How soon?

American League East

Baltimore Orioles
At a time when most bullpens are imploding, the Baltimore bullpen seems to be among the best in the league. New closer George Sherrill notched saves in four of their first seven games, and middle reliever Dennis Sarfate looks as though he could post solid numbers in bridging the gap to the ninth inning. Sarfate, who throws in the upper 90's, has the ability to overpower hitters with his fastball. All he must do is locate his off-speed pitches on a consistent basis to keep hitters from sitting on his heater.

Boston Red Sox
After three weeks of being away from home the Red Sox are finally back in Boston. The team left for Japan on the 17th of March for their two-game set against the Oakland Athletics on the 25th and 26th, then returned stateside to finish the series on April 1st and 2nd. The 3rd was a travel day to Toronto before their three-game series with the Blue Jays. However, they will not have too much time to get comfortable, as they will open up a home stand with the hungry Detroit Tigers.

New York Yankees
Starting pitcher Mike Mussina is going to struggle immensely on days when he is not spotting his changeup and knuckle-curve. Once a pitcher who topped out around the 95 mile per hour range, Mussina now features a fastball that rarely reaches 90. Spotting his fastball is supremely important since his off-speed pitches sometimes dip under 70 miles per hour. Should he fail early this year, as he did down the stretch last year, the team may have a difficult time finding a replacement until reliever Joba Chamberlain moves into the rotation in a couple months.

Tampa Bay Rays
Staff ace Scott Kazmir has been throwing off a mound in recent days, and his sore arm is responding well to the rest he was given over the past few weeks. He will likely return around the turn of the month. He likely could have pitched in a regular season game by now, but the team is being ultra conservative so that there is no re-aggravation or lingering effects of the injury in coming weeks.

Toronto Blue Jays
The broken middle finger on his right hand that third baseman Scott Rolen sustained may keep him out until mid-May. Once counted on to anchor the middle of the order in conjunction with Frank Thomas and Lyle Overbay, Rolen is once again on the Disabled List. The original diagnosis listed him out for only a couple weeks, but it was a fairly severe break as far as fingers go; it was a displaced fracture and will need considerably more time to heal.

American League Central

Chicago White Sox
Third baseman Josh Fields is playing his games with Triple-A Charlotte these days despite his stellar performance this spring. Though he is not the defensive player incumbent Joe Crede is, Fields outhit his competition and expected to make the club to start the year. Instead, Chicago handed the third base job to Crede, who hit .172 with one home run and two runs batted in over 58 at-bats this spring. It is believed that Crede is on the trading block so Fields may not be in the minors for too long.

Cleveland Indians
The starting rotation is looking deep so far this season, and Cliff Lee is noticeably better this year than he has been the past two. He collected a win on Sunday in Oakland as he pitched into the seventh inning and allowed just one earned run. If he remains healthy, he could elevate the Indians to the top of the division. Lee, once an 18 game winner in 2005, still has the stuff and the makeup to win 15 games again. He must prove that his spectacular 2005 season was not a fluke.

Detroit Tigers
The team ranks near the bottom in both earned run average and runs scored. The bullpen is terrible, and the hitters are not doing their jobs. Third baseman-turned-center fielder Brandon Inge leads the team in home runs despite the fact that the Tigers could trade him at any moment. Relief pitcher Fernando Rodney cannot come back from injury soon enough. Jason Grilli, Zach Miner, Aquilino Lopez, and Denny Bautista are currently working pressure innings, not something with which they are accustomed. The lack of talent in the pen is the glaring weakness of the team at this point.

Kansas City Royals
Right fielder José Guillen will likely begin serving his 15-day suspension on Thursday. The suspension was originally levied on December 6, but the current collective bargaining agreement allowed for the suspension to be temporarily put on hold. Guillen continues to have no comment on the suspension. Even though he is off to a slow start, the team will need his bat to stay competitive in a tough division. Guillen is currently batting .167 with only one extra base hit, a double.

Minnesota Twins
Pat Neshek was roughed up a bit on Monday against the White Sox. He gave up a grand slam to Joe Crede in the seventh inning. Until then, he had been nearly unhittable in his setup role. His line for the game was .2 innings with three hits and three earned runs allowed. The Twins will need Neshek to right the ship, and solid performances by fellow relievers Matt Guerrier and Juan Rincon are needed to bridge the gap to closer Joe Nathan. With a young starting rotation that includes Boof Bonser, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey, the bullpen will be of utmost importance this year.

American League West

Los Angeles Angels
Second baseman Howie Kendrick is turning into the hitting machine that everyone thought he would be at this time last year. A young player who routinely hit in the .260's in the minor leagues, Kendrick is using all parts of the field. Through Monday, he was hitting .444 with two doubles and one triple. He has more gap power than home run power, but he will hit an occasional dinger or two. In any case, expect his batting average to stay over .300.

Oakland Athletics
The team earned run average (2.81) ranks second in the American League. They trail only Kansas City in that department. It sure is a good thing the pitchers are dialed in because the hitters are doing next to nothing. The team ranks last in the league in batting average (.218), slugging percentage (.329), and on-base average (.305). They will surely need some hitters to step up, but who?

Seattle Mariners
Second baseman Jose Lopez was moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. A hitter with a good eye and solid power, Lopez will be counted on to drive in some runs at the top of the order. Through Monday he had two home runs and seven runs batted in. He will be counted on to keep the continuity going when center fielder Ichiro Suzuki reaches base. To accommodate the move, the Mariners moved designated hitter José Vidro down to the seventh spot in the order. For the time being it looks as though Raul Ibanez will hit third, followed by Adrián Beltré, Brad Wilkerson, and Richie Sexson.

Texas Rangers
Outfielder David Murphy is making a case for some serious playing time. He is currently batting .409 with one home run, three knocked in, and he has even swiped a few bases. Josh Hamilton has solidified his spot in the everyday lineup, as has Milton Bradley. The two players who figure to lose some playing time are Marlon Byrd and Frank Catalanotto. If Murphy continues to swing a hot bat, look for the team to consider shopping an outfielder for some pitching help.