ESPN.com: MLB – Royals, Tigers going young … and down the tubes?

Rob Neyer on the Royals and Tigers making history

Most people really don’t care much about who finishes in last place. But when you’re a Royals fan, you care. So I’ll be watching this battle between Kansas City and Detroit all season long. At this moment, the Tigers seem to have the edge, because their rotation is a tad more questionable and they don’t have Mike Sweeney and Carlos Beltran.

Prediction Time

With a couple days til opening day I guess it is time to make futile predictions of how the Tigers will do. My guess is 63 wins. I used a complex formula to arrive at this. Basically, my inputs were the overall lack of proven talent on the roster, and the fact my heart wouldn’t let me predict a 100 loss season. I think Minnesota will run away with the division and they could push 100 wins. I just don’t think the White Sox will be that good, and Cleveland is still a year or two away. I’m also picking the Twins to win the AL and then lose to Houston in the World Series.

Given that the looking at the Tigers prospects of winning is depressing, here are some of the things that I would like to see to consider this a “successful” season:
-Dean Palmer is healthy enough to play 130 games
-Bonderman finishes with an ERA around 4.50 or less, and his pitch counts are tightly monitored
-Matt Anderson makes the most of his few save opportunities, and becomes a valuable enough commodity to garner 2 good prospects (and German shows enough that Anderson becomes expendable)
-The corner infielders (Munson and Pena) each chip in 25+ homers
-Brandon Inge becomes a .250 hitter

Easley benched, requests trade

Easley benched, requests trade

Easley met with Santiago and Infante on Sunday morning and told them this was the opportunity they had been waiting for and that he would help them any way he could.
“I was in a similar situation with the Angels,” Easley said. “They said they wanted a new look and put me at second base in place of Harold Reynolds, who had been around like 12 years. I was just a young kid, and that man took me everywhere and watched out for me.
“I learned from that. It’s what you mean by giving back to the game.”