American League East Preview

Spring training is underway and this fan is feeling warm and fuzzy inside because next season, is now.  As always many big names have changed jerseys and the pecking order of many divisions has changed.  The most notable changes may have taken place in the American League East.  Despite these changes the AL East will come down to the usual suspects.  Without further delay, the AL East Preview.
*Teams in order of predicted finish.

The Boston Red Sox
After a disappointing 2010 season in which they finished 3rd in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox revamped their offense acquiring first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres and signing top free agent, outfielder Carl Crawford.

 Over the last four years, Gonzalez has averaged 34 home runs and 105 RBIs while playing half his games at pitcher friendly Petco Park.  Moving to Boston and the sandbox sized dimensions of Fenway Park, Gonzalez should have no trouble improving on those already impressive slugging stats. Crawford, who signed a 7-year $142 million contract with the Red Sox, will bring some much needed speed to the line-up.  Crawford swiped 47 bases last season and has stolen 50 or more bags 5 times in his career. The Red Sox on the other hand totaled 68 stolen bases as an entire team in 2010, good for 25th in all of baseball.

 Last season the Red Sox were plagued by injuries, if Kevin Youkilis and former American League MVP Dustin Pedroia can stay healthy, if starting pitchers Josh Beckett and John Lacky can rebound from an off year and regain their past brilliance, if the new additions of Gonzalez and Crawford continue with their amazing all star careers, the Red Sox should find themselves in the driver seat of the AL East all season long.

The Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays parted ways with some big names this past off season.  Besides the forementioned Carl Crawford, the Rays lost Carols Pena, Jason Bartlett, and a few of their top bullpen guys to free agency.  They also traded  pitching ace Matt Garza to the Cubs for 3 prospects.

In hopes of offsetting the departure of key players who helped the team win the division in 2010, the Rays signed former World Series Champion teammates, outfielders Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon.  Depending on which Manny Ramirez shows up to the field, the Rays could of made a tremendous steal in getting him for one year at $2 million, some $40 million less than the last contract Ramirez signed two years ago.  Chances are Manny is just looking to collect a paycheck and relax in the warm weather Tampa Bay has to offer, if that is the case, the Rays did not invest too much money on the gamble and have a lot of young talent waiting to breakout. 

The most important factor of the Rays season will be rookie pitcher Jeremy Hellickson.  He is the reason Tampa Bay felt they could trade Matt Garza.  If "Hellboy" lives up to his nickname and the hype the Rays will have one of the strongest pitching staffs in the AL and will no doubt be contending for at least a wild card berth.

The New York Yankees
Pitching, pitching, pitching.  Besides ace C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees starting rotation has caution signs everywhere.  AJ Burnett is coming off a horrifying season in which he went 10-15 with a laughable ERA of 5.26.  Not exactly the numbers a team wants their 5th starter to posses let alone their number 2. Futhermore, young gun Phil Hughes sputtered down the stretch, going 7-6 over the second half of the season, this after starting the year with a solid 11-2 record.  Rounding out the Yankees rotation will be first time every day starters, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre, don't expect teams to duck and cover when these two unknowns take the mound.  On the bright side, the Yankees can still hit and score runs. The big bats of Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira all return.  And while the Yankees were unable to sign any big free agents, ala Pitcher Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford, they did manage to outbid themselves and over pay for the depleting skills of aging superstar, Derek Jeter, giving him $17 million a year for the next three. 

I understand Jeter is an icon in New York and has done a lot for the Yankees organization over the last 15 years, but baseball is a business.  If any franchise should know this, it's the Yankees.  With or without Jeter, the fans were still going to come out to the ballpark, buy Yankee hats and T-Shirts, and cheer on New York with the same passion they always have.  The New York Yankees sells itself.  They don't need a face or name of the franchise, hell the Yankees don't even put names on the back of their jerseys!  And with Jeter coming off career lows in home runs, hits, and batting average, (seasons in which he's played at least 85% of the games)  I just don't see spending 51 million on a shortstop who numbers compare to Marco Scutaro and Ryan Theriot.  Who is Ryan Theriot, you ask?  Exactly. 

Jeter aside, this game comes down to pitching, and the Yankees just don't have the strength in starting pitching, right now.  Check back at the All-Star break when I'm sure the Yankees will have made some trades in order to right the ship.

The Baltimore Orioles
The O's were busy this off season and made a cannonball like splash with the signings of power hitting veterans Derek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero, as well as Mark "I'll strike out or hit it out" Reynolds.  More importantly, after a season in which the team had 27 blown saves, the most in the major leagues, Oriole's fans can be a little less nervous when the 9th inning rolls around as the O's acquired closer Kevin Gregg, who had 37 saves in 2010 and four straight seasons of at least 23. 

These new birds should make the O's much more entertaining to watch in 2011, but with depth lacking in the bullpen and in the starting rotation, the Orioles won't be competing for a pennant this year, although they are a very young team and are making steps in the right direction.

The Toronto Bule Jays
Like the Orioles, the Blue Jays are a young team.  The farm system is impressive and the moves they made in the off season only added youthful talent to the franchise.  The Jays traded Vernon Wells and his Andre the Giant size contract to free up some cash. That extra money will surely be used to ink the 2010 home run king, Jose Bautista, to a long term deal.  Giving the Jays a superstar for years to come.  They also dealt their strongest starting pitcher, Shawn Marcum, in exchange for a young hitting prospect.  The theme here is the Blue Jays are rebuilding and won't be in the mix to win it at all this year. 

Don't worry Blue Jay fans, all ten of you, the future is bright. 33 year-old GM, Alex Anthopoulos, is committed to building a contender the old fashioned way, through scouting and development.  The Blue Jays can't out spend the Red Sox and Yankees, but maybe they can out think them. This model has worked for the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays in the past, whether or not this philosophy will work in Toronto remains to seen, but Jays fans should feel encouraged that their front office isn't content on rolling over and taking their beating from the bullies out east.