Midseason Report: AL Central

This is the House of Georges, and this is the HoG’s Midseason Baseball Report. In it we’ll examine each of baseball’s six divisions with a fan of a team in that division.

Today’s selection is the American League Central, and our divisional expert is Bankmeister. He is, of course familiar to all of you from his work on this here site, in addition to his posts on Letters To Bud and Arrowhead Addict. He is in a peculiar neighborhood of fandom, wherein he supports the worst team in the best division in baseball.

The AL West can be found here.

Old No. 7: Today we're examining the AL Central. Let's start at the bottom with your Kansas City Royals. Even though they're 15 out and 12 below .500, they've shown significant signs of improvement and had a good month of June (15-12). There's a nucleus of a good team in there somewhere. Do you think they're on the road to contention?


Bankmeister: I do. Granted, that road is a long one right now, they're on it. Their immediate future should pan out somewhat like this: a) they'll continue to play decent, intelligent baseball for the remainder of the season (they'll, like last year, have a stronger second half); b) have another good off-season in terms of minor-league/Latino-market developments and free-agency acquistions; c) build on the semi-identifiable nucleus of a good team, which contrary to decisions of the past, doesn't involve shipping off your good talent; and d) focus, like a restauranteur would on location, on pitching.



Old No. 7: What, in your eyes, is a reasonable timetable? What needs to change?

Bankmeister: As far as a timetable for contention, the Royals will threaten to play .500 ball next year, and finish above it, perhaps even near wildcard status in '09. What needs to change is their consistency. Ridiculous? Yes. Impossible? No. Gil Meche was a good acquistion, hands down. Picking up Jorge de la Rosa and Odalis Perez was, strange as it sounds, an improvement to the previously atrocious rotation. Thing is, you get a cluster of decent starts out of de la Rosa while Perez blows, then vice versa. An injury to Brandon Duckworth and the decision to move Zach Greinke to the bullpen leaves you with rookie Brian Bannister and journeyman John Thomson in the current rotation. Again, not great, but better than the past.

The 'pen has been awesome this year. The use of Greinke as a reliever, though curious, has worked, and Jimmy Gobble, Joel Perralta, and David Riske have been pretty solid. Throw in the Joakim Soria/Octavio Dotel duo as setup/closer combo, and they're relatively lights out. It's getting that rotation down that hurts. An inspection of the rest of the division reveals how inadequate the Royals' rotation really is: The White Sox have Buehrle/Contreras/Garland; Cleveland's got 28 wins amongst Byrd, Carmona and Sabathia; Detroit's got Bonderman/Rogers/Verlander; and Minnesota at least has a 10-game winner in Santana, but they scrape together wins with their bats as well.

That's the other problem with the Royals. They can hit, they just don't do it often enough. Three teams (Editor's Note: double-check this for accuracy, Captain Wikipedia) have scored 17 runs in a game this year. Two of those teams are the Royals. The third, fittingly so, was the As, against the Royals.They just closed a series with the Mariners in which they held on for an extra-innings victory in the opener, clobbered them in the middle, then get shut out to finish it. So the lack of consistency is what needs to change. The rotation has to consistently deliver quality starts behind the swinging of good sticks. Sure, that's the recipe for any team's success, but if the Royals want to be held in consideration with any of the other teams as legitimate, that is the key.

Old No. 7: All right, moving up the standings...The White Sox are awful. There's no other way to say it. Their bullpen has been atrocious, the sluggers have been gimpy, and the contract years for Jermaine Dye and Mark Buehrle have been less than hoped (save for Buehrle's no-hitter). Do you think that their championship in 2005 was a fluke? Do you think that their worn out when it comes to Ozzie's hijinks? Or do you have another theory as to why the Royals may be replaced in the cellar by the $100 million Pale Hose?

Bankmeister: With the small exception of two consecutive late 90s NFL titles, I almost never think a championship is a fluke. The Sox pitching of '05 was nothing shy of phenomenal and their hitters were long-ball kings for a stretch there. I imagine Ozzie contributed to the club's motivation and confidence then, but I question whether or not he's a leader that provides healthy mental inspiration to his team. So, yes, maybe they are worn out regarding his shenanigans. I wouldn't put a fork in them just yet, though. Baseball teams handle streakiness/slumps like women do their menstrual cycles. Some days you can walk off the cramps and emerge victorious, other days you're just the source of everyone's buzzkill.

Old No. 7: Now, on to your favorites, the Minnesota Twins. They're eight games out and lurking. They do some things very well--they do have Johan Santana, a tight if injury-plagued bullpen, and a few stars in their everyday lineup. They're the best-fielding team in the AL, at least as measured by fielding percentage, an imperfect barometer. But their offense is middle-of-the-road in terms of runs scored and power numbers, and they appear to be more than a little inconsistent. I know they can make a run, but with the Indians and Tigers ahead of them already it will be a tough road. How do you like their chances? Are you fairly certain the wild card will come from this division?

Bankmeister: I liked their chances a lot when the season started, so much so that I predicted they would take the division. I'm still not convinced they can't; there is half a season left. The thing about the Twins is that they've, through the years, faced adversity in many forms and surpassed it. Whoever the division powerhouse has been, they've managed to manhandle them (at least in the regular season) more often than not. They've also won more championships in our lifetime than anyone else in the Central. I certainly think they can overtake the Tigers, and, as you've pointed out, Jesus will see to it that things don't go smoothly in Cleveland. Regarding the wild card, yes. I'm fairly certain. You never can count out those asshole Yankees and their ambiguously gay power payroll.


Old No. 7: Is your fascination with Boof Bonser related solely to his name, or is there some athletic justification for it?

Bankmeister: The fascination is in fact strictly name-related. Any man who would willingly and legally change his birth-given name to an absurd-sounding word that implies sodomy commands automatic attention, especially if he's a major league pitcher. Anyone who wouldn't enjoy saying things like "Boof takes the mound" or "Boof grabs the (rosin) bag" or "Here's the delivery from Boof" simply does not know how to have fun. I find it H-I-larious.

Old No. 7: The late-80s, early-90s Twins were some of my favorite teams to be on the bandwagon for--Hrbek, Kirby, Gladden, Jack Morris and the like. What are your criteria for picking a team outside of your region to get on board with for a short time? Who are some of your all-time bandwagon faves, and who are some current contenders?


Bankmeister: Yes, those Twins were great. You had to love the Gary Gaettis and the Roy Smalleys of those clubs, and I'd probably still pull for them if they didn't crush the Royals on a semi-regular basis. I really don't have a criteria per se for jumping on the baseball bandwagon, or any other sport for that matter; I just wind up liking clubs for a variety of reasons.

All-time faves would have to include your beloved Red Sox (prior to knowing you were a fan) what with Fisk for a stint, Dennis Eckersley, Tom Seaver, Carney Lansford and ol' Don Baylor. I suppose those Wade Boggs and Bill Buckner cats were pretty cool, too. I liked the old Angels on occasion as well. Class acts like Rod Carew, Tommy John, Reggie Jackson and Fred Lynn were fun to watch growing up. I also forced myself into White Sox fandom as a kid. I never could grasp why the flippin' Cubs were on TV all the damn time, why the White Sox weren't, and why everyone loved one Chicago team so much and not the other, and why anybody thought Harry Caray was worth two seconds of attention.

In the NL, I frequently dug me some 'Stros and some 'Xpos for random reasons, and the Reds for obvious reasons, but my all-time bandwagon club was the Brew Crew. I used to really dig Ben Oglivie, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Moose Haas, and of course Robin Yount. I still have a much harder time with them being in the NL than I do the Seahawks being in the NFC.

Current contenders? That's tough. I've always had a small affinity for the Rockies, and the Mariners are pretty cool, too. Beyond that, I might could get into some Dodger ball, but not likely. I've been accused of being foolishly loyal a time or two, and I'm pretty damn fond of my Royals.

Old No. 7: On up the ladder we go, to the Cleveland Indians. Their pitching has absolutely blown my mind this year. I thought it was their Achilles' heel coming in to the season, but C.C. has stood for Cy Contender and Paul Byrd and Fausto Carmona have excelled. The relief corps has even been solid, and Joe Borowski has 25 freaking saves. And, of course, the lineup is measty and delicious. Your opinions, please, on the Tribe, their postseason chances, the Major League movie franchise, the amount you think Jesus Christ does hate Cleveland sports and Drew Carey.

Bankmeister: Ze Tribe, Ze Tribe. Good indeed, zey are. I really don't have much to say about them that we didn't already cover. I mean .328, 16, 68 from their freaking catcher? Are you kiddin' me? Add Blake, Perralta, Sizemore, and Hafner to that lineup and you've got gold. Well, at least some really valuable copper. Postseason? Postseason?!? I just don't feel it. I mean, getting rid of Ronnie Belliard had to've helped this team's success. That guy's an ass and a cancer. Too bad he had to get shipped off to the eventual champs last year. Nevertheless, I see them sputtering. They might make it in, but they've got first-round elimination material all over them, regardless of whether they win the division or not. If their pitching staff stays healthy and their sluggers continue to produce, they've got some of the better chances (on paper) in the league. Never discount the man upstairs, though. He works in mysterious ways. Cleveland's sole purpose of existence is to remind non-Cleveland residents how sweet their life really is, and where you might wind up if you're not good for the majority of your time on earth.

Editor's Note: Please observe that Banky has willfully and wantonly ignored my pop-culture questions, preferring to only lean upon dry, boring baseball talk. He also brazenly deleted a question about Dane Cook and repeated inquiries into his fantasy baseball state of affairs. Just sayin'.

Old No. 7: I respectfully disagree with your assertion that the Indians are not built for October baseball. I think if Sabathia is on his game they've got a chance to win any series. Regardless, the team in the driver's seat of your division is the Detroit Tigers, who just completed a sweep of the Red Sox. They look mean and ferocious with the addition of Gary Sheffield, they have an excellent manager in Jim Leyland, and they ought to be hungry after absolutely choking in last year's Fall Classic. To play devil's advocate with you once more, the Cardinals' title last year was a fluke--the Tigers were the vastly superior team and they gave that Series away. Are the kid pitchers ready to take it to the next level? Is the bottom of the lineup good enough to extend innings? Can they patch together some kind of a bullpen that can win games this fall? What other weaknesses do you see on this team?

Bankmeister: Wow. That was a mouthful. Fair enough on the Tribe. You may very well be right. As far as flukes, you most certainly are; last year's series is an asterisk in my book, as is the NL Championship. I thought the Mets were a better team than the Red Birds, and they too totally tanked. That Tigers showing was an embarrassment for all things baseball, unless you're a dumbass St. Louis fan. Let's not forget that the Tigers are barely in the driver's seat; they've only got a one-game edge on the Tribe. I'd call that leaning forward while riding bitch.

They're also a very streaky club in my totally close-minded estimation. I think the kid pitchers are in fact ready. They seem to keep have found the appropriate balance of game face and having fun, which can be huge under pressure. Their lineup is, top to bottom, a giant question mark. Sure. They've got power, but Granderson and Monroe were two very hot-then-cold players last year, and, in my mind, they haven't shown significant indications of developing consistency. Omar Infante epitomizes mediocrity, and Brandon Inge has had one of the worst starts I've seen in recent years. Sure, 11 homers and 13 doubles is a decent start, but 76 strikeouts and a .248 average isn't really doing his team many favors. Pudge is always a threat, but his presence is cancelled out by a Belliardesque cancer in the form of your boy Neifi Perez. Nice work on that suspension by the way, Neifi. Jesus.

They've got Todd Jones to come in and wrap things up for them, but I do see their reliever/setup situation as problematic. I'm leary of any team patching anything together beyond the midway point. Not that it can't happen; I'm just skeptical.

Old No. 7: Finally, what do you think of Leyland? I know he's good, but part of me will never forgive him for quitting on the Rockies. He was exactly the manager they needed at a crucial time in the history of the franchise, and he mailed it in. Then he takes a few years off, scouts for LaRussa, smokes a few hundred thousand heaters, and he's suddenly back on the horse? Fuck you, Jim Leyland.

Bankmeister: Other than the fact that it's still weird to see him employed by any team not called the Pittsburgh Pirates, I don't know what to think of Jim Leyland. He's the Tigers' version of the cigarette-smoking man from the X-Files in that he seems to have an effect, but from time to time, you wonder if he really does. I can understand your grudge against the old man, but his coaching numbers are pretty impressive. He's kind of an odd bird, though.

Editor's Note: In baseball, we call it managing, not coaching. But hey, to-may-toh to-mah-toh.