2008 MLB Season Preview - AL Central

[Walter]

http://walterfootball.com/caseypreviewALC.php

Indians?
Twins?
Royals? LOL

[49ersfan]

Looked good.

[49ersfan]

He is a good writer and you should bring him back for other stuff.

[bills_red]

Can't wait for CIN.

btw I thought Walter was doing these :slapface:

[titan_qb_3]

The Royals will win the Central in 2009 or 2010 with all this young talent they are gathering. Seriously I'm excited for them to start playing for the first time in a while and they should be more competitive this year

[Casey]

If I were the Royals, I'd be sending fruit baskets, cookie trays, and dozens of roses to Paul DePodesta's office, and offering him a 10 year contract with a double digit buyout.

In DePodesta's short time with the Dodgers, he drafted Russell Martin, James Loney and Matt Kemp, traded Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota for Brad Penny, signed J.D. Drew, Jeff Kent, and Derek Lowe, and let Adrian Beltre and his monstrous contract demands walk.

Decent resume for a two year stint.

[BillsFaninOhio]

Indians

No mention of Carmona? If he has a year like last, he'll end up winning the Cy Young. I also think losing Lofton is a big deal. He was still a consistent hitter and provided veteran leadership to that group.

[bills_red]

hahaha, another Bills fan welcome. Plus from Ohio I like this guy!

[BillsFaninOhio]

I couldn't believe how many Bills fans there are here in Central Ohio!

I forgot to mention that if C.C. gains another 10 pounds, the Browns should look to sign him for the OL.

[Casey]

No mention of Carmona? If he has a year like last, he'll end up winning the Cy Young. I also think losing Lofton is a big deal. He was still a consistent hitter and provided veteran leadership to that group.

Fausto Carmona was impressive last year. He has good stuff, too good of stuff, elbow surgery stuff. I know his health hasn't been a concern so far, but just wait. He'll be a St. Louis Cardinals Ace in three years.

Kenny Lofton has yet to sign with another team. The only players I included in the lost column who fall into that category are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who seem fairly certain not to be retained by their 2007 clubs.

[Matt McGuire]

Yo Casey is Francisco Cordero going to do anything with my Reds this year? What do you think of Clay Bucholz for my Red Sox?

[BillsFaninOhio]

When doing a preview, I think a guy is only as good as his previous year. In Carmona's case, he had a great year and has had no offseason issues.

There has to be something up for no one to sign Lofton. Rickey Henderson wasn't half the hitter or leader and seemed to be playing in to his mid-forties.

[Casey]

When doing a preview, I think a guy is only as good as his previous year. In Carmona's case, he had a great year and has had no offseason issues.

There has to be something up for no one to sign Lofton. Rickey Henderson wasn't half the hitter or leader and seemed to be playing in to his mid-forties.

Alot of players, especially pitchers, have up and down years. Carmona certainly has the talent and the stuff to sustain success, but I have a hard time basing a player's first year as a major league starter, at a young age, pitching 200+ innings as a solid enough sample set for health, production, or consistency.

Realistically, Carmona is a minor leg or back injury away from his sinker flattening out. While his other stuff is adequate, his sinker is what sets him apart.

Pitchers who remain healthy for extended periods of time generally throw pretty much overhand, throw some combination of a four seam fastball, a changeup, and a curveball. Sinkers and sliders are arm killers, I speak from not only experience but extensive knowledge of the repetoire that injured pitchers possess.

For example, my own hometown pitcher Felix Hernandez throws a devastating two seamer, a groundball-inducing slider, and a now average curve. There is a pitching coach, Brian Price, who coached for the Mariners for a long time. He's an excellent pitching coach on a veteran staff, but nearly every prospect that came through the system: Ryan Anderson, Rafael Soriano, Joel Pineiro, Freddy Garcia, Felix Hernandez, Gil Meche and Clint Nageotte off the top of my head learned, or heavily relied on a slider during Price's time in Seattle. The common thread between these guys, beside the team they played for, is either a severe arm injury, a drastic reduction of velocity, or a string of under-productive seasons. Often times, two or all of those things happened to the same pitcher, Joel Pineiro is a prime example.

All of those pitchers, excluding Anderson and Nageotte, had very sound mechanics. All of those pitchers, excluding the same two had decent-great curveballs. All of those pitchers threw their curveball with less regularity as their Mariner's careers progressed. I nearly pulled my hair out when I found out that Felix Hernandez, in the wake of hurting his arm, had chosen to alter the grip on his curveball as a means of reducing arm strain, rather than getting rid of his slider til he hit 30.

Even guys who stay healthy for a while, like Jason Schmidt, do terrible damage to their elbows and shoulders by throwing so many sliders early in their careers.

[ysuallthetime]

The Indians made a minimal amount of offseason moves.

They signed Jorge Julio, Breslow and Masahide Kobayashi to the pen.

We lose no one except for Kenny from last season. I am excited for this year and hope the Tribe delivers another Central Division.

[Casey]

Yo Casey is Francisco Cordero going to do anything with my Reds this year? What do you think of Clay Bucholz for my Red Sox?

Red Sox, Reds, and Royals? How many teams do you have? Bucholz should have a good year, Cordero should be ok, but he scares me in the launchpad that is Great American Ballpark.