AMERICAN LEAGUE

CENTRAL

In predicted order of finish

CLEVELAND INDIANS

WHO’S NEW: P Chuck Finley, Scott Kamieniecki.

WHO’S GONE: P--Mike Jackson, Paul Assenmacher, Dwight Gooden. DH--Harold Baines. OF--Wil Cordero.

STRENGTHS: Even without injured offensive catalyst Kenny Lofton, the Indians, the second team in baseball history to score 1,000 runs last season, have a prolific lineup, one that combines speed, power from the left and right sides and versatility. Cleveland has baseball’s best double-play combination in shortstop Omar Vizquel and second baseman Roberto Alomar.

WEAKNESSES: Two of the team’s most dependable relievers for the last few years, Jackson and Assenmacher, are gone, and the Indians probably will entrust their closer job to Paul Shuey, who has a nasty breaking ball but has been inconsistent and at times has buckled under pressure. Starter Jaret Wright needs to rebound strongly from an 8-10 season when he had a 6.06 earned-run average.

OUTLOOK: The Indians believe they added the missing piece to their World Series puzzle when they signed Finley, the former Angel, to a three-year, $27-million deal. The regular season will serve as a warmup act for Cleveland, which has its sights set well beyond the Central title.

AT EDISON FIELD: Aug. 25-27.

*

PROJECTED LINEUP

CF Kenny Lofton

SS Omar Vizquel

2B Roberto Alomar

RF Manny Ramirez

1B Jim Thome

DH Richie Sexson

LF David Justice

3B Travis Fryman

C Sandy Alomar

STARTING PITCHERS

Bartolo Colon

Chuck Finley

Charles Nagy

Dave Burba

Jaret Wright

RELIEF PITCHERS

Paul Shuey

Steve Karsay

Ricardo Rincon

Steve Reed

DETROIT TIGERS

WHO’S NEW: OF--Juan Gonzalez, P--Hideo Nomo, Danny Patterson.

WHO’S GONE: P--Justin Thompson, Bryce Florie, Francisco Cordero. OF--Gabe Kapler, Kimera Bartee. IF--Frank Catalanotto. C--Bill Haselman.

STRENGTHS: The Tigers added some serious muscle to the heart of their order with Gonzalez, and from the fourth spot on, Detroit measures up favorably to most of the league’s offenses. A deep and talented bullpen is stocked with power arms, including unheralded but reliable closer Todd Jones and the durable Doug Brocail.

WEAKNESSES: The rotation, which had a league-worst 5.61 ERA in 1999, is filled with questions: Can Nomo repeat the 12-8 season he had in Milwaukee? Will Dave Mlicki pitch as well as he did in the second half of ‘99, when he won eight consecutive starts? Can youngster Jeff Weaver hold up physically after wearing down in his first big league season?

OUTLOOK: After 88 years in venerable Tiger Stadium, Detroit moves into Comerica Park, a new stadium with revenue streams that allowed the Tigers to offer Gonzalez an eight-year, $140-million contract extension. If the rotation holds up, a Gonzalez-powered offense should be strong enough to finish second in the Central.

AT EDISON FIELD: April 24-26, July 31-Aug. 2.

*

PROJECTED LINEUP

DH Luis Polonia

C Brad Ausmus

LF Bobby Higginson

RF Juan Gonzalez

1B Tony Clark

3B Dean Palmer

2B Damion Easley

CF Juan Encarnacion

SS Deivi Cruz

STARTING PITCHERS

Dave Mlicki

C.J. Nitkowski

Brian Moehler

Hideo Nomo

Jeff Weaver

RELIEF PITCHERS

Todd Jones

Doug Brocail

Danny Patterson

Matt Anderson

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

WHO’S NEW: SS--Jose Valentin, P--Cal Eldred.

WHO’S GONE: P--John Snyder, Jaime Navarro. OF--Darrin Jackson.

STRENGTHS: The White Sox led American League teams in hitting and runs for much of spring training, which has to be encouraging to a team that finished ninth in the league in runs last season. Chicago has one of the league’s better all-around second basemen and leadoff batters in Ray Durham. Middle relief should be a strength.

WEAKNESSES: A defense that had the league’s worst fielding percentage made only one significant change, adding Valentin, who is hardly a Gold Glove shortstop but is an upgrade over Mike Caruso, who made 59 errors in the last two years. The rotation is not very deep or experienced, and catcher Brook Fordyce is out until May because of a broken foot.

OUTLOOK: Frank Thomas, whose relationship with Manager Jerry Manuel has improved since their blowup at the start of spring training, needs to rebound from a season in which he had a career-low 15 homers and 77 RBIs for the White Sox to finish near .500.

AT EDISON FIELD: July 27-30.

*

PROJECTED LINEUP

2B Ray Durham

CF Chris Singleton

1B Frank Thomas

RF Magglio Ordonez

3B Paul Konerko

LF Carlos Lee

DH Greg Norton

SS Jose Valentin

C Mark Johnson

STARTING PITCHERS

Mike Sirotka

Kip Wells

Jim Parque

James Baldwin

Cal Eldred

RELIEF PITCHERS

Bob Howry

Keith Foulke

Bill Simas

Sean Lowe

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

WHO’S NEW: P--Ricky Bottalico, Tyler Green, Jerry Spradlin. C--Brian Johnson, IF--Jeff Reboulet.

WHO’S GONE: P--Jeff Montgomery, Alvin Morman, Hipolito Pichardo. C--Chad Kreuter. IF--Scott Leius.

STRENGTHS: There are no 30-homer threats, but the first six guys in the lineup are capable of hitting in the .290-range with a lot of doubles. Combined with decent team speed, the Royals should be able to generate some runs. Carlos Beltran looks to build on his rookie-of-the-year season (.293, 22 homers, 108 RBIs).

WEAKNESSES: The Royals had more blown saves (30) than saves (29) last season, and they lost their best reliever in Montgomery. They’re hoping Ricky Bottalico,

who rebounded from 1998 elbow surgery to save 20 games for the Cardinals in 1999, can fill the void at closer.

OUTLOOK: The Royals have some good young position players, which bodes well for the future, but they don’t have the pitching to finish near .500, and an already weak rotation will be without Blake Stein until May because of a fractured forearm.

AT EDISON FIELD: May 19-21, June 20-22.

*

PROJECTED LINEUP

LF Johnny Damon

2B Carlos Febles

CF Carlos Beltran

RF Jermaine Dye

1B Mike Sweeney

3B Joe Randa

DH Mark Quinn

C Brian Johnson

SS Rey Sanchez

STARTING PITCHERS

Jose Rosado

Jeff Suppan

Jay Witasick

Blake Stein

Mac Suzuki

RELIEF PITCHERS

Ricky Bottalico

Jerry Spradlin

Jose Santiago

Dan Reichert

MINNESOTA TWINS

WHO’S NEW: P--Sean Bergman. OF--Butch Huskey.

WHO’S GONE: P--Mike Trombley. OF--Marty Cordova, IF--Brent Gates, C--Terry Steinbach.

STRENGTHS: The Twins have one of the league’s better pitchers in Brad Radke, but after a 20-victory season in 1997, the right-hander has had two consecutive 12-14 seasons. Left-hander Eric Milton, who threw a no-hitter against the Angels last season, has shown promise. The Twins had the league’s second-best fielding percentage in 1999.

WEAKNESSES: Minnesota opened spring training with seven catchers who have a combined 218 games of major league experience, so the Twins will miss the retired Steinbach. The team has no true closer, which may not necessarily be a weakness because the Twins won’t need a closer too often.

OUTLOOK: Tom Kelly is the only manager in baseball history who has kept his job after seven consecutive losing seasons. He is sure to endure losing season No. 8, but with a bare-bones budget and one of the youngest teams in the major leagues, he is hardly to blame.

AT EDISON FIELD: June 23-26.

*

PROJECTED LINEUP

CF Jacque Jones

2B Todd Walker

RF Matt Lawton

LF Butch Huskey

1B David Ortiz

3B Corey Koskie

DH Ron Coomer

C Matt LeCroy

SS Cristian Guzman

STARTING PITCHERS

Brad Radke

Eric Milton

LaTroy Hawkins

Sean Bergman

Joe Mays

RELIEF PITCHERS

Bob Wells

Eddie Guardado

Hector Carrasco

Travis Miller