Last years two bottom dwelling teams, the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals, are a combined 15-8, with the Tribe holding a half a game lead over the Royals as play begins today.
Last years champions, the Minnesota Twins, lost yesterday...to the Royals, and are in the cellar, with a 4-7 record.
My team, the Tigers, one of three teams picked to contend, along with the Twins and the Chicago White Sox, got off to a terrible start, going 3-7 in their first ten games.
Two consecutive walk off wins against the powerhouse Texas Rangers have the Tigers, at 5-7, and have given us Detroit fans a glimpse of how good they can be.
Tigers closer Jose Valverde has yet to give up a run in 4 2/3 innings, with 2 saves, and a 0.
The Chicago White Sox are right there, as usual, in 3rd place, just a game behind the Tribe.
The Royals have slugged their way to second place, and have 4 of the top 11 hitters in the A.L., starting with Wilson Betemit, who's batting .379.
The other Royals off to a good start at the plate are Alex Gordon, .346, Chris Getz, .342, and Billy Butler, who continues to own the Detroit Tigers pitching staff, and is hitting .341.
The Indians are winning the other way, with pitching.
Cleveland's staff has the 5th best team ERA in the A.L., at 3.45, by far the best in the division, well ahead of the ChiSox, who's team ERA is. 4.06, AND HAVE A TEAM whip of 1.13, second best in the A.L.
The Tribe staff is lead by three right handers in Justin Masterson, who's 2-0, with a 1.35 ERA, 9 K's, Mitch Talbot, 1-0, with a ERA of 1.46, and 11 K's, and Josh Tomlin, who has a 2-0 record, a 2.63 ERA, and a miniscule 0.88 WHIP.
The closer is Chris Perez, who's 4-4 in save opportunities this year, has a WHIP of just 0.63, and has yet to allow a run in 6 1/3 innings of relief.
The pitching of the Tigers and the Twins, on the other hand, has been less than stellar.
The Tigers are 13th, next to last in the A.L. in team ERA, at 5.28, and that's with Justin Verlander's 3.13 ERA in 3 strong outings.
The staffs of both the Tigers and Twins pitchers have allowed 13 home runs, and the Tigers staff has a un wanted high of 12 wild pitches through the teams first 12 games.
Ex-Tiger Edwin Jackson is 2-0 for the Sox, with a 2.89 ERA, and 24 K's(13 against the Rays on April 7th) in 3 starts.
Since the 2005 season the White Sox and Twins have dominated the division titles, but with the early results from Cleveland, KC, and Detroit, the Central looks as competitive as ever.
As a Tiger fan, I'm hoping for a division pennant, one the team hasn't won since 1987, right before they lost to the dreaded Twins in the ALCS.
It's a long way to October, but I love seeing the Twins, even for a moment, wallowing in the cellar, struggling to find their way out.
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