OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
ESPN.COM
Nice to see the Indians get some love, I think they are going to have a very good year in the central division.
By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
<!-- template inline -->1. New York Yankees: They won 101 games last year and added Randy Johnson and depth to their bullpen. Jason Giambi's status is still a huge question.
2. Boston Red Sox: Alex Rodriguez has become the focal point of Boston's competitive rage; it's like he's the side of beef in the movie "Rocky," and all the Red Sox are taking their shots.
3. St. Louis Cardinals: They lost Edgar Renteria, but they gained a potential staff ace in Mark Mulder. The nagging injuries to Albert Pujols are a concern.
4. Florida Marlins: They could be very, very good -- but they'll only go as far as Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett and Guillermo Mota lead them.
5. Anaheim Angels: Added two terrific major-league veterans in Steve Finley and Orlando Cabrera, and their only major question is if the relievers will respond in new roles.
6. Atlanta Braves: The biggest story of the spring that's not related to steroids is whether the Braves can sign Tim Hudson to a long-term deal.
7. Chicago Cubs: They're going to need some leaders on their team this year, and who better than Wood, Maddux, Prior and Zambrano?
8. Minnesota Twins: They locked up Johan Santana to a four-year deal; when small-market teams are able to retain their pitching, that's a measure of parity (but not much).
9. San Francisco Giants: Filled their biggest hole with the addition of closer Armando Benitez. But they might want to see if they can play an extra outfielder between Bonds and Alou.
10. New York Mets: And with the start of spring training, the big search for middle relief begins; the rotation will be undermined without it.
11. San Diego Padres: They didn't make any big offseason acquisitions, but they did improve their bench and added Dave Roberts to play center field.
12. Cleveland Indians: They're going to rack up a lot of runs, and if they can hold leads, they should be able to win a lot of games this season.
13. Texas Rangers: Considering the state of their starting rotation last year, they overachieved. Would not be a big surprise if they took a small step back this year.
14. Seattle Mariners: They've added some power in the middle of their batting order in Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson, and now they desperately need to get some healthy arms on their staff.
15. Philadelphia Phillies: There was a notion that the Phillies' struggles were caused by the fiery personality of former manager Larry Bowa. Now that he's gone, we'll find out if that was true.
16. Los Angeles Dodgers: They've made a lot of changes, and are banking a lot on J.D. Drew to lead the team. How he'll respond is among the major questions heading into the upcoming season.
17. Houston Astros: Lots of offense went out the door with the departure of Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent. Either a young player must emerge to pick up the offensive slack, or a trade will need to be made.
18. Oakland Athletics: The offense is stronger than it has been since the 2001 season, and they've got a lot of good arms on their staff. The big question: How quickly will the pitchers mature?
19. Detroit Tigers: Jeremy Bonderman pitched like an ace down the stretch last year, and if the Tigers are to have a real chance in the AL Central, he'll have to continue that again this season.
20. Baltimore Orioles: Slammin' Sammy would make more of an impact if he brought along a friend -- say, a No. 1 or No. 2-type starting pitcher? The O's rotation, without a doubt, is really lacking.
21. Chicago White Sox: They decided to shuffle the deck, trading Carlos Lee and not re-signing Magglio Ordonez, and added some pitching (Orlando Hernandez, Dustin Hermanson) along with catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks: The new ownership worked hard in the offseason to change the face of the team -- but they've got a long way to go, after winning just 51 games all of last season.
23. Milwaukee Brewers: Slowly, they're on the rise to respectability. They should be an interesting team this year, with the expected addition of some high-level, young position prospects.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates: They're piecing something together, and appear to be moving in the right direction -- but can they hold it together for an extended period of time? We'll see about that.
25. Cincinnati Reds: In what's become the usual, Ken Griffey, Jr. is the biggest question heading into spring training-- can he stay healthy, finally? If so, they'll have some depth in their outfield.
26. Toronto Blue Jays: Somebody should raise the idea of rotating the Jays and Devil Rays out of the AL East, because unless the Yankees and Red Sox are run incompetently, it's hard for Toronto to compete.
27. Colorado Rockies: Maybe young left-hander Jeff Francis will turn into the pitching savior the Rockies need so very much. If not, the 2005 season could be worse than it's expected to be.
28. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Easiest prediction of the year: The fiery and always colorful Lou Piniella is definitely going to blow a gasket as he watches this team lose time and time and time again.
29. Washington Nationals: Baseball's Bingo Long All-Stars have finally found a permanent home. It'll be a while longer before you can realistically expect them to win on a consistent basis.
30. Kansas City Royals: The window of opportunity that seemed to be open last spring has closed, and now they've got to work toward another.
Nice to see the Indians get some love, I think they are going to have a very good year in the central division.
