AL Central

To say Miguel Cabrera's reputation has taken a little bit of a hit would be an understatement.  Thanks to his well-publicized and well-documented alcohol binge ending in a DUI arrest, Cabrera went from icon to moron in a matter of weeks.

The criticisms are mostly deserved, a little piled on, but very distracting as cringe worthy details continue to emerge.

Unfortunately for Cabrera, modern media has turned the magnifying glass that was on pro athletes' personal lives into a full-blown NASA Hubble Telescope.

Carlos Santana was only eight years old when the Cleveland Indians opened the doors to Jacobs Field in 1994. That team already featured Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and others, and they would add and subtract All-Stars throughout the next decade as fans poured through the turnstiles in record fashion.

A decade and a half later, the park goes by Progressive Field, but little progress seems to be occurring. Cleveland fans led the league in staying home in 2010. Meanwhile, the team itself had no breakout stars, saw its only big-name prospect arrive and get hurt and won only 69 games.

He stands at only 5'7", 170 lbs, but don't let his lack of size fool you.

Royals' lefty Tim Collins is one of the more underrated pitchers in the majors and has been an underdog nearly everywhere he has played.

Whether it was at Worcester High or while he played in the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, Collins has always flown under the radar.

He was even overlooked after putting together a 2.02 ERA and fanning 108 batters in just 71 innings while playing for three organizations in 2010.

9 Innings Blog will be bringing you previews of every Major League Baseball team for the next 30 days. This is in accordance with our 30 teams in 30 days series.

Today, we are going to give you two previews since I missed Friday’s preview. The first preview I am going to give you is the 2011 Kansas City Royals.

The Royals finished last season in last place of the American League Central division with a record of 67-95, a mere 27 games back of the Minnesota Twins.

Going into the 2011 season, the White Sox have been recognized as strong contenders for the postseason. Most analysts see them in contention for the AL Central title. While they will face tough opponents in the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, the biggest questions to success remain within the organization.

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Does the name Adam Miller ring a bell? It should.

Miller, 26, was the first-round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians in the 2003 MLB amateur draft, and just a few years ago was considered the future of the Indians pitching staff. Entering the 2007 season, Miller was Baseball America's No. 23-rated prospect in all of baseball. The 6'4", 200 lbs. flame-thrower was considered, at the time, to be the next Justin Verlander.

It was no secret that Zack Greinke wanted out of Kansas City. Speculation arose of where he'd be traded to, if traded at all.

Would it be the New York Yankees?

Would it be the Philadelphia Phillies?

Or would he just be forced to stay put in Kansas City?

In the end he ended up in Milwaukee and is now a Brewer.

The Kansas City Royals went 67-95 last season. Greinke went 10-14 and at 4.17, he had his third highest ERA in his seven years in the big leagues.

Greinke was outstanding 2008 and 2009 season, winning the AL Cy Young in 2009. 

The Cleveland Indians can’t possibly be much worse than they have been each of the last two two seasons. After going 65-97 in 2009, Cleveland improved slightly last season winning 69 games. They once again finished in fourth place in the AL Central, but could be looking at a last place finish in 2011.

The Kansas City Royals ended 2010 dead last in the AL Central with an overall record of 67-95. While the immediate future doesn't look great, there is a good chance the Royals will turn things around here soon. GM Dayton Moore has put together what is considered the  game’s best farm system.

The Minnesota Twins have been following the same old story over the last 10 years. They have dominated the AL Central with six division titles over the last nine seasons, but that is overshadowed by their 12 straight postseason losses.