Since we're on the east coast, we'll stay here and switch over to the AL side, before heading west from here. The defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox reside here in the east, having won the division by just two games of their heated rivals in 2007, the New York Yankees, after having a 14.5 game lead mid-season. This year promises to be just as exciting for these two, with a little bit of extra sauce on the side.
1. NEW YORK YANKEES
After manager Joe Torre rejected the Yankees one-year offer to remain as manager and resigned, and eventually headed west to Los Angeles, there was growing speculation that many of the Yankees own free agents, Alex Rodriguez included after he opted out of his contract, would head west with Torre to the Dodgers. That didn't happen. Enter Joe Girardi as the new manager. A-Rod and Jorge Posada both re-signed in New York, keeping the league's best offense intact. Johnny Damon retains his leadoff spot but will now play mostly in left field. Derek Jeter follows in his usual spot, and shouldn't lose a step. The middle of the line-up, with Bobby Abreu, A-Rod, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Posada and Robinson Cano, is as good as it gets. Jeter and Abreu are on-base machines for the big RBI guys that follow. Melky Cabrera rounds out the lineup as the centerfielder. They will score a LOT of runs. Bank on it.
The rotation isn't as good as advertised... yet. But it will be soon enough. Young veteran Chien-Ming Wang, the staff's ace for now, is as good as his numbers indicate. The back-end of the rotation is very young, but very promising. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy should be locks for two of the spots. Andy Pettitte also returns to add some veteran leadership to the staff, but Mike Mussina had a 2007 he'd like to forget, and needs to re-establish himself with his diminished velocity. He will be on a very short leash, and if he fails, Joba Chamberlain will move from the pen to take Mussina's spot. The pen got a sigh of relief when Mariano Rivera re-signed with the Yankees in the off-season. Had they lost him to free agency, Chamberlain would have been their best option anywhere out of the pen. They still must deal with Kyle Farnsworth's inconsistency and LaTroy Hawkins being well past his prime. The pen is very average at best, even with Rivera and Chamberlain.
The Yankees will score and score and score, and their rotation is only going to get better with their young starters. If the pen can hold up over 162 games, the Yankees should win the division by a hair.
2. BOSTON RED SOX
The Red Sox won the World Series with their consistency. The offense scored enough runs and their defense was about as good as it's been in years. Not much will change from 2007 to 2008. Rookie phenom speedster Jacoby Ellsbury took the leadoff and centerfield job away from Coco Crisp late in the season, and with his stellar post-season, the Red Sox gave him the job outright in 2008. The Sox love him so much, they refused to include him in any trade for Johan Santana. The middle of the line-up is still one of the best, when healthy. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew all had injuries to deal with last season, and Mike Lowell carried much of the offense. That can't happen again in 2008. Dustin Pedroia will slide down to the bottom of the order and Kevin Youkilis will retain the second spot because of his ability to get on-base. Jason Varitek is still one of the best game-callers among catchers, but his bat isn't what it used to be.
The Red Sox's pitching as a team was one of the bests in the American League. The rotation does have some questions heading into 2008, which will be in Japan in late March for two games with Oakland. Josh Beckett was a Cy Young candidate last season, and is one of the game's best power pitchers and big-game pitchers, but he enters 2008 with some back issues. At this point, they appear to be nothing serious. Curt Schilling will start the season on the 60-day disabled list with tiredness in his biceps, and could miss the entire season. Rookie phenom Clay Buchholz will take his spot in the rotation. Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled at times in his "rookie" season in the Majors, but could rebound after a year of acclimation. Jon Lester has great stuff, but needs to put it all together. Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball round out the rotation. The bullpen is anchored by arguably the game's best closer, Jonathan Papelbon, and Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen are among the best set-up men in all of baseball.
The Red Sox will score plenty of runs, and they have one of the best bullpens. If the rotation can overcome the loss of Schilling, and avoid any major or long-term injuries to any key players, they will be right there at the top of the division.
3. TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Blue Jays suffered immensely in 2007 when several players went down with injuries for extended periods of time. They hope to avoid the injury bug in 2008. If they do, the offense is as good as any. Plenty in this lineup can hit for average and hit for power, and that's how they'll have to score runs with the lack of any speed. Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, newly acquired Scott Rolen and Lyle Overbay give the Jays a lot different looks in the middle of the lineup. The key will be keeping Scott Rolen healthy on the Rogers Centre turf. David Eckstein takes over as the new leadoff hitter and shortstop, with Aaron Hill hitting second. Gregg Zaun and Reed Johnson round out the lineup.
The Jays have a very good mix of power and finesse in their rotation. They also have innings-eaters. Roy Halladay is one of the games best control pitchers and is among the league leaders in strikeouts each year. A.J. Burnett and Dustin McGowan are also strikeout pitchers. Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch round out a very solid rotation. The bullepn suffered a blow last year when B.J. Ryan went down with Tommy John surgery. In his absence, Jeremy Accardo, Casey Janssen and Scott Downs filled in very nicely for him. If Ryan can rebound from TJ surgery, the pen will be even better.
If the Jays can stay healthy enough to score enough runs, with its solid rotation and effective pen, the Jays should be in the middle of the division race to the end.
4. TAMPA BAY RAYS
The Rays are an up-and-coming team stuck in the wrong division. So it seems. The Rays offense is about as good as a young lineup can get. Akinori Iwamura leads off what could be a very potent offense that includes Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, Jonny Gomes/Cliff Floyd and Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli has to stay healthy, though. Dioner Navarro and newly acquired shortstop Jason Bartlett round out the lineup. This team needs to improve with runners in scoring position, and there's no reason they shouldn't.
The rotation is very solid at the top, but still uncertain at the back end. Scott Kazmir and James Shield are a solid 1-2 combo at the top. Both pitchers also eat a lot of innings. The addition of Matt Garza in the middle of the rotation gives the Rays another solid arm. However, the rest of rotation is very iffy and inconsistent. Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine have to learn how to throw more strikes, enabling them to cut down on their pitch counts and go longer than five innings or six innings. The bullpen, one of the league's worst in 2007, got a little better. Veteran closer Troy Percival takes over those duties, relegating Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler to set-up roles, where they should be more effective. However, Percival and Reyes are injury risks.
The Rays will score plenty of runs, as well, and the front end of their rotation should keep them in games. But the back end of the rotation needs more consistency and the pen must stay healthy. A .500 record isn't out of the question here.
5. BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where to start. The Orioles, to say the least, are a mess. But they might be finally headed in the right direction. The O's sent Miguel Tejada packing for Houston and got a plethora of prospects and cheap, solid major leaguers in return. Soon after, ace Eric Bedard was shipped to Seattle for an even better package of prospects. Is Brian Roberts the next to go? Only owner Peter Angelos really knows. In the meantime, there are still some bright spots in the lineup at Camden Yards. Roberts, for the time being, leads off an interesting lineup that still includes the likes of Melvin Mora, Nick Markakis and Kevin Millar. Aubrey Huff takes over the clean up spot and could drive in 100 runs. Ramon Hernandez and newly acquired Luke Scott are also present. Adam Jones, the highly-touted prospect they got in the Bedard trade, takes over in rightfield and should provide some added power and speed to the lineup.
With Bedard gone to Seattle, Daniel Cabrera, Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Loewen will have to pick up the slack. Cabrera still hasn't pitched to his full potential, and Loewen needs to return from a fractured elbow. Guthrie is the ace of the staff at this point, especially if repeats his strong 2007 season. The pen might be one of the worst in all of baseball. The addition of George Sherrill, acquired in the Bedard trade, gives them some hope, but with Chris Ray and an ineffective Danys Baez both out because of Tommy John surgery, the pen will be hard-pressed to keep the Orioles in any games they might actually inherit a lead in.
The Orioles have been mathematically eliminated from any playoff contention for the next five years.
Coming up next, the American League Central.
1. NEW YORK YANKEES
After manager Joe Torre rejected the Yankees one-year offer to remain as manager and resigned, and eventually headed west to Los Angeles, there was growing speculation that many of the Yankees own free agents, Alex Rodriguez included after he opted out of his contract, would head west with Torre to the Dodgers. That didn't happen. Enter Joe Girardi as the new manager. A-Rod and Jorge Posada both re-signed in New York, keeping the league's best offense intact. Johnny Damon retains his leadoff spot but will now play mostly in left field. Derek Jeter follows in his usual spot, and shouldn't lose a step. The middle of the line-up, with Bobby Abreu, A-Rod, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Posada and Robinson Cano, is as good as it gets. Jeter and Abreu are on-base machines for the big RBI guys that follow. Melky Cabrera rounds out the lineup as the centerfielder. They will score a LOT of runs. Bank on it.
The rotation isn't as good as advertised... yet. But it will be soon enough. Young veteran Chien-Ming Wang, the staff's ace for now, is as good as his numbers indicate. The back-end of the rotation is very young, but very promising. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy should be locks for two of the spots. Andy Pettitte also returns to add some veteran leadership to the staff, but Mike Mussina had a 2007 he'd like to forget, and needs to re-establish himself with his diminished velocity. He will be on a very short leash, and if he fails, Joba Chamberlain will move from the pen to take Mussina's spot. The pen got a sigh of relief when Mariano Rivera re-signed with the Yankees in the off-season. Had they lost him to free agency, Chamberlain would have been their best option anywhere out of the pen. They still must deal with Kyle Farnsworth's inconsistency and LaTroy Hawkins being well past his prime. The pen is very average at best, even with Rivera and Chamberlain.
The Yankees will score and score and score, and their rotation is only going to get better with their young starters. If the pen can hold up over 162 games, the Yankees should win the division by a hair.
2. BOSTON RED SOX
The Red Sox won the World Series with their consistency. The offense scored enough runs and their defense was about as good as it's been in years. Not much will change from 2007 to 2008. Rookie phenom speedster Jacoby Ellsbury took the leadoff and centerfield job away from Coco Crisp late in the season, and with his stellar post-season, the Red Sox gave him the job outright in 2008. The Sox love him so much, they refused to include him in any trade for Johan Santana. The middle of the line-up is still one of the best, when healthy. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew all had injuries to deal with last season, and Mike Lowell carried much of the offense. That can't happen again in 2008. Dustin Pedroia will slide down to the bottom of the order and Kevin Youkilis will retain the second spot because of his ability to get on-base. Jason Varitek is still one of the best game-callers among catchers, but his bat isn't what it used to be.
The Red Sox's pitching as a team was one of the bests in the American League. The rotation does have some questions heading into 2008, which will be in Japan in late March for two games with Oakland. Josh Beckett was a Cy Young candidate last season, and is one of the game's best power pitchers and big-game pitchers, but he enters 2008 with some back issues. At this point, they appear to be nothing serious. Curt Schilling will start the season on the 60-day disabled list with tiredness in his biceps, and could miss the entire season. Rookie phenom Clay Buchholz will take his spot in the rotation. Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled at times in his "rookie" season in the Majors, but could rebound after a year of acclimation. Jon Lester has great stuff, but needs to put it all together. Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball round out the rotation. The bullpen is anchored by arguably the game's best closer, Jonathan Papelbon, and Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen are among the best set-up men in all of baseball.
The Red Sox will score plenty of runs, and they have one of the best bullpens. If the rotation can overcome the loss of Schilling, and avoid any major or long-term injuries to any key players, they will be right there at the top of the division.
3. TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Blue Jays suffered immensely in 2007 when several players went down with injuries for extended periods of time. They hope to avoid the injury bug in 2008. If they do, the offense is as good as any. Plenty in this lineup can hit for average and hit for power, and that's how they'll have to score runs with the lack of any speed. Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, newly acquired Scott Rolen and Lyle Overbay give the Jays a lot different looks in the middle of the lineup. The key will be keeping Scott Rolen healthy on the Rogers Centre turf. David Eckstein takes over as the new leadoff hitter and shortstop, with Aaron Hill hitting second. Gregg Zaun and Reed Johnson round out the lineup.
The Jays have a very good mix of power and finesse in their rotation. They also have innings-eaters. Roy Halladay is one of the games best control pitchers and is among the league leaders in strikeouts each year. A.J. Burnett and Dustin McGowan are also strikeout pitchers. Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch round out a very solid rotation. The bullepn suffered a blow last year when B.J. Ryan went down with Tommy John surgery. In his absence, Jeremy Accardo, Casey Janssen and Scott Downs filled in very nicely for him. If Ryan can rebound from TJ surgery, the pen will be even better.
If the Jays can stay healthy enough to score enough runs, with its solid rotation and effective pen, the Jays should be in the middle of the division race to the end.
4. TAMPA BAY RAYS
The Rays are an up-and-coming team stuck in the wrong division. So it seems. The Rays offense is about as good as a young lineup can get. Akinori Iwamura leads off what could be a very potent offense that includes Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, Jonny Gomes/Cliff Floyd and Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli has to stay healthy, though. Dioner Navarro and newly acquired shortstop Jason Bartlett round out the lineup. This team needs to improve with runners in scoring position, and there's no reason they shouldn't.
The rotation is very solid at the top, but still uncertain at the back end. Scott Kazmir and James Shield are a solid 1-2 combo at the top. Both pitchers also eat a lot of innings. The addition of Matt Garza in the middle of the rotation gives the Rays another solid arm. However, the rest of rotation is very iffy and inconsistent. Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine have to learn how to throw more strikes, enabling them to cut down on their pitch counts and go longer than five innings or six innings. The bullpen, one of the league's worst in 2007, got a little better. Veteran closer Troy Percival takes over those duties, relegating Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler to set-up roles, where they should be more effective. However, Percival and Reyes are injury risks.
The Rays will score plenty of runs, as well, and the front end of their rotation should keep them in games. But the back end of the rotation needs more consistency and the pen must stay healthy. A .500 record isn't out of the question here.
5. BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where to start. The Orioles, to say the least, are a mess. But they might be finally headed in the right direction. The O's sent Miguel Tejada packing for Houston and got a plethora of prospects and cheap, solid major leaguers in return. Soon after, ace Eric Bedard was shipped to Seattle for an even better package of prospects. Is Brian Roberts the next to go? Only owner Peter Angelos really knows. In the meantime, there are still some bright spots in the lineup at Camden Yards. Roberts, for the time being, leads off an interesting lineup that still includes the likes of Melvin Mora, Nick Markakis and Kevin Millar. Aubrey Huff takes over the clean up spot and could drive in 100 runs. Ramon Hernandez and newly acquired Luke Scott are also present. Adam Jones, the highly-touted prospect they got in the Bedard trade, takes over in rightfield and should provide some added power and speed to the lineup.
With Bedard gone to Seattle, Daniel Cabrera, Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Loewen will have to pick up the slack. Cabrera still hasn't pitched to his full potential, and Loewen needs to return from a fractured elbow. Guthrie is the ace of the staff at this point, especially if repeats his strong 2007 season. The pen might be one of the worst in all of baseball. The addition of George Sherrill, acquired in the Bedard trade, gives them some hope, but with Chris Ray and an ineffective Danys Baez both out because of Tommy John surgery, the pen will be hard-pressed to keep the Orioles in any games they might actually inherit a lead in.
The Orioles have been mathematically eliminated from any playoff contention for the next five years.
Coming up next, the American League Central.
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