Boston Globe looks at the AL

[Fenway]

Boston Globe national baseball writer looks at the AL

gives KW a little love

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2008/02/17/slices_of_americana

Chicago

An old, slow team? We'll buy that, but let's give GM Ken Williams a little love. He made a decent recovery after a slow start. He acquired Nick Swisher from Oakland and Orlando Cabrera from the Angels, while also adding Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel to the bullpen, Carlos Quentin to the outfield, and Alexei Ramirez as a utilityman. Looks like Williams will try to move third baseman Joe Crede during spring training to make room for Josh Fields. The back end of the rotation - John Danks and Gavin Floyd - needs a breakthrough season for this to work in a tough AL Central.

Apropos of nothing: Williams was one of the few people in America who publicly predicted a New York Giants win over the Patriots.

[Oblong]

On the Tigers:

With Joel Zumaya out, Fernando Rodney must assume a bigger role in the pen, and we'll see whether Doug Jones can close one more time


He hasn't pitched in 8 years so I'm not sure.

[FedEx227]

On the Tigers:




He hasn't pitched in 8 years so I'm not sure.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/ChadFinn/1bb2fb7e.jpg
"I'll do what I can"

[California Sox]

I don't think Doug Jones has lost any velocity, though. He's still topping 60.

To be honest, Todd Jones is not much of an improvement over Doug. The story of their season is going to come down to whether that bullpen can keep it together over the first half until they can get reinforcements from clubs dropping out of the race.

[Oblong]

I think it'll be the starters. If the bullpen's an issue then it's because the starters didn't do their job in the first place. At Tigerfest Leyland talked about the real benefit that good starters give you is the ability to go an extra 1/3 to 2/3 of an inning. If they are coming out in the fifth or sixth then you will be in trouble, no matter how good the bullpen is. Todd JOnes doesn't set the world on fire but being used as he has been, he doesn't need to be that good. Getting 3 outs in the 9th when your team is ahead is not that big of a deal. The problem, for any team, is when the tying run is on second in the 7th inning. That's when you should be using your best bullpen arm. I long for the good old days when closers pitched more than one inning and earned their saves. 30 saves meant something. In today's LaRussafied closer role any below average pitcher can get 30 saves just by showing up.

[soxwon]

Screw The Tigers, screw the injuns.
Its our division, its our world series.
Ozzie and Da rev running naked through downtown.
YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

[turners56]

Doug Jones kind of does look like Todd Jones.

[A.T. Money]

I like those Major League (the movie) style Indians uniforms from the 80s much better than the Jndjans unforms now.

The Toons suck.