If you believe national baseball experts, the Indians’ Central Division reign will be a short one.
Cleveland, they say, will not defend its division title, pointing to the Detroit Tigers as the new favorite in what figures to be another rigid Central race.
They may be right.
While the Indians pretty much stood still in the offseason, bringing back the majority of their 25-man roster, the Tigers were all over the place, landing Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Dontrelle Willis and Jacque Jones.
Needless to say, those acquisitions immediately — and by leaps and bounds — improved an already talented team that is two years removed from winning the American League pennant.
Where Detroit is most impressive is at the plate, adding an elite run producer in Cabrera, a lifetime .291 hitter in Renteria and a solid bat in Jones, who figures to bat ninth — a spot usually reserved for a weak hitter, not one the caliber of the former Twins outfielder. The acquisitions make a potent lineup even more dangerous.
That was on display Saturday in Lakeland, Fla., when the heart of Detroit’s batting order spanked Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia for two runs in the opening inning of a 3-3 tie in 10 innings at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Some are comparing this Detroit lineup to the vaunted one the Yankees employed in 2006 — Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui to name a few.
Sheffield, now part of the Detroit wrecking crew as the designated hitter, likes his surroundings better than he did in New York.
“This lineup is better than the Yankees (in 2006),” Sheffield told the Detroit News. “It’s better because it’s more balanced than any lineup I’ve been in. It’s not just power hitters. You got guys that can bunt, hit and run, everything.
“We have all the pieces. You can’t get no better than this. Now is the time. It’s here.”
Indians manager Eric Wedge, who rarely praises opposing teams, admits the Tigers’ lineup is an imposing one, but he is, not surprisingly, a bit more subdued than Sheffield.
“It’s a good lineup, but when you talk about the American League, there are multiple teams with the ability to score a lot of runs,” Wedge said. “I don’t get too caught up in that. In the end, it’s still about playing good baseball and being a well-rounded team.”
That’s what the Indians think they have, rightly so.
Though Cleveland can’t match the offense Detroit is expected to produce, the defending Central Division champs do possess some quality bats and can certainly compete in the pitching department, with a rotation led by Cy Young Award winner Sabathia that is comparable if not better, and a bullpen that should outshine the Tigers’ relief corps.  
Detroit’s rotation is a good one, but its bullpen is the sore spot, with aged closer Todd Jones still holding onto the job, and phenom Joel Zumaya on the shelf for what could be the rest of his career.
In a sense, the Tigers are the Indians of the 1990s — a power-packed lineup with average pitching. Those Indians won five straight division titles, while advancing to the World Series twice.
The Detroit-Cleveland rivalry is a budding one that only figures to get more heated this year, but it comes with mutual respect.
“You can consider it a rivalry on the field, but the guys get along so well off the field,” Sabathia said. “It’s not like the Twins, where it could be bench-clearing at any time.”
That could change this year with the Tigers adding some new scenery that might change the complexion of the rivalry and the division, leaving the Indians as a one-hit playoff wonder.
“It happens every single year, people get caught up in the offseason,” Wedge said. “But you still have to play 162 games. (The Tigers) are a good ball club, no mistaking that, but then again so are we.”
We’ll see who’s better when the regular season opens March 31.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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