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For all those CowboyB doubters....remember this thread posted Feb 11, 2008?
After the subtractions of Torri Hunter and Johan Santana, I think it is pretty fair to say that the Twins will be going through some type of rebuilding phase. Unless of course the all the ifs come together and form a really good team, I don't see them finishing in the top three of the Central. There is no question that the Tigers are going to be the odds on favorite to win the division and I'm sure the Indians are going to put up a strong contention. But my question is, that with all the offseason moves and acquisitions the White Sox have made, is it possible they see themselves back into the A.L. Central race?
They now have a legitimate lead-off hitter in Orlando Cabrera, whom they lacked since Scott Podsednik tanked. They also added some semi-versatile pop in Nick Swisher. I think their lineup and bench can end up being pretty solid if they can get slightly better years out of Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, and Paul Konerko, relative to last year. I expect Carlos Quentin to see a good amount of playing time, and even though they added the SS Cabrera, Juan Uribe will still see plenty has his power is an asset.
The obvious question would be their pitching. A staff that I think has underachieved the last 2 years. Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez may not be considered premier staff Aces, but in my opinion, they make a formidable 1-2 punch. With Jose A. Contreras and a progressing John Danks rounding up the 3rd and 4th slots, I think they have a good mix to figure out who is going to be their 5th man in the rotation.
As far as their bullpen, their weakest link in 2007, I think they have made the necessary moves to strengthen up the road to get to their fireballer Bobby Jenks. With the additions of the Scott Linebrink, who had a solid amount of success with the Brewers, and Octavio Dotel, I think this could really make the team play better as a whole, as the rest of the team won't have the thought of another bullpen blow up in the back of their minds.
Your thoughts on the Central and the Sox regaining some of their stature back?
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