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This week we continue our Breakdowns of the MLB season to come: 

Feb 23 AL East
Mar 3  NL East
Mar 10  AL Central
Mar 17 NL Central
Mar 24 AL West
Mar 31 NL West
April 7 World Series

Our Pick for MVP

Dan Vachalek: Justin Morneau. He is a great player and he will be healthy for the entire year. The Twins have two great players on their team, and I don't see anyone being more valuable to their team than Moreanu in the AL Central. He is a fantastic player and has a lot of ability to gets hits, home runs and drive in RBIs.

Joe Cantiello: Who else? Joe Mauer. I expect another big year from Mauer, as he will either be looking to justify his new big contract extension or proving that he deserves a big contract extension. In addition, with a full year ahead for him he should improve upon on his RBI and power numbers. Either way I see a very good year from Mauer.

David Snipes: Ozzie Guillen? Can I take him? I mean If I have a chance to take Ozzie or Paul Konerko and Alex Rios, I'm taking away his facebook and giving the reins to this guy.
I can't? Damn; ok I'll take Miguel Cabrera. Let's see, he's a week less a decade younger than me, he drove in 103 runs, hit 34 home runs and batted .324 last season. He's never missed more than 5 games in his 6 full seasons in the Majors, plus, he's fan-friendly. Yeah, I'd hate to have him on MY team.

Michael Rich: I think the MVP of the AL Central will be Justin Morneau. I know the popular pick
is Mauer, but Morneau had 20 home runs and 100 RBIs with just 135 games last season.
With a full season, I think Morneau will return as the MVP of the AL Central.

Rich Stowe: Joe Mauer. It was a close race in my mind between Mauer and Verlander. How those 2 guys' season go will determine how the standings finish. Mauer gets the nod for MVP of this division because he plays every day and once again, should put up AL MVP type numbers, especially with a healthy Morneau and Jim Thome providing support in that lineup.

Matt Strobl: Justin Morneau, Minnesota.  The talk of the Twins is catcher Joe Mauer, and what his future might be.  But people forget how consistently solid Morneau has been over the years.  Already with one MLB MVP award, he has been the Twins' most reliable producer, posting 100+ RBI and 25+ homers year in and year out.  Last season he suffered through some injury trouble that hampered his effectiveness down the stretch, yet still finished with excellent numbers.  If healthy in 2010, the 29 year old could be one of the A.L.'s best.

Best Offseason moves

Dan: Chicago White Sox. They were able to grab JJ Putz, Mark Kotsay, Freddy Garcia and Andruw Jones through Free Agency. They were able to receive Mark Teahen and Juan Pierre in trades with other teams, which are two good moves that help out the White Sox a lot. Overall, this was the team that had the best offseason in the AL Central.

Joe: The Twins not locking up Joe Mauer, yet. If they leave Mauer dangling, and the rest of baseball waiting to bid on him it could well be the biggest disaster ever in Minnesota sports history. Yes, catchers do lose their skills faster then other players because of the constant contact behind the plate but Mauer is not going to catch fulltime for the rest of his career. Mauer is good enough to switch to either a corner infielder or a left fielder.
There is the issue of Mauer's injury history. He had a knee injury as a rookie, a quad problem in 2007 and that lower-back injury that kept him out last April. But when Mauer is healthy as he was when he returned from the DL last May, he plays especially good and puts up huge numbers. Mauer is not going to come cheap as he is at the peak of his value right now and will stay there for the near future.
Mauer is a rare special situation and the Twins cannot afford to lose him. Not if they want people to continue to come to their fancy new sports palace and help pay their bills.
This changes if the Twins sign Mauer and then the worst offseason move is the Tigers losing CF Curtis Granderson, SP Edwin Jackson and 2B Placido Polanco. Yes, Johnny Damon replaces Granderson as the lead off guy, but he just can�t throw to stop runs from scoring. Austin Jackson, the guy who is being counted on to replace Granderson in center, may not be ready for prime time. Moreover, Polanco�s replacement, rookie Scott Sizemore, is new to the position and in 118 games in the minors last year had 21 errors.

David: The Indians trading away almost anyone that was drafted in the first 5 rounds of any fantasy draft. They were not coming close to competing, and the Tribe faithful are not going to be happy with 65 wins and then getting their doors blown off. They picked up 13 players in those trades, and if 75% of them pan out, they could be very good for the next decade. Cleveland spent a good chunk of cash and lost 16 more games than they did in 2009, time to rebuild and they did it well.

Michael: I have the Twins signing Orlando Hudson. The Twins solidified their lineup with one of the better second basemen in the Majors. The best part is that he only cost them five million dollars.

Rich: While it won't help them much this season, the Tigers trade of Granderson to the Yankees brought in a bunch of prospects from both the DBacks and the Yanks. Granderson was apparently getting worse in Detroit so they got rid of him at the right time for a high price. They got some young pitchers in Scherzer and Schlereth, a guy who is projected to be like Granderson in Austin Jackson and a pretty good lefty out of the bullpen in Phil Coke. So, while their young pitching may not help them this season, they are set up pretty good for the seasons to come.

Matt: Detroit gave us a great example of addition by subtraction, moving Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson for a slew of prospects. While it isn't as flashy as signing a big bat, the sequence of deals orchestrated by the Tigers set the team up for future success while simultaneously making significant cuts in payroll. I particularly liked the Jackson deal that brought Max Scherzer in from Arizona. Though Jackson had a solid 2009, his career numbers are abysmal, and Scherzer has the potential to be a front-end starter. It was a stellar swap. Losing Granderson may seem to be a blow to the team, but his five-tool reputation makes him seem more valuable than he actually is, and he would have ultimately demanded more money than the Tigers would be willing to shell out. Moving him for youth was a good decision, and Austin Jackson could eventually be just as good. 

Worst Offseason moves 

Dan: Detroit Tigers. While the Tigers did manage to pick up Johnny Damon in free agency, they lost several big parts to their team. Placido Polanco is gone, who provided a huge defense support for the Tigers at second base. They also lost Curtis Granderson, who was a good player in the outfield as well as hitting the ball as he showed strides of power as well as good contact levels. He had great speed and he'll definitely be missed. Damon can't reproduce the speed and power that Granderson had. They also lost Edwin Jackson and Jarrod Washburn who pitched well for the Tigers while they were playing for them. Fernando Rodney also left the team, which is going to hurt them in the bullpen because they don't have anyone who can throw 100+ miles per hour.

Joe: Right now the White Sox acquiring lead-off man Juan Pierre. The still speedy Pierre (30 SBs in 2009) was a fourth OF in his last 2 years with the Dodgers but is now essentially the key to completing the Sox� team overhaul with complementary parts Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, J.J. Putz.
This changes if the Twins sign Mauer.

David: The Braves trading Rafael Soriano to the Rays. He had an ERA under 3, had 27 saves and only gave up 1 run in his last 8 games of the season. Oh, did I mention he was second among relievers in strikeouts?

Michael: I think Carl Pavano signing with the Twins is the worst move of the off season. The Twins have 14 million tied up on him for a pitcher with a career 4.44 ERA and a histoy of injury problems. It seems like a big gamble on an unproven injury prone pitcher.

Rich: The Twins not coming to a contract extension agreement with Joe Mauer was a huge mistake. So now, all season long they'll have to listen to the questions if they are going to trade him, are they going to sign him etc. He is from Minnesota and wants to stay, however, the Twins are known for not wanting to spend a lot of money and Mauer wants to give them a "hometown discount" but none of the offers the Twins have made have even been fair. Mauer knows he can get PAID if he becomes a free agent (mainly by the Yankees) and if the Twins continue to disrespect him, he might just opt to try free agency. This will loom large over the Twins all season long and might result in Mauer being traded by the deadline.

Matt: The Royals offering a 2-year deal to Jason Kendall. What was the point? First, John Buck is the better catcher these days- Kendall's best games are well behind him. Second, if you do want to bring in an aging backstop who can barely knock the ball out of the infield, why go beyond one year? What was the point of that? Was there really competition that forced the organization to extend him? This is why bad teams stay bad.

The AL Central Story to watch 

Dan: Jake Peavy. I really am looking forward to seeing how Jake Peavy pitches in a different division, in a different league (National League to American League) and how he handles the transfer from moving to a heavily favored pitcher's ballpark to a hitter's ballpark. Plus, Peavy is coming off of an injury that kept him out for most of the season last year. I'm very interested to see if he really is the type of pitcher everyone thinks he is, or is his greatness, as people would say, inflated by where he used to play.

Joe: Joe Mauer.

David: The Tigers; last year's feel-good story that everyone loves; Detoit can take a major hit this year and will the ownership be so beloved if the team loses 10 in a row? Being loved in a pennant race is one thing, being hammered at home 8-1 by the Twins is something else entirely.

Michael: I think the story to watch will be the Minnesota Twins offense. They have Mauer and the return of Justin Morneau. Now they have added JJ Hardy, Orlando Hudson and Jim Thome to their lineup. They are a darkhorse for having the best offense in the Majors.

Rich: How this division shakes out. It might just be the most competitive division in all of baseball (not to be confused with the best overall division in baseball). You have 3 teams - Twins, Tigers and White Sox - that can all win this division if things go their way - if Peavy is healthy all year, if the Tigers offense can get going, if the Twins can continue their September surges. This is a division that is never decided until the last days of the season. You also have one of the best pitchers in baseball - Greinke - on one of the worst teams, however, the Royals seem to be making some strides and might just approach .500 ball this year. The Indians seem to be the team at the bottom - the players they've traded the last couple of seasons - Lee and Sabathia- have gone on to win Cy Youngs, dominate in the playoffs etc while the guys they got in return haven't panned out yet the other teams in this division keep getting better.

Matt: The Central will come down to the twins and White Sox. Everyone is seemingly content to crown Chicago as the division champs, but underestimating Minnesota is never wise. Over the past decade, I'm hard-pressed to think of a team that has done more with less. Like PECOTA, I think the Tigers and Indians will be in a virtual tie for third, but both will be considerably behind the division's top two teams. The White Sox made a major upgrade by adding Jake Peavy to their rotation last year. If he's healthy, he'll likely be the division's best pitcher. But that may not be enough for the Pale Hose. Keep in mind that this team replaced Jim Thome with Andruw Jones, added Mark Teahan as its third baseman, and is starting Juan Pierre. Granted, Pierre can't be much worse than Scott Podsednik, but he won't be any better either. Paul Konerko is in his mid-30s, and Alex Rios is a spectacular underachiever, not to mention a questionable centerfielder. In short, there are a number of lineup questions in in Chicago. The rotation should be excellent with Danks and Peavy, but winning a division takes offense as well.
Minnesota made some excellent moves, adding shortstop J.J. Hardy and unloading the offensive black hole that is Carlos Gomez. They got a power bat in Thome, and if they're smart he'll be the Twins' everyday DH while Jason Kubel moves to the outfield. With those two plus Michael Cuddyer, Morneau, and Mauer, the Twins lineup could have the most power in the division. The question in Minnesota will be how well the starting pitching is able to perform. Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey are both young and showed flashes of talent in recent years, and Carl Pavano could be decent at the back end of the rotation. So the main storyline in the 2010 A.L. Central is this: Will the Twins' pitching come through? Or will the White Sox overcome their offensive deficiencies to win the division?

THE FINAL STANDINGS
Michael Rich	Dan Vachalek	Joe Cantellio	David Snipes	Rich Stowe	Matt Strobl	Overall
Chicago  White Sox	Minnesota Twins	Chicago  White Sox	Chicago  White Sox	Minnesota Twins	Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins	Detroit Tigers	Minnesota Twins	Minnesota Twins	Detroit Tigers	Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers	Chicago  White Sox	Detroit Tigers	Detroit Tigers	Chicago White Sox	Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals	Kansas City Royals	Kansas City Royals	Kansas City Royals	Kansas City Royals	Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland Indians	Kansas City Royals

Submitted 3/9/10

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