Welcome to what will become a semi-weekly look at the standings in the American League in general and the Central Division in particular, as well as a look at upcoming games for the Indians' rivals in their division.
Kansas City broke from the gate fast, but lost a crusher in their last game, losing in extra innings after blowing a three-run ninth inning lead against Chicago. The Royals (4-2) are in Detroit this weekend for a three-game set against the Tigers (2-4). This series will be the first of the season on the road for Kansas City, and will be the home-opening series for Detroit.
The Chicago White Sox (4-2) are also playing their first series at home this weekend -- having played their home opener yesterday -- against the winless Tampa Bay Rays (0-6), who are tied with Boston at the bottom of the AL East, in what might be called a dual surprise.
The final member of the Central Division, the Minnesota Twins (2-4), will be a second divisional rival having their home opener today, when they take on the Oakland A's (2-4) at Target Field.
A quick look at the standings, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, shows surprising Baltimore (5-1) atop the East, with the Yankees and Blue Jays (both 4-2) a game behind and with New York poised to "help" the Red Sox (0-6) open their home schedule today.
Out west, the Texas Rangers (6-0) are looking every bit like the defending American League champions and are the last remaining unbeaten team in the major leagues. The Rangers already have a three-game lead over the Angels (3-3) and are four up on Oakland and the Indians' opponents this weekend, the Seattle Mariners. Oakland and Seattle both come into the weekend at 2-4.
And there you have it, a quick look around the American League and the Central Division. We hope that you will come to enjoy -- and look forward to -- future updates.
Look for the first update early next week.