AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL PREVIEW : CLEVELAND INDIANS.1998: 89-73, first place AL Central. Manager: Mike Hargrove He's Here: 2B Roberto Alomar LHP Left Hand Path LHP Lighthouse Point (Broward County, Florida city) LHP Left Half-Plane LHP Lead Hollowpoint (bullet) LHP Living History Project LHP Landslide Hazard Program Ricky Rincon, RHP rhp abbr. rated horsepower Jerry Spradlin Jerry Carl Spradlin (born June 14, 1967 in Fullerton, California) is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1993-2000. Teams
He's Outta Here: 2B Joey Cora Projected Lineup: CF Kenny Lofton, SS Omar Vizquel, 2B Roberto Alomar, 1B Jim Thome, RF Manny Manny may refer to: In nobility:
Rotation: RHP Jaret Wright, RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Charles Nagy, RHP Dave Burba, RHP Dwight Gooden. Closer: RHP Mike Jackson. Hot Shot: After numerous setbacks from elbow injuries, Steve Karsay is beginning to show the stuff that made him a No. 1 draft pick by Toronto in 1990. Currently slotted as the Tribe's long reliever, Karsay could move into the rotation via an injury or slow start by one of the starters. Bottom Line: All that's left for the Indians to do is win a World Series. If the Phillies are out of the NL wild-card race by July, look for Indians general manager John Hart to take another shot at getting Curt Schilling. DETROIT TIGERS 1997: 65-97, 5th place, 24 games behind. Manager: Larry Parrish (1st full season). He's Here: 3B Dean Palmer, OF-DH Gregg Jefferies, C Brad Ausmus, C Bill Haselman, RHP Masao Kida, RHP Willie Blair, LHP C.J. Nitkowski. He's Outta Here: OF Luis Gonzalez, 3B Joe Randa, C Paul Bako. Projected Lineup: CF Brian Hunter, DH Gregg Jefferies, RF Bobby Higginson, 1B Tony Clark, 3B Dean Palmer, 2B Damion Easley, LF Juan Encarnacion, C Brad Ausmus or Bill Haselman, SS Deivi Cruz. Rotation: RHP Brian Moehler, LHP Justin Thompson, RHP Willie Blair, Seth Greisinger, RHP Bryce Florie. Closer: RHP Todd Jones. Hot Shot: CF Gabe Kapler's blend of power and speed has been so impressive in spring that the Tigers may trade Hunter to create a spot on the roster. Kapler (Taft High) hit .322 with 28 HR and 146 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in at Double-A. Bottom Line: Hitting is solid, but Tigers were 10th in AL with an ERA of 4.93. Starters were a woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: 45-78 with 5.29 ERA. The relievers, however, had a 4.25 ERA. CHICAGO WHITE SOX The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. 1998: 80-82, second place, nine games behind. Manager: Jerry Manuel (second season). He's Here: 1B Paul Konerko, RHP Darren Hall, OF John Cangelosi, OF Darrin Jackson, C Brook Fordyce. He's Outta Here: OF Albert Belle, 3B Robin Ventura, LHP Jim Abbott, OF Mike Cameron. Projected Lineup: 2B Ray Durham, SS Mike Caruso, DH Frank Thomas, 1B Paul Konerko, RF Magglio Ordonez, LF Jeff Abbott, 3B Greg Norton, CF McKay Christensen or Tyrone Pendergrass, C Brook Fordyce. Rotation: RHP James Baldwin, RHP John Snyder, LHP Mike Sirotka, LHP Jim Parque, RHP Jaime Navarro. Closer: RHP Bill Simas Hot Shot: 1B Paul Konerko was the 13th overall pick in the June 1994 free agent draft and everybody's minor-league player of the year in 1997. But he got caught in a number's game with the Dodgers and Cincinnati and has yet to show his stuff. He'll get that chance with the Sox. Bottom Line: Rather than add a few veterans to a team that went 45-31 in the second half of 1998, the club is basically starting from scratch. It's going to be tough for the Sox to make up for Ventura and Belle's offense. KANSAS CITY ROYALS The Kansas City Royals are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium. 1998: 72-89, third place, 16-1/2 games behind. Manager: Tony Muser (2nd season). He's here: C Chad Kreuter, 3B Joe Randa, SS Rey Sanchez. He's outta here: RHP Tim Belcher, RHP Pat Rapp, 3B Dean Palmer, 2B Jose Offerman, OF Hal Morris. Projected lineup: LF Johnny Damon, RF Jeff Conine, 2B Carlos Febles, 1B Jeff King, CF Carlos Beltran, 3B Joe Randa, C Chad Kreuter, DH Jeremy Giambi, SS Rey Sanchez. Rotation: RHP Kevin Appier, LHP Jose Rosado, RHP Jeff Suppan, RHP Glendon Rusch, RHP Erik Hanson. Closer: RHP Jeff Montgomery. Hot Shot: Febles and Beltran could be the most exciting and talented rookies the Royals have fielded in years. Febles has been compared to a young Frank White, who won nine gold gloves at the position, and Beltran could be their finest center fielder since Willie Wilson. Bottom line: Cutting payroll and developing prospects will be the mode of operation in Kansas City for the next several years. Rookies Febles and Beltran will be fun to watch. But barring a pitching breakthrough, including a healthy Appier not being traded, much improvement over last year's 72 wins will be a challenge. MINNESOTA TWINS 1998: 70-92, 4th place, 19 games behind. Manager: Tom Kelly (13th full season). He's Here: RHP Mike Trombley. He's Outta Here: DH Paul Molitor, CF Otis Nixon, SS Pat Meares, RHP Bob Tewksbury, RHP Dan Naulty. Projected Lineup: CF Torii Hunter or Chris Latham, 2B Todd Walker, RF Matt Lawton, LF Marty Cordova, DH Ron Coomer, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, C Terry Steinbach, 3B Corey Koskie, SS Denny Hocking. Rotation: RHP Brad Radke, LHP Eric Milton, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, LHP Benj Sampson, RHP Mike Lincoln. Closer: RHP Rick Aguilera. Hot Shot: The Twins hope they'll have several with a starting lineup that could include as many as five rookies among the position players and four more on the pitching staff. Bottom Line: The youth movement brought on by cutting the payroll to $15 million or lower could have the Twins challenging the franchise-worst, full-season record of 60-102 set in 1982. But '82 also was the season Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky broke in, setting the foundation for World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. CAPTION(S): 5 Photos PHOTO (1) Frank Thomas (2) Jim Thome (3) Tony Clark (4) Kevin Appier (5) Todd Walker |
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