Welcome to the Gigantic Sox and Dawgs 2013 MLB preview.  Over the next few days you will get a team by team look at its key players, new faces, their potential MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year candidates, their possible starting lineup and rotation as well as a quick summary. 

We will also select a MVP candidate and Cy Young candidate for each team no matter what their predicted team outcome is.

This preview was sculpted over the off season with some mild tweaking as we went along prior to publication.  It comes from a culmination of reading many hours of baseball research. 

I hope you enjoy this look at the upcoming season.  I know everyone will not agree with me and that’s fine put it in the comments or hit me up on Twitter or via email.  I can assure you I'll most likely have an argument for each and every objection that you could possibly raise. 

Yesterday we looked at the AL West and we started on Sunday with the NL West, today it’s the NL Central.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

National League Central

The NL Central after many years of belonging to St. Louis with an occasional take over by Milwaukee or Chicago looks to be going Cincinnati’s the next few years.  St. Louis will always compete for the top of the division as well as a wild card spot and now Pittsburgh is trying to take the next step and move up some as Milwaukee starts to slide.  It may be a few years yet before the Cubs once again return to playoff baseball and fans on the South Side will need to remain patient and believe in the process.

1. Cincinnati – Manager: Dusty Baker (6th year/20th overall)

The Reds are ready to be a team that is at or near the top of the NL Central every year for the next several years.  They have a solid core of young players, good veteran’s and a staff that has a style that fits well with the make up of the club.  They do have a big bullpen change in that the plan is to move Aroldis Chapman from the closer spot into the rotation and former Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton will handle the back end of games. They have a strong lineup especially 1-6, deep rotation and are solid defensively with no noticeable weaknesses other than they could use an additional utility infielder and a lefty reliever.

Home Field: Great American Ball Park

Key Players: 1B Joey Votto; 2B Brandon Phillips; RF Jay Bruce; P Johnny Cueto; RP Jonathan Broxton

MVP Candidate: 1B Joey Votto

Cy Young Candidate: P Johnny Cueto

ROY Candidate: OF Billy Hamilton

Key Additions: CF Shin-Soo Choo; 3B/1B Jack Hannahan; IF Jason Donald

Possible lineup: Choo CF; Phillips 2B; Votto 1B; Bruce RF; Ludwick LF; Frazier 3B; Hannigan C; Cozart SS

Possible rotation: Cueto; Latos; Arroyo; Bailey; Chapman

2. St. Louis – Manager: Mike Matheny (2nd year)

The Cardinals got back to the post season in 2012 as a wildcard and then dispatched Atlanta and Washington before losing to San Francisco in the NLCS.  It was probably more than they could have asked for after getting a new manager and losing 1B Albert Pujols in free agency.  This year the Cards will have a chance to get back to the post season again but are a bit weak in the middle infield as Rafael Furcal is aging and Daniel Descalso plays better as a utility infield not a starter, Pete Kozma could see sometime at short. OF Carlos Beltran who replaced Pujols is older and has knee issues that could hurt his production.  But the pitching staff throws strikes and the entire staff has a good BB:K ratio.

Home Field: Busch Stadium

Key Players: RF Carlos Beltran; LF Matt Holliday; 3B David Freese; P Adam Wainwright; P Chris Carpenter

MVP Candidate: LF Matt Holliday

Cy Young Candidate: P Adam Wainright

ROY Candidate: OF Oscar Tavares; P Joe Kelly

Key Additions: 2B/SS Ronny Cedeno; IF/OF Ty Wiggington; RP Randy Choate

Possible lineup: Furcal SS*; Jay CF; Holliday LF; Beltran RF; Molina C; Freese 3B; Craig 1B; Descalso 2B

*Furcal may miss start of season with injury.

Alternate lineup: Jay CF; Descalso 2B; Holliday LF; Beltran RF; Molina C; Freese 3B; Craig 1B; Kozma SS

Possible rotation: Wainwright; Lynn; Garcia*; Westbrook; Miller

*Garcia is questionable for start of season with shoulder injury. Joe Kelly could take the spot in the rotation.

3. Pittsburgh – Manager: Clint Hurdle (3rd year/11th overall)

For the second season in a row Pittsburgh had a baseball resurgence and played good baseball for most of the season only to fade at the end. They had their 20th losing season in a row. I see more of the same this year for the Buco’s as they compete before falling out of contention for a playoff spot but the may climb as high as 3rd in the Central.  They have a good 1-2 veteran combo in the rotation and one of the stars of the game in Andrew McCutchen but they need more offense, to play better defensively and be stronger come August and September where they are 38-77 the last two seasons.

Home Field: PNC Park

Key Players: CF Andrew McCutchen; 1B Garrett Jones; C Russell Martin; P A.J. Burnett; RP Jason Grilli

MVP Candidate: CF Andrew McCutchen 

Cy Young Candidate: P A.J. Burnett

ROY Candidate: P Gerrit Cole

Key Additions: C Russell Martin; RP Mark Melancon; RP Zach Thornton; P Francisco Liriano; P Vin Mazzaro

Possible lineup: Marte LF; Walker 2B; McCutcheon CF; Jones 1B; Alvarez 3B; Martin C; Snyder RF; Barmes SS

Possible rotation: Burnett; W. Rodriguez; McDonald; Karstens; Liriano

4. Milwaukee – Manager: Ron Roenicke (3rd year)

The Brewers are rebuilding and will most likely find themselves in a battle for 3rd in the Central with the up and coming Pirates. It will be hard for the Brew Crew as they will miss 1B Corey Hart for at least four months as well as his replacement Mat Gamel who tore his ACL and is out for the season.  Also starter Chris Narveson may not be ready to start the season after shoulder surgery. The pitching lacks depth behind Yovani Gallardo and John Axford and the less experienced pitchers will need to assume larger roles if they are to compete.

Home Field: Miller Park

Key Players: LF Ryan Braun; 3B Aramis Ramirez; CF Carlos Gomez; P Yovani Gallardo

MVP Candidate: LF Ryan Braun  

Cy Young Candidate: P Yovani Gallardo

ROY Candidate: P Wily Peralta; 1B Hunter Morris

Key Additions: RP Burke Badenhop; P Shaun Marcum; RP Mike Gonzalez; RP Tom Gorzelanny; 1B Hunter Morris

Possible lineup: Aoki RF; Weeks 2B; Braun LF; Ramirez 3B; Lucroy C; Gomez CF; Morris 1B; Segura SS

Possible rotation: Gallardo; Estrada; Fiers; Narveson*; Peralta

*Narveson had shoulder surgery in May 2012 and may miss start of season.  Mark Rogers and Josh Stinson are candidates for the rotation spot.

5. Chicago – Manager: Dale Sveum (2nd year)

Year Two of the “Theo Epstein Project” (that should be the name of his band) and now without Houston in the division any longer there is no one but themselves to keep the Cubs out of the basement.  Epstein along with GM Jed Hoyer are working feverishly to build the farm system as they both know that is what will help them down the road.  They hope that the road will eventually take them to the franchise’s first World Series title since 1908.  They’ve stopped handing out crazy money and bad free agent contracts.  While the farm system still lacks premium prospects they have a good MLB core of P Jeff Samardzija, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Darwin Barney and SS Starlin Castro. The bullpen is shaky especially with Carlos Marmol as the closer, the rotation is inconsistent and they lack a true CF.

Home Field: Wrigley Field

Key Players: SS Starlin Castro; 1B Anthony Rizzo; 2B Darwin Barney; SP Jeff Samardzija; SP Matt Garza

MVP Candidate: SS Starlin Castro

Cy Young Candidate: P Matt Garza

ROY Candidate: RP Kyuji Fujikawa

Key Additions: SP Edwin Jackson; SP Scott Baker; C Dioner Navarro; OF Nate Schierholtz; SP Scott Feldman; RP Kyuji Fujikawa

Possible lineup: DeJesus CF; Scheirholz RF; Rizzo 1B; Soriano LF; Castro SS; Stewart 3B; Castillo C; Barney 2B

Possible rotation: Samardzija; Garza; Jackson; Feldman; Baker

Tomorrow: the AL Central.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

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Welcome to the Gigantic Sox and Dawgs 2013 MLB preview.  Over the next few days you will get a team by team look at its key players, new faces, their potential MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year candidates, their possible starting lineup and rotation as well as a quick summary. 

We will also select a MVP candidate and Cy Young candidate for each team no matter what their predicted team outcome is.

This preview was sculpted over the off season with some mild tweaking as we went along prior to publication.  It comes from a culmination of reading many hours of baseball research. 

I hope you enjoy this look at the upcoming season.  I know everyone will not agree with me and that’s fine put it in the comments or hit me up on Twitter or via email.  I can assure you I'll most likely have an argument for each and every objection that you could possibly raise. 

Yesterday we looked at the NL West, today it’s the AL West.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

American League West

The West division in the American League hasn’t seen the Angels contend in the last few seasons but 2013 seems to be a year where they can win the division and get deep into the post season.  Oakland should be able to build on a wonderful 2012, while this year is the year the Rangers continue to slide and do not make the playoffs.  Good news for Seattle is they won’t finish last this year that’s because Houston switches leagues and comes to AL West.

1. Los Angeles – Manager Mike Scioscia (14th year)

The Angels once again jumped into the free agent market when owner Artie Moreno got itchy and decided he wanted to be involved.  Last year it was for 1B Albert Pujols, this time around Moreno went above his baseball executives and came back with OF Josh Hamilton. Los Angeles was looking for someone to compliment the middle of the order and now they have Hamilton who will certainly replace Torii Hunter, who signed with Detroit, in the field and at the plate.  The starting pitching is a bit iffy after Jared Weaver especially with C.J. Wilson coming off surgery on his elbow. The back of the rotation needs to be good Joe Blanton and Jason Vargas are only stop gap measures and Tommy Hanson is in his first AL season. Bullpen is a bit of concern with Ryan Madson returning post TJS but a solid 2-3-4-5 in the lineup, good defense and smart baseball will carry them.

Home Field: Angel Stadium

Key Players: 1B Albert Pujols; OF Mike Trout, OF Josh Hamilton; P Jered Weaver; RP Ryan Madson

MVP Candidate: 1B Albert Pujols; RF Josh Hamilton; LF Mike Trout

Cy Young Candidate: P Jered Weaver

ROY Candidate: 2B/SS Andrew Romine

Key Additions: OF Josh Hamilton; P Tommy Hanson; RP Ryan Madson*; RP Jason Vargas; P Joe Blanton; INF Bill Hall

Possible lineup: Trout LF; Aybar SS; Pujols 1B; Hamilton RF; Trumbo DH; Kendrick 2B; Callaspo 3B; Ianetta C; Bourjos CF 

Possible rotation: Weaver; Wilson; Hanson, Blanton, Vargas

*Closer Ryan Madson status is uncertain for the start of season and may start on DL.  In this case Ernesto Frieri would close games until his return.

2. Oakland – Manager Bob Melvin (3rd year/10th overall) 

Last year it looked like Billy Beane was trading away the entire team and all he did was rebuild them into the AL West Champions for 2012.  The starting pitching is young and solid as is the bullpen of no-names.  The questions are can Yoenis Cespedes continue to improve in 2013 and can he get the protection he needs in the lineup from Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss who need to duplicate 2012 for this team to get back to the playoffs.

Home Field: O.com Coliseum

Key Players: RF Josh Reddick; LF Yoenis Cespedes; SS Hiroyuki Nakajima; P Jarrod Parker; P Brett Anderson

MVP Candidate: LF Yoenis Cespedes

Cy Young Candidate: P Brett Anderson

ROY Candidate: SS Hiroyuki Nakajima, P Dan Straily

Key Additions: SS Hiroyuki Nakajima; OF Chris Young; IF Andy Parrino; 3B Jefry Marte; C John Jaso; SS Jed Lowrie; RP Fernando Rodriguez; RP Hideki Okajima

Possible lineup: Crisp CF; Sizemore 2B; Cespedes LF; Moss 1B; Reddick RF; Donaldson 3B; Smith DH; Jaso C; Nakajima SS

Possible rotation*: Anderson; Parker; Milone; Griffin; Straily

* Expect one of the back end starters to lose his spot once Bartolo Colon returns from his 50-game PED suspension.

3. Texas – Manager Ron Washington (7th year)

The Rangers made the playoffs for the third year in a row but barely and that streak should end this season.  After going to the World Series in 2010 and 2011 as AL West Champs they got into the tournament in 2012 as one of the two AL Wild Card teams and were promptly eliminated at home by Baltimore.  They have a good top third of a lineup but were weakened in the middle when Josh Hamilton left for Los Angeles. Yu Darvish needs to build on 2102 as the starting pitching is only average and the bullpen should be a raging concern other than closer Joe Nathan who is always solid.

Home Field: Rangers Ballpark at Arlington

Key Players: 2B Ian Kinsler; 3B Adrian Beltre; DH/1B/OF Lance Berkman; P Yu Darvish; RP Joe Nathan

MVP Candidate: Adrian Beltre

Cy Young Candidate: P Yu Darvish

ROY Candidate: 1B/3B Mike Olt; CF Leonys Martin; SS Jurickson Profar

Key Additions: DH/1B/OF Lance Berkman; C A.J. Pierzynski; RP Josh Lindblom; P Jason Frasor; RP Joakim Soria; 1B/3B Mike Olt; SS Jurickson Profar; CF Leonys Martin

Possible lineup: Kinsler 2B; Andrus SS; Berkman DH; Beltre 3B; Cruz RF; Murphy LF; Pierszynski C; Moreland 1B; Martin CF

Possible rotation: Darvish; Holland; Harrison; Ogando; Perez

4. Seattle – Manager Eric Wedge (3rd year/10th overall)

The Mariners have to be grateful that the Houston Astros have moved from the NL Central to the AL West because it should give them another 10-12 wins and keep them out of the basement.  Mariners’ fans badly want some new ownership to give the franchise a boost much like Paul Allen did for the Seahawks. In order to generate more offense the team has also moved the fences in at Safeco Field. Until they show some of the big name free agents they are serious and want contend on a regular basis they will continue to languish at or near the bottom of the AL West.  Even with an elite starter in Felix Hernandez and closer Tom Wilhelmsen aren’t enough to save them right now. They are solid defensively but the worry is that they won’t score runs.  Don’t worry M’s fans help is on the way through your farm system you may have the best Top 5 prospects in the game.

Home Field: Safeco Field

Key Players: CF Franklin Gutierrez; 1B Kendrys Morales; DH Jesus Montero; P Felix Hernandez; RP Tom Wilhelmsen

MVP Candidate: P Felix Hernandez

Cy Young Candidate: P Felix Hernandez

ROY Candidate: SP Erasmo Ramirez; C Mike Zunino; P Danny Hultzen

Key Additions: 1B Kendrys Morales; IN Robert Andino; OF/DH Jason Bay; LF Raul Ibanez; OF/1B Michael Morse; C Kelly Shoppach

Possible lineup: Ackley 2B;Gutierrez CF; Seager 3B; Morse LF; J. Montero DH; Morales 1B; C; Saunders RF; Shoppach C; Ryan SS

Possible rotation: Hernandez; Iwakuma; Beavan; Noesi; Ramirez

5. Houston – Manager Bo Porter (1^st year)

The Astros changed uniforms and moved to AL West for 2013, there’s also a new manager and new league to lose a ton of games in this year as the ‘Stros will now be the whipping boys for the American League.  It’s not going to be pretty but then again it hasn’t been for the last 10 years in Houston.  The team has lost 213 games the last two seasons and you can look for another 100 losses this year.  The starting pitching has little MLB experience and they are very weak across the board in all phases, offense, defense, pitching and on the bench.

Home Field: Minute Maid Park

Key Players: 2B Jose Altuve; LF J.D. Martinez; DH Carlos Pena; P Bud Norris; P Phil Humber

MVP Candidate: 2B Jose Altuve

Cy Young Candidate: P Bud Norris

ROY Candidate: 3B Matt Dominguez; 1B/OF Jonathan Singleton

Key Additions: Mgr Bo Porter; DH Carlos Pena; OF Che-Hsuan Lin; RP Josh Fields; P Phil Humber; P Erik Bedard; OF Rick Ankiel; 1B Chris Carter; P Brad Peacock

Possible lineup: Altuve 2B; Greene SS; Carter 1B; Pena DH; Maxwell CF; J.D. Martinez LF; Castro C; F. Martinez RF; Domiguez 3B

Possible rotation: Norris; Harrell; Lyles; Humber; Bedard/Peacock

Tomorrow: The National League Central

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

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