AL Central

One of the major weaknesses of the Royals team last season was its lackluster bullpen.

This season, there promises to be many new faces in what should be a unit that will be a work in progress from the start of the season.

New additions such as Tim Collins and Louis Coleman should likely help bridge the gap to star closer Joakim Soria, and hopefully improve a 'pen that has been very inconsistent in recent years.

The following slides feature the players that I have predicted to make this 'pen in '11.

Enjoy.

Can you believe the Tribe is already a week into spring training 2011? It seems like it was just yesterday when we saw manager Manny Acta sliding down the toboggan chutes at Progressive Field's Snow Days.

Although we are still about a month away from Opening Day on April 1st, there are already some headlines coming out of Goodyear, AZ.

Will Grady Sizemore be ready for Opening Day?

Are we still worried about Shin-Soo Choo's military obligations?

What's going on with Austin Kearns?

Fire at Goodyear Ballpark?

What's Manny Acta's favorite movie?

The more we learn about Phil Coke, the more Detroiters are going to love this guy.

But the more we learn about Phil Coke, the more Detroiters are going to worry about him.

If Coke, the lefty lifetime reliever who will be in the Tigers rotation this season, was a product, he'd be juice concentrate—and he needs to be diluted with realism.

Mark Buehrle's name has come up a lot in rumors this offseason.

The Chicago White Sox have a surplus of starting pitching, and there's been speculation that the team could move Buehrle and his $14 million salary to clear payroll space after giving Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko expensive free agent contracts this winter.

In addition, Buehrle, who turns 32 this month, is considering retiring after the season. This raises a silly sounding, yet important question: is he a Hall of Famer?

Even with Miguel Cabrera, don't be surprised when the Detroit Tigers are in last place in the AL Central division after the first month of the schedule. 

The MLB schedule makers have done no favors for a team that has been abysmal on the road the last two years, and the team has one major and a few minor issues to deal with.

The Cleveland Indians traded left-handed pitcher Aaron Laffey to the Seattle Mariners for 25-year-old minor league second baseman Matt Lawson.

Just one year ago, second base looked like a weakness for the Indians after it was decided that Asdrubal Cabrera would move to shortstop. Since that time, veterans Orlando Cabrera and Adam Everett have been signed to one year deals.

Last year, the Cleveland Indians finished second-to-last in the AL Central with a 69-93 record.  Considering how center fielder Grady Sizemore missed most of the season with a knee injury, along with the inconsistent pitching, that's still a pretty strong performance.

There is no doubting that, when healthy, Francisco Liriano is among the best starting pitchers in baseball. 

The 27 year-old left-hander signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in 2000. He later was dealt to the Minnesota Twins prior to the 2004 season as part of a package that included Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser for catcher A.J. Pierzynski. 

I want everyone to take a deep breath. What I am about to say is nothing short of shocking, mind-bending and literally unbelievable.

Royals first baseman Billy Butler stole a base Sunday in the Royals' spring opener against the Texas Rangers.

I know—incredibly strange news considering Butler only has one career stolen base in 533 games in the majors, but manager Ned Yost told MLB.com that he wants to see his players running more this season.

The Minnesota Twins have started their Grapefruit League campaign without their two big guns—catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau. 

Granted, we're only in the first week of the Grapefruit League, and there is plenty of time for the Twins to get ready as they look to win their third consecutive AL Central title, and the seventh since Ron Gardenhire took over in 2002.