The East

Despite this small piece of news, Baltimore is generally perceived to be a pitching-and-defense team. Jim Palmer , who was 21-12, leads an outstanding rotation that also includes Mike Flanagan (19-15), Dennis Martinez (16-11), Scott McGregor (15-13) and free-agent Steve Stone , who somehow was 12-12 with the hapless White Sox . Don Stanhouse anchors a strong bullpen. As for the defense, the infield of Eddie Murray , Rich Dauer , Mark Belanger and much-improved Doug DeCinces committed only eight errors the last half of the season. What gets overlooked is power from such people as DH Lee May , Rightfielder Ken Singleton , DeCinces and Murray , who had 100 home runs among them. The Orioles ' weaknesses are more subtle—a tendency toward slow starts, barely average team speed and weak defense in the outfield, where nine candidates battled this spring for jobs in left and center. How well Centerfielder Al Bumbry recovers from last season's broken leg and dislocated ankle could be telling.

It is no wonder Milwaukee led the majors in offense. The Brewers have four regular outfielders and five regular in-fielders, and all of them can hit. Ben Oglivie , a .303 batter with 18 homers and 72 RBIs, Larry Hisle (.290, 34, 115), Gorman Thomas (.246, 32, 86) and Sixto Lezcano (.290, 15, 61) play anywhere in the outfield, and .293-hitter Don Money is a fixture anywhere in the infield. Paul Molitar and Robin Yount , who are interchangeable at short and second, hit .293 and .273, respectively, and Third Baseman Sal Bando (.285, 17, 78) can spell Cecil Cooper (.312) at first. The nine regulars should play 140 games apiece in the field and take turns being the DH. Ray Fosse , Buck Martinez and Charlie Moore are all adequate catchers.

But what gives Manager George Bamberger most hope for improvement on the Brewers ' third-place finish in '78 is pitching. Led by 22-game-winner Mike Caldwell, 18-game-winner Lary Sorensen and Bill Travers, who won 12, Bamberger 's young staff had 93 victories. Balanced against the fact that an inordinate number of Milwaukee players had good seasons is the addition of two pitchers, Moose Haas, who has recovered from arm surgery, and free-agent Jim Slaton , who was 17-11 at Detroit . All Milwaukee lacks is a stopper in the bullpen.

Although Detroit was 86-76 last season, the Tigers finished fifth in baseball's toughest division. To try to move its young team upward, Detroit hired Les Moss as the replacement for retired Manager Ralph Houk . Moss has a classic managerial background. He was a catcher, a marginal major-leaguer and a minor league skipper for a dozen seasons. Many of the Tiger regulars played under him at Montgomery and Evansville . Two of them, Shortstop Alan Trammell , 21, and Second Baseman Lou Whitaker , 20, formed the league's best double-play combination as rookies. Aurelio Rodriguez is an excellent third baseman, and strapping First Baseman Jason Thompson is the only player to hit fair balls out of Tiger Stadium in this decade, and he has done it twice. Steve Kemp , Ron LeFlore and former Cardinal Jerry Morales are set in the outfield, especially LeFlore , who led the majors with 126 runs and the league with 68 stolen bases. Moss' only big move will be to use 22-year-old Lance Parrish as the regular catcher. Parrish hit 14 homers as a part-timer in '78, and his power should help balance out the loss of DH-Restaurateur Rusty Staub , who finds that baseball no longer suits his palate.

Repeating a baseball bromide, Moss says, "You can never have enough pitching." And, for sure, Moss doesn't have enough. Even if Mark Fidrych suddenly recovers from his long bout with tendinitis, Detroit appears to be one pitcher short of contention. The Tigers will have to rely heavily on young starters Kip Young, Milt Wilcox and Dave Rozema , who had a combined record of 28-31, to go with 36-year-old Jack Billingham (15-8).

In Rick Wise , Cleveland has one of only two active pitchers who have beaten every team in baseball (the other is Gaylord Perry ). Alas, Wise , who was 9-19 last season, has also lost to every team in baseball, except Boston , and that makes him a classic member of the Cleveland staff, whose ERA was 11th in the American League . Indian pitching figures to be just as lackluster in '79, but the team should improve at bat, having picked up Toby Harrah and Bobby Bonds from Texas . Harrah and Bonds accounted for 43 homers and 74 stolen bases last season; the Indians had 106 and 64. "They give us punch and speed," says Manager Jeff Torborg . That's quite a change for the Indians , who heretofore were more like Punch and Judy.

That also about describes Toronto , with its 28 stolen bases and 98 homers. If Alfredo Griffin , who swiped 35 in Triple A, beats out Luis Gomez at short, the Blue Jays will have more speed. Rico Carty and John Mayberry must supply virtually all the power. Carty also provides magic. Last season, when he hit 31 homers, he was acknowledged to be 38. He insists he is now 37. At this rate, someday he will be as young as strong-armed Catcher Rick Cerone (24) and promising starters Jim Clancy (23), Tom Underwood (25) and Mark Lemongello (23).