of the number of Triples. Dont know about you, but I would rather have +5 HR to +2 Triples.Anyway, getting to real baserunning ability – Last year Pods had a +1.5 EqBRR in 511 Opps to Pierre at 0.3 EqRBB in 399. That takes into account: Equivalent Ground Advancement Runs, Equivalent Stolen Base Runs, Equivalent Air Advancement Runs, Equivalent Hit Advancement Runs and Equivalent Other Advancement Runs. When considering the fact we are talking about supposedly fast runners here, Pods at +1.5 in 511 is bad where Pierre at 0.3 in 399 is horrific“Pierre clearly has more speed at this point and he is a speed upgrade over Podsednik as well.”We just went over how that isnt correct anyway. But because of how poorly both players run, neither should be trying to steal bases to begin with. The break even point is 75%, and both have a hard time reaching that mark. Last year, both players cost their teams about 2 runs by trying to steal those 30 bases – and that is just sad. The one of the two trying to steal the fewer bases is actually helping the team more in the case of Pods and Pierre.“Podsednik is a slightly better hitter given his power. However, what makes you think that he will repeat 2009?”Not saying he will, but he has the ability to. At best, Pods produces a drastically better line. At worst he is hurt. In between the two you have Pierre.“and in only 5 of those did he actually get to the plate more than 500 times”That’s mainly because Pods has correctly been treated as a 4th to 6th OF over his career v. Pierre incorrectly being treated as a starter until the last two. Pods isnt some walking injury in any way though – he has only missed games because of a finger injury in Aug 08, and the rib/groin thing in mid 07. Pierre missed time in 08 from a knee strain and back spasms. Overall, two bouts of injury each.
“the wOBA is park adjusted”My bad for not realizing that. Still, it doesn’t get rid of the fact that Vizquel is a plus fielder with value and is more valuable than Getz. “Zero way of knowing what type of control he will have, but it is infinitely more likely to be somewhere between the 3.45 BB/9 – 5.45+ BB/9 marks of 04/05 and 08/09. And not judging him off his last 30, judging him off his last 76 plus career as a whole. In his career he has two good seasons and had major injury after it. To expect control like the only 2 strong seasons he ever had instead of something somewhere between the other 4 is, well, wishful thinking.”Putz doesn’t have to be 06-07 good to be better than D.J. Carrasco. Carrasco’s numbers looked good because he was used as a mop up man. 2/3 of his work came in low leverage situations. Plus, Putz’s primary role will be a middle reliever. He’ll be there along with Pena and Linebrink to pitch the 7th inning. Putz’s presence only increases the depth of the bullpen. He’s not here to be a mainstay, although it would be nice if he was. “If Dye posts a .344 wOBA as a DH, he would have a WAR of 1.5. Kotsay wont produce that.”A .344 wOBA is bad for a DH. Kotsay’s not here to DH. Plus, did you see Jermaine Dye in the second half? I think that regression that was supposed to happen 2 years ago that everybody expected is starting to come into fruition. “Outside the fact that there would be a 3B playing 2nd, a RF playing 3rd and an average at best fielding SS. Nix meanwhile plays 5 positions to Thome playing 0. Yes, Nix would be with the club and Jones wouldn’t get a ML spot. Otherwise the team wouldn’t have a back-up 3B on staff.”Gordon Beckham was a SS by trade in college and he can definitely play 2B. Alexei Ramirez can be a a great SS, he has the range and skillset to do it. He just doesn’t do it. He was still an above average one last year in terms of value. Mark Teahen came through the ranks as a 3B. Plus, Vizquel can fill in at SS, 3B, and 2B. Beckham can also play all three of those positions. There’s really no need for Nix on this roster. “Youre mainly using production from his age 24-28 seasons when giving career marks. He is now 32. Neither are CFers at this point, and the two project about the same at left. “No, they do not. Pierre is an above average left fielder at this point. He definitely showed that last year. Meanwhile, Podsednik struggled in LF, to nobody’s surprised. “running ability idea at all”Funny you should mention that, because Scott Podsednik has no running ability at all. One of the primary reasons that White Sox fans hated him last year was because he made dumb mistakes on the base paths. I haven’t watched Pierre enough, but I’m pretty sure he can’t be worse, no matter what metrics you hand out. “That’s mainly because Pods has correctly been treated as a 4th to 6th OF over his career”They’ve both played ball since 2003 regularly. The only seasons that Pods did not enter the year as a starter was 2008. He was the opening day starter for the Sox in 05, 06, and 07. He also started for Milwaukee in 03 and 04. He’s been treated as a starter to begin with for at least 5 of those 7 years. I don’t know what you’re talking about. He has health issues. He missed a good amount of time in 05 and 06 and a lot of time in 07 and 08. He’s had his health issues and has yet to put up two consistent seasons back to back. I honestly don’t see him doing it at age 34 if he couldn’t do it at age 29. And another note about Pierre. He’s racked up WARs of 4.3, 3.6, and 2.9 in those years you were talking about. In all three of those cases, that is VERY good and makes him worthy to be a starting player. Meanwhile, Podsednik’s only year where he put up starter WAR was 2003, when he posted a 3.5.
“Pierre is definitely the better fielder. His career UZR/150 is +5 at all three outfield positions,”Youre mainly using production from his age 24-28 seasons when giving career marks. He is now 32. Neither are CFers at this point, and the two project about the same at left. “According to FanGraphs’ speed index”the Fangraphs speed score counts SB, SBA, Triples and Runs% – that’s it. It doesn’t really give that good of a running ability idea at all. Pierre only had a higher score because of the number of Triples. Dont know about you, but I would rather have +5 HR to +2 Triples.Anyway, getting to real baserunning ability – Last year Pods had a +1.5 EqBRR in 511 Opps to Pierre at 0.3 EqRBB in 399. That takes into account: Equivalent Ground Advancement Runs, Equivalent Stolen Base Runs, Equivalent Air Advancement Runs, Equivalent Hit Advancement Runs and Equivalent Other Advancement Runs. When considering the fact we are talking about supposedly fast runners here, Pods at +1.5 in 511 is bad where Pierre at 0.3 in 399 is horrific“Pierre clearly has more speed at this point and he is a speed upgrade over Podsednik as well.”We just went over how that isnt correct anyway. But because of how poorly both players run, neither should be trying to steal bases to begin with. The break even point is 75%, and both have a hard time reaching that mark. Last year, both players cost their teams about 2 runs by trying to steal those 30 bases – and that is just sad. The one of the two trying to steal the fewer bases is actually helping the team more in the case of Pods and Pierre.“Podsednik is a slightly better hitter given his power. However, what makes you think that he will repeat 2009?”Not saying he will, but he has the ability to. At best, Pods produces a drastically better line. At worst he is hurt. In between the two you have Pierre.“and in only 5 of those did he actually get to the plate more than 500 times”That’s mainly because Pods has correctly been treated as a 4th to 6th OF over his career v. Pierre incorrectly being treated as a starter until the last two. Pods isnt some walking injury in any way though – he has only missed games because of a finger injury in Aug 08, and the rib/groin thing in mid 07. Pierre missed time in 08 from a knee strain and back spasms. Overall, two bouts of injury each.
Also, Vizquel knows that he’s only being brought in to teach Alexei how to play SS. Vizquel said he loves the role because he eventually wants to be a base/bench/head coach and knows this is the best first step towards that.
“Royals
Acquired/re-signed: Jason Kendall, Brian Anderson, Scott Podsednik, John Parrish, Noel Arguelles, Wilson Betemit, Edgar Osuna, Scott Thorman, Reggie Taylor, Cody Clark, Irving Falu, John Bannister, Jorge Campillo, Brad Thompson, Edwin Bellorin, Bryan Bullington, Juan Mora, Josh Rupe, Steve Lerud, Jorge Bonifacio, Buck Coats, Philip Humber, Devon Lowery, Julio Pimentel, Francisco Rosario, Adam Bostick, Bruce Chen, Nelson Payano, Vance Wilson, Ernesto Mejia, Shane Costa, Damon Hollins”
So puzzling. Moore is definitely the most intriguing GM in the game. I dont think he even knows his gameplan, which makes it that more impossible for everyone else to figure him out.
As much as I hate Hendry, I sure am glad we dont have Dayton!
Oh, but Josh Fields and Chris Getz seem to be missing from the Royals “Acquired” list.
The Royals have got to have the longest “acquired” list of all teams in the Major Leagues, however, this doesn’t matter at all because none of those players will make the club any better!
Terrible offseason for the Royals!
How is this division not 1) the quietest of the offseason in terms of big-name-moves, and 2) completely the Twins for the taking?
Sox replaced some big losses in Dye and Thome (granted, late last year) with more AARP members. Their roster hasn’t improved. Detriot lost considerable talent in Granderson and Jackson – not to mention their 8th-9th inning bullpen. KC and Cleveland are lost in the woods.
Twins meanwhile held serve, with the games’ youngest rotation (minus Pavano), and Mauer/Morneau entering their prime. The Twins didn’t need to make any moves this offseason to improve as a club, and the Sox/Tigers lost some key pieces. 92 win season for the Twins?
I’ll give you an equation
Peavy + Buehrle + Danks + Floyd = AL Central winners
or if you like subtraction
Twins – Metrodome = 2nd place.
maybe not. the guys the sox got are past their prime except for jones. i can see the twins and sox battling for first. maybe 88 wins for the winner but itll be sox or twins.
” games’ youngest rotation (minus Pavano)”
Also a very mediocre one at that.
“The Twins didn’t need to make any moves this offseason to improve as a club”‘
You’re okay with Nick Punto at 3B and Alexi Casilla at 2B? They’re both alright on D, but man they really suck at the plate.
And oh, I wouldn’t call Thome or Dye key pieces. Getting rid of Dye from the outfield is a great thing. I’d like to have Thome back, but even so, he wasn’t a “key” piece to the team last year. A key piece to the team would be anybody in the starting rotation, Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham, etc. Guys like Thome are replaceable.
Four reasons TwinsVet. Buerhle, Peavy, Danks, and Floyd. The Twins can’t match that.
Another reason is the switch from arguably the biggest home field advantage in baseball to an open air stadium with real grass.
Either way I look forward to the battle between the White Sox and Twins in the Central’s two horse race.
Buerle and Peavy, sure, but Danks and Floyd aren’t all that better than the guys making up the Twins rotation. The Twins’ problem is they lack any kind of ace.
But the White Sox have the potential to have the worst offensive outfield in baseball, let alone the worst offense period.
The Twins are built to win the division; the White Sox are built to win in the post-season.
It’s not as easy to manufacture runs like the Twins have in the past in the great outdoors. No more weak infield hits from Punto and the Piranhas.
Danks has been averaging almost 4 WAR these past two seasons. Floyd has been averaging about 3. Those are some really good numbers. Meanwhile, neither Blackburn, Baker, Slowey, Duensing, and Pavano can say that.
Yeah, it’s not possible to say the Twins are far-and-away favorites in this division given the pitching depth of the White Sox, who in addition to having a great starting staff bolstered their bullpen with Putz. Teahen’s not great, but I’d bet on him to outhit the utterly powerless Getz this year, and Rios and Quentin should bounce back a bit. Toss in the fact that there’s a 90%+ chance of Thome coming back due to him not wanting to play for anyone but the Cubs (no DH), Indians (Pronk), and White Sox, and the Twins have plenty to worry about brewing in Bridgeport.
the twins change will mess them up this coming season. they are going to face cold conditions in the begining and end of the season. i do not see them being a blow out team, yet the white sox have the best rotation in the central(quote from Hot Stove on MLB network)
Ryan Braun the pitcher has been with the White Sox organization since before last season began. He was not involved in the Mark Teahen trade. Jerry Owens was let go of during the season and was with AAA Tacoma (Seattle) most of the year.