AL East Preview

You may be thinking that it’s too early for an MLB preview, but you forget that February and March exist in the sports world to get fans excited for baseball season!

NEW YORK YANKEES: No team made a bigger splash this offseason than the Yankees. Between their incredible spending, Joe Torre’s “The Yankee Years” and A-Rod’s steroid ordeal, the Bronx Bombers have found themselves in the headlines of sports sections for months now.

Considering how much talent the Yankees had last year, their team was a mess. They were too busy worrying about how to win both last year and five years from now that they didn’t commit fully enough to either to win at all. Had they traded Phil Hughes for Johan Santana, last year may (and probably would) have turned out better.

This off-season, the Yankees showed how badly they want to win right now. Adding CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to an already decent rotation gives the Yankees a formidable five-man rotation now of Sabathia, Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain. The front four in this rotation allows the Yankees, if they’d prefer, to move Joba to the bullpen and plug in a wild card fifth starter (like Hughes). Considering how many wins the first four should rack up, anything they’d get from their fifth starter would be gravy.

As though adding two front-end starting pitchers to the team wasn’t enough, the Yankees also bolstered their (already dominant) lineup with Mark Teixeira. Teixeira was everything they needed in a first baseman – young, a great defender and a good hitter. Landing him also meant other teams (most notably the Red Sox) fell short, which only further improves the signing.

The biggest question as far as the Yankees are concerned is how all of these stars will mesh. The Yankees were truly greatest when everyone on the team played selfless baseball and were able to put the team ahead of personal stats. If this combination of immense talent can put the team first, there’s no reason to think the Yankees can’t make a splash this year.
Look for them to make the playoffs. To actually succeed this year, though, they will need to play better team baseball when it matters most.

BOSTON RED SOX: Regardless of everything the Red Sox have going against them – an aging rotation, a hurting superstar – they still have a lot in their favor. The team boasts one of the best (if not THE best) closers in the game (Jonathan Papelbon), the defending American League MVP (Dustin Pedroia) and some of the best young pitching talent out there.

The Red Sox may have the best rotation in the league. If everything goes well for them, they have the potential for four dominant starters – Josh Beckett, John Smoltz, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester. Like the Yankees, the strength of their big four does not require that the fifth rotation slot be solidified. Between Clay Buchholz, Brad Penny and Tim Wakefield, chances are that Boston will have someone to step up and give the team many quality starts in that fifth hole.

Of all their pitchers, Lester has the most promise. After completing his miraculous return from lymphoma, Lester not only started in the final game of the 2007 World Series but also threw a no-hitter this past May. Considering that he just turned 25, he has only begun to start his development.

Lester and fellow youngster Pedroia will be the faces of the franchise for years to come. Their growing talents, combined with a fearless Papelbon and a strong lineup featuring guys like Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury, will make the Red Sox a force in the AL East both this year and in years to come.

However, the Red Sox have more question marks than the Yankees. Will Ortiz manage to stay healthy and dominant for a full season? Will Jason Bay produce enough to make teams want to pitch to Ortiz? How will their rotation hold up?

The Red Sox have more than enough talent to easily overtake the Yankees in the AL East. However, between the questions surrounding the Red Sox and the motivation the Yankees will feel after missing the playoffs last year, Boston will find it hard to win the division this year. Look for them to make a push for – and probably get – the Wild Card.

TAMPA BAY RAYS – They made the World Series last year. They have immense young talent. How can they finish third in the division?

Last year’s incredible turnaround from every other year in the history of their franchise was definitely unexpected. However, once people began looking at the job Joe Maddon was doing with his team, the outcome had a definite correlation with the hard work and all-around team effort that his team put out there.

This year, the Rays have to prove that last season was not a fluke. The team is talented enough to do this, but now teams will be gunning for them. Rather than seeing a series against Tampa Bay as an opportunity to take things slow, the rest of the league will amp up and try to tackle the best team in the American League from last season.

Can they do it? Sure. Will they do it? That’s another question. It’s hard to ask any team to win a pennant in back to back seasons. Combine that pressure with how young the Rays are and it may be too much for Tampa Bay to handle right now.

Without a doubt, the Rays have the best foundation for future success in the AL East. The same can probably be said about the American League as a whole, and potentially even the entirety of Major League Baseball. However, much of that success will come when everyone on the team develops the talent they all possess. Though that may not happen this season, it won’t be long before they are the cream of the crop in the American League.

Whether or not they are able to repeat as AL Champions, they will yet again be a fun team to watch. As though they didn’t have enough young talent, the team is adding phenom David Price to their rotation. After posting a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings last season, he bettered those numbers by registering a 1.59 ERA in just under six postseason innings.

Between Price and the rest of the Rays, look for Tampa Bay to play tough, competitive baseball this year. Barring a complete recession from last season, they should at least be able to compete with the Red Sox for the Wild Card, and maybe even with the Yankees for the division crown.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS – Considering the fact that the Blue Jays’ biggest news this off-season was losing Burnett to the Yankees, it should come as no real surprise that they might struggle in 2009.

The Blue Jays have never been bad in recent years. From 2005 through 2008, they’ve been a combined 24 games over .500 while playing in one of the toughest – if not the toughest – divisions in the league.

Their rotation is probably the strongest element of their team. Bolstered by perennial All-Star Roy Halladay, the Blue Jays also have very solid two and three starters in Jesse Litsch and Shaun Marcum.

The team also boasts a strong outfield anchored by Vernon Wells and Alex Rios. Both of these guys are five-tool players (meaning they can hit for power, hit for average, run, field well and thro well) and give Toronto one of the league’s stronger outfields. The biggest question here is whether or not Vernon Wells will be able to stay healthy. He missed 54 games last season, most due to a leg injury, and recently re-aggravated that injury in Spring Training.

If Wells can stay healthy and if their rotation can remain strong, the Blue Jays should be able to string together another respectable campaign. However, based on an overall lack of talent and considering the difficult division they find themselves in, it would be unreasonable to expect anything better than a fourth-place finish for Toronto in 2009.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES – The Orioles don’t have a whole lot going for them. One of their big goals this off-season was to land Teixeira, but that didn’t work out.

There are diamonds in the rough on this team, however. Most notably, they signed outfielder Nick Markakis to a six-year, $66.1 million extension, effectively making him the face of the franchise.

Their bullpen should also be improved in 2009 as they welcome back Chris Ray, who missed all of 2008 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2007. Teaming Ray with All-Star George Sherrill should strengthen the Orioles’ end-game and help ensure that any leads they are handed will remain as such.

The name to watch this year, however, is Matt Wieters. Wieters, like Ryan Braun two years ago and Evan Longoria last season, will be an early-season call up and will take over for Gregg Zaun at catcher sooner rather than later. Listed as the top-ranked prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects List, Wieters will make an immediate impact when he is called up.

If Baltimore wants to make a serious run at the division any time soon, though, they will need to surround Wieters and Markakis with more talent. As things stand now, the Orioles will probably find themselves as cellar-dwellers yet again.