A month into the season, and the three teams that are considered the top contenders in the American League Central are all puzzled at their lack of punch.

And all three took aggressive and/or questionable tactics to try to fix it.

The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers both cut starting outfielders on Monday. Jason Michaels was sent packing from the Indians, and Jacque Jones was let go from the Tigers, both designated for assignment. That means that the teams have 10 days to either trade them, waive them or send them outright to the minors.

Of the two, Jones is the biggest surprise. He had just a month to adjust back to the American League for a new team, and is making more than $5 million this season. He also has a track record of success, with a .278 lifetime average with 165 homers and 628 RBI in 10 seasons.

"Jacque Jones is not the reason we're four games under .500," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the Associated Press. "Had he gotten off to a bad start? Yes, he had. It was totally unfair. He's been a class act the whole time."

Leyland over the weekend said there wouldn't be any imminent moves. Doesn't sound like he signed off on the deal. The Tigers called up minor-leaguer Matt Joyce, and moved Gary Sheffield from designated hitter to left field.

The Indians will go with Ben Francisco, who has played well in short stints in Cleveland before. Michaels was hitting .207.

In Chicago, manager Ozzie Guillen went on another tirade to the media over the weekend (here's the video), and then had a bizarre (and somewhat tasteless) ceremony involving the team's bats and blow-up sex dolls.

It didn't go unnoticed.

"The presence of those dolls creates an uncomfortable situation for any female journalist who enters the White Sox locker room simply trying to do her job," Jenni Carlson, president of the Association for Women in Sports Media, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

If Guillen survives yet another controversy, he and the others can take solace that none of the Central teams have played well enough to make a difference. First-place Minnesota (16-14) and last-place Detroit (14-19) are separated by just 3½ games as of May 5.

Photo: Manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox jokes with members of the Minnesota Twins bench on April 7, 2008 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)