Summing up the central divisions.
AL:
Minnesota Twins: The perennial cellar dwellers are riding high atop the division, thanks to great pitching and timely hitting. Staff ace Brad Radke is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA, while young Eric Milton is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA. Shortstop Cristian Guzman has asserted himself as an offensive force, hitting .327 and slugging .776. If this trio can keep it up Minnesota may very well have its first winning season since 1992.
Cleveland Indians: Manny Ramirez left some big shoes to fill, but Juan Gonzalez is doing a terrific job thus far. Juan Gone has five HR, 15 RBI and is slugging .750. Jim Thome, on the other hand, is the main culprit in Cleveland’s early-season struggles. Thome is batting .132 with 16 strikeouts and only two extra base hits.
Chicago White Sox: When Chicago traded a number of young arms for David Wells, they expected him to pitch like a 20-game winner. However, Wells is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA and has given up 23 hits in just 21 innings. Another of Chicago’s offseason acquisitions, shortstop Royce Clayton, is batting just .129 with a .194 on-base percentage. He plays great defense, but he’s severely hurting Chicago’s offensive attack.
Detroit Tigers: Tony Clark, the Tigers’ notoriously slow-starting first baseman, is off to a great year. Clark is batting .417 with 9 RBI. Catcher Brandon Inge is making Tiger fans forget about Mitch Meluskey. Inge has hit .296 while playing outstanding defense. DH Dean Palmer forgot how to hit while on the DL.
Kansas City Royals: After hitting .333 and driving in 144 runs last season, Mike Sweeney has gotten off to a slow start, hitting .167 with just seven RBI. Teammate Mark Quinn has picked up the slack though, with five home runs, 12 RBI and a .404 batting average. Now if the Royals only had some pitching.
NL:
Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa has rewarded the Cubs for not trading him. He has his usual power numbers with five dingers and 12 RBI’s. But Sosa has walked 13 times in 12 games, which puts him on pace to top his career high of 91 walks in a season. Chicago inserted long time reliever Julian Tavarez into the starting rotation, and he has responded with a 2-0 record and a 0.73 ERA.
Houston Astros: Jeff Bagwell has caught fire, going 11 for his last 19, while hitting three home runs and scoring eight runs. Houston activated Moises Alou off the DL, adding to their incredible offense. Staff ace Scott Elarton is 2-1, but has posted a questionable 6.75 ERA. Shane Reynolds returns to the rotation this week.
Cincinnati Reds: Despite Ken Griffey Jr.’s absence, the Reds have won five of their past seven games. Cincinnati has been riding the hot bat of Sean Casey, who is hitting .362 with 14 RBI. Starting pitcher Chris Reitsma is 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA. When Griffey finally returns, this could be a dangerous team.
Milwaukee Brewers: Jeromy Burnitz struggled through the 2000 season, but has apparently regained his stroke. Through twelve games, Burnitz is hitting .333 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 11 runs scored. The Brew Crew’s pitching is lacking though. The team has an ERA of 5.03 and staff ace Jeff D’Amico has not been pitching well. Miller Park is awesome.
St. Louis Cardinals: Rookie third basemen Albert Pujols continues to hit the cover off the ball. Pujols is hitting a team leading .413 with four home runs, 12 RBI and has crossed the plate 11 times. Mark McGwire is 2-for-21 on the year, and appears to be in pain from his off-season knee operation. He was placed on the DL earlier this week and will miss two weeks at least.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Pittsburgh lost four of its starting pitchers to injury before the season even began, but surprisingly it has been offense that is holding back the Pirates. Derek Bell is batting just .136 and has struck out a team high 12 times. As a team, Pittsburgh is hitting just .234. What a way to open a new stadium.