inevitable changeup

Last July, the Cleveland Indians seized a chance to gain a long-term foothold atop the topsy-turvy American League Central.

A young Indians team had started 30-15, the Tigers had yet to run away with the division title, the Royals were working through another rebuilding project, and the Twins and White Sox were showing signs of serious decline.

Long known for trading away its best starting pitchers -- Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon -- Cleveland changed course, sending its two best pitching prospects to Colorado for Ubaldo Jimenez.

"That trade was less about other teams and more about our own," Indians President Mark Shapiro said. "It was unlike any other trade that I've been a part of over the 20 years I've been here. But it was one that I think gives us a chance to contend for what we hope is 2 1/2 years."

While Shapiro denied that the Twins' struggles played into the decision to trade for Jimenez, he acknowledged that success comes in cycles in the AL Central. Some teams are up, some are down, and it seems to change by the year.

Four different teams have won AL Central titles over the past five years. The only other division where that has happened is the National League Central.

This makes it easier to rebuild in the middle of the country, especially compared with the East. The Phillies have won five consecutive NL East crowns.

"With the exception of about four or five teams [throughout the majors], success is going to come in cycles, and that's a hard thing for fans to accept," Shapiro said. "But it's directly related to your payroll."

The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Angels spend to win each year and often do. Tampa Bay has defied the odds, making the playoffs three of the past four years despite never having a payroll higher than $73 million, not even half of what New York and Boston spend.

This year, the AL appears to have six strong teams -- the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers, Rangers and Angels -- a group that's been dubbed the Super Six. The eight other teams, including the Twins, will have to overcome long odds to make the postseason.

Even with an additional wild-card team this year that creates five postseason berths for each league, it would be surprising if two members of the Super Six don't make the playoffs. The most vulnerable of the group might be the Tigers, simply because the Central can be so volatile.

"It's been a fairly balanced division," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "One year Cleveland wins, and then we win, and of course, Detroit. We all seem to have a similar way of doing business. We're all very familiar. We all seem to know what each other's capable of doing. Some years it comes together, some years it doesn't."

"Obviously, with [Justin] Verlander out there, he's a little bit of a separator in our division," Ryan said. "He's pretty good. To do what he did last year, obviously, with the Cy Young and MVP combination, that doesn't come around very often."

This is Detroit's time as king of the AL Central hill. Who's next? Believe it or not, maybe the Royals.