Parity in the AL Central

[DonkeyKongerko]

Gammons on BBTN makes the good point that really all 5 teams operate in the same economic bracket. They are all capable of expanding their payrolls to about the same amount and act as mid-market teams. Is there really a more competitive division in baseball right now? The NL West is the only one that comes close but still there's teams like the Dodgers capable of spending loads of cash at a whim.

[witesoxfan]

Depends on your definition of competitive.

 

If by competitve, you are talking about payrolls, no, there really isn't. AL East has two $100+ mill payrolls(Sox at $120 mill, Yanks at $185 mill), with Tampa at about $35 mill. AL West is sort of the same, only reversed. Oakland has about a $45 mill payroll, Texas has about a $100 mill payroll. NL East has 3 big guns(New York, Atlanta, Philly), 1 mid-market in Florida, and then one with s*** for payroll in Montreal. NL Central is once again similar...Cubs and Cards are right around $80-90 mill, while Pitt and Milwaukee are around $40-50 mill. NL West has LA at $80 mill, Arizona at about $85 mill, San Diego at $80 mill, San Fran is at $80 mill, and Colorado is at about $60 mill. AL Central is, for the most part, in the $50-$65 mill range.

 

Now, if by competitive you mean like record-wise and talent-wise...I don't think there is any shot that the AL Central is the most competitive. Detroit, Cleveland, and [i personally feel] KC are all potential cellar dwellers, with Minnesota and Chicago being the only two with a shot to win, and I don't even think Minny will get there(I don't think their pen is good enough, and I think their offense is firing at all cylinders right now...both will struggle eventually, and so will the Twins). I think the NL West is good in the sense that the last place team could realistically finish below 10 games out of first. 75-87 could be last place in that division, and 85-77 could be first place. I think that division will be fun as hell to watch down the stretch.