Due to the stranglehold of the Cleveland Indians for most of the last decade, the AL Central is hardly ever one of the more interesting divisions in baseball. But there was some real excitement in the division last year. While we might not see a similar situation this season, at least there will be two teams in the hunt for the division title.

The Indians, winners of the division a year ago, will get top-billing in this space, but don't expect to see them on top when the season ends. Last year, the Indians regained form after a disappointing 2000 season and won the division with a second half comeback. Jim Thome crushed the ball after an anemic start to the season. Roberto Alomar played like the best second baseman in the history of the game. Juan Gonzalez returned to health and superstardom and C.C. Sabathia, with his 17 wins, was the biggest surprise among all rookie pitchers. Unfortunately, Alomar and Gonzalez now play for different teams, Thome will likely regress after his career-year and Sabathia came into camp out of shape. Additionally, Alex Escobar, the key player the Tribe received from the Mets in the Alomar trade, tore his ACL in a spring training game and will be out for the season. The Indians will still compete for the division title, but only if they are able to beat up on the also-rans within the division.

The favorite in this division has to be the Chicago White Sox. While the lineups of the Rangers and Mets are often touted as the best in the major leagues, the Chisox can send their own murderers row to the plate. Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin all provide punch at the plate, but it will be the fate of two veterans that determines how far this team can go in the postseason. Frank Thomas was injured last year and it remains to be seen if he will return at his MVP level of 2000 or the walking-stiff level of 1998-99. In addition, Kenny Lofton has slipped dramatically in his last few seasons with the Indians, but a change of scenery and a healthy season could change that. However, the White Sox aren't all offense, either. They have a number of young pitchers, including Jon Garland, Mark Buerhle and closer Keith Foulke, who should continue to improve as their careers progress. As the top team in the division, the White Sox are a legitimate contender for the AL title as well.

One of the feel good stories of last year was the Minnesota Twins, but don't expect the same this season. For the first half of last season, the Twins had everything go right. The Indians and White Sox struggled out of the gate. Unknowns became All-Stars for the Twins and, for a while, the Twins led in the division. Then, around the midpoint of the season, the Twins fell back to earth and finished in the middle of the pack. The Twins have a good core of young talent, including a number of minor league prospects, but without an expanded commitment from ownership or a new stadium, it still looks like this will be the final season for the Twins as we know them. At best, the Twins will be moved to another city next year and, at worst, they will be contracted. Last year, the Twins relied on defense and pitching to win games and this year will be no different.

At the bottom of the division are two clubs that have shown little promise in recent years. The Tigers are the first of these two, although they may be no better than the Royals. During the offseason, the Tigers did little to improve their team. Their biggest addition was Dmitri Young from the Reds, so they must count on improvement from a number of players they already have. This is not likely to happen. The Tigers do have one legitimate top of the rotation pitcher, Jeff Weaver, and a fire-throwing closer, Matt Anderson, but that will not be enough to compete in the division.

The Royals suffer the same problems that most small-market teams do, but they are also hampered by their billionaire owner David Glass, who bought the team a few years ago but spends money on the team like a pauper. The Royals have developed some good talent over the last decade, but they haven't been able to keep it. Mike Sweeney, the Royals' All-Star first baseman, may be the next player to be traded because of Glass' stingy behavior. Last year, it was Jermaine Dye who left town and, this year, Sweeney shouldn't be far behind. If the Royals continue to serve as a minor league club for other major league teams, they will never climb out of the division cellar.

MLB to players: Your move

In another baseball related note, the owners of all 30 major league clubs pledged yesterday to complete the whole season without a lockout. This was a big step, since the collective bargaining agreement has already expired and there are no rules governing contracts right now. Now that the owners have made this statement-a public relations move intended to align the public with the owners-the ball is in the players' court.

Now, fans just need to hope that players aren't stupid. The last strike in 1994 was initiated by the players and it was disastrous. If the players decide to walk out again this year and there has already been talk of boycotting the All-Star game, all of the good work that has been done by players since the last strike will be wiped out. Cal Ripken's pursuit of the consecutive games record and the home run chase of 1998 will be wiped out, because many fans will walk away from the game if another pissing match between millionaires and billionaires ensues.

Bad seeds

The runs by Kent State and Missouri, among others, in the NCAA Tournament should teach us one thing, at the least. And no, it isn't that mid-major schools can compete with the major conference schools, because Missouri is from the Big 12. What we should learn is that seedings should mean nothing when we are looking at any seed ranked lower than second.

There are a number of teams every year that complain about their seeding entering the tournament. Gonzaga this year is a perfect example. But seeding really doesn't matter. There are a number of elite teams every year, but this number is rarely over eight and these teams all deserve at least a two-seed in the tourney. Beyond that, there is a lot of parity between three-seeds and 14-seeds. Any team can win these games and we have seen that this year.

Sure, three of the Final Four teams are two-seeds or better, but isn't that how it should be? These teams proved that they were elite teams during the regular season and in the NCAA tournament they have excelled.

In the end, I take exception with the Cinderella moniker, because any team that makes the tourney can win once the game begins. That is what makes March truly mad and what makes college basketball more exciting than the pro game.