Heyman power ranks Sox #19

[southsider2k5]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heym...4-more-al-teams

 

1. Tigers. Jim Leyland's team has a first four in the rotation to match anyone (except maybe the Angels and Phillies) and probably the best one-two lineup punch in the game in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, and you know octagenarian owner Mike Ilitch will do whatever's necessary when the time comes.

2. Angels. When Ervin Santana is your No. 4 starter and Mark Trumbo (29 home runs as a rookie) can't crack the lineup, how bad can you be?

3. Rangers. Someone claimed they detected a bit of a World Series hangover in their clubhouse, but even if there was a trace of it in spring training, I can't see it going into the season for this ultra-talented and normally very focused bunch.

4. Rays. One through five, the best rotation in the game. Manager, defense also top shelf.

5. Yankees. A lot of talent, but a little bit of age brings concern.

6. Cardinals. Defending champs ovelooked without Albert, Tony and Dunc. But still plenty good.

7. Diamondbacks. Of all the playoff teams, they had the most productive winter (Trevor Cahill, Jason Kubel, Takashi Saito, etc.)

8. Nationals. If John Lannan can't make the rotation, that's a good sign.

9. Phillies. Still the only team with three legit aces (and their fourth starter ain't bad either). Yet, a fair amount of uncertainty in the field, especially regarding stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

10. Dodgers. As D-Backs GM Kevin Towers said, they have the best pitcher (Clayton Kershaw) and best player (Matt Kemp) in the National League. Not a bad start.

11. Brewers. The Matt Gamel-Aramis Ramirez combo may come close to approximating Prince Fielder's production. Zack Greinke looks primed for a monster year.

12. Marlins. Could go either way, but the upside is tremendous. Very exciting and talented group; will be interesting to see if it comes together.

13. Red Sox. Andrew Bailey injury adds to pitching concerns.

14. Blue Jays. Coming on strong. Would not be shocked to see them finish third, or even second, in almost impossibe A.L. East. GM Alex Anthopoulos continues gathering talent.

15. Reds. Supremely talented, but wonder a bit about the rotation. Ryan Madson injury a blow.

16. Rockies. Did nice job of adding some veteran presence (Michael Cuddyer, Marco Scutaro, Jeremy Guthrie) and really veteran presence (Jamie Moyer). Still a bit too much youth in the rotation to think they're a playoff team.

17. Giants. Return of Buster Posey and expected emergence of Brandon Belt makes them a threat with that great pitching.

18. Braves. Had unusually rough spring following late-season collapse, lowering expectations

19. White Sox. Assuming Adam Dunn has re-emerged from one-year hibernation (and it looks like he has), they should be better than last year.

20. Royals. Love the track they are on, but they suffered bad luck this spring (two catchers going down while squatting in the bullpen); need young starters Luke Hochevar and Danny Duffy to come through.

21. Padres. Plenty of young talent on the way, maybe more than anyone.

22. Twins. They underachieved for the first time last year, but don't be shocked if they get back to their usual overachieving. Stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau remain the biggest keys.

23. Mets. While they were annoyed by a spate of injuries this spring, Johan Santana looks like he's ready to be a star again, and Ike Davis and Lucas Duda may step forward.

24. Pirates. Recent efforts may start to pay off soon. Probably a year away from first winning season since 1992, however.

25. Indians. They need Ubaldo Jimenez and Derek Lowe to rebound and Roberto Hernandez (Fausto Carmona) to appear.

26. Mariners. Look for them to be great sometime soon with a special quartet of young pitchers coming -- Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Erasmo Ramirez. But not this year.

27. Orioles. They're getting better but the division ain't getting any easier.

28. Cubs. The plan may take awhile.

29. A's. They look like they are playing for 2014, but Yoenis Cespedes and Manny Ramirez (48 games from now) should keep things fairly interesting.

30. Astros. Major, major rebuilding job.

[Steve9347]

Adam Dunn's assumed resurrection would sure be fun.

[everafan]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heym...4-more-al-teams

 

I don't really have a problem with the ranking - although I suspect the Sox are better than these superficial analysis'. This one is particularly superficial. He states the Sox should be better than last year. At 79-83, were they really worse than 19th last year?

[Quin]

That has us 2nd in the Central.

[Balta1701]

Several of those teams from the bottom 20 will wind up competing, because that's how baseball works.

[Cali]

I think he's overrating the Tigers rotation a bit. Outside of Verlander everyone is pretty inconsistent, but certainly with potential to be good if they fix that problem, I will give him that.

[justBLAZE]

#AdamDunnRessuractionTour

[maxjusttyped]

Mediocrity is fun, I guess.

[Balta1701]

I think he's overrating the Tigers rotation a bit. Outside of Verlander everyone is pretty inconsistent, but certainly with potential to be good if they fix that problem, I will give him that.

The Tigers have 2 MVP candidates sitting at the heart of their order. It's fine to overrate them right now. IF someone wants to beat them...they actually have to stand up and beat them.

[CanOfCorn]

The Tigers have 2 MVP candidates sitting at the heart of their order. It's fine to overrate them right now. IF someone wants to beat them...they actually have to stand up and beat them.

 

 

If any one of their top players go down...they are in trouble.

 

Also...if I were an opposing manager, i would tell my entire team to chop down on the ball and let that horrific infield try to get me out. Yikes. That is not a good defensive team.

[southsider2k5]

If any one of their top players go down...they are in trouble.

 

Also...if I were an opposing manager, i would tell my entire team to chop down on the ball and let that horrific infield try to get me out. Yikes. That is not a good defensive team.

 

I would put the Tigers as 15 to 20 games better than any other team in the AL Central right now. If Cabrera or Prince goes down for a long time, that gap closes to maybe 7 to 10 games. Verlander would be the one guy who could really destroy their season in a hurry.

 

 

[sunofgold]

Tigers at the one spot. That has to be a curse. This has us 2nd in the AL Central and I believe 8th in the AL...1. Tigers 2. Angels 3. Rangers 4. Rays 5. Yankees 6. Red Sox 7. Blue Jays 8. WHITE SOX

 

Looking at that, are the Blue Jays really better than us? They have to play in the AL East. I think record wise we should be able to compete with them. The Red Sox have a ton of injuries already. I think that is going to affect the. If we move past those two teams, then we are #6 in the AL.

 

At the very least, this should give us some hope. A comeback by Dunn would be huge. Heyman thinks that the comeback is probably going to happen.

[hammerhead johnson]

If any one of their top players go down...they are in trouble.

 

I know that it sucks to hear this, but they'd have won the division fairly easily without Prince Fielder. His presence means that they could win 95+, even if guys like Scherzer and Porcello continue to underachieve.

 

Their offense is devastating enough, but consider for a moment that they might have the best bullpen in baseball:

 

Valverde

Benoit

Dotel

Schlereth

Alburquerque

[sunofgold]

Alburquerque is on the DL right now. Don't know when he is coming back and how effective he will be this year. Elbow troubles for him could be troubles for the Tigers. Some of the Tigers had career years last season. Of course, they are the favorites in the AL Central this year, but they haven't won it yet. Some injuries, maybe some guys having postseason hangover from last year, maybe some underperforming. You never know.

 

[caulfield12]

The Tigers had a great bullpen in 2006 too, and it fell apart pretty quickly.

 

Bullpens that look dominant coming into a season rarely perform in line with expectations or previous performance, not unlike high-risk mutual funds that perform erratically from year to year, and always tend to wipe out those who chase high yields from the previous year or years.

[Chicago White Sox]

I still think that Cabrera at 3B will be a disaster and will offset a lot of the gain going from Martinez to Fielder on offense. Verlander remains the key and I don't see him repeating last year. The question is how close he comes.