2011- Baseball Season Who will Win East? Part1

In the east team includes: Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays. The Boston Red Sox went under the radar to acquire Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn’s big lumber landed in Chicago and the biggest sure thing of all– Cliff Lee to New York– never happened, instead ending acrimoniously. Now, the pecking order of the AL has changed. The Red Sox leaped to the front thanks to their big acquisitions as the Tampa Bay Rays took a step back and the Yankees are forced to reload with the retirement of Andy Pettitte and a questionable back end of the rotation. The AL Central is murky as any of three teams could win the division. In the AL West, the Texas Rangers attempt to defend their AL crown but without their best pitcher, an angered veteran and the Oakland Athletics dynamic rotation hoping to take them down.

1. Red Sox (Projected Victories 92-70):

Boston reloaded in the offseason after a disappointing year in which it missed the playoffs, finishing well off the pace set by the Rays and Yankees. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez were the big prizes and they combine with Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youklis and David Ortiz to form arguably the best lineup in the AL. There are still questions about the rotation with both Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka needing to bounce back from injury plagued seasons, but the bullpen looks good with Bobby Jenks added as cover for Jonathan Papelbon.

Key Player: Beckett had one of the worst seasons of his career going 6-6 with 5.78 ERA. He’s been too good of a pitcher to have another year like that but you have to wonder if injuries are starting to force his career to decline.

2. Yankees (Projected Victories 90-72):

If last year wasn’t the passing of the torch from Derek Jeter to Robinson Cano than this has to be the year. Cano was sensational last campaign, hitting .319 with 29 homers and 109 RBI and is a preseason frontrunner for AL MVP. Much like their brethren in Boston, the questions are with the rotation. C.C. Sabathia (21-7, 3.18) is the horse but behind him is a lot of unknown. Can Phil Hughes duplicate his success? Can the rookie Ivan Nova step up? A.J. Burnett? What about Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon — do they have anything left?

Key player: Hughes went 18-8 last season but Yankees fans would probably like to see him drop that 4.19 ERA by a full run. He has to be a reliable No. 2 behind Sabathia if the Yanks are going to make a deep playoff run.

 

3. Rays (Projected Victories 84-78):

  Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon continue to tour the AL East and since Tampa is a nice place to retire this might be the final stop for both. Ramirez was plagued by injuries in LA and Chicago last season but has shown during the spring he may be recapturing his old form. The Rays will need it having lost Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett, who combined for 31 percent of their runs. David Price (19-6, 2.72) is a stud and James Shields is dependable as a No. 2, leaving the issue at the back end of the bullpen where Rafael Soriano (45-for-48 on saves) bolted for New York.

Key Player: B.J. Upton is one of the most talented young outfielders in the game and it’s time for him to mature. Without Crawford, he has to be better than his .237, 18, 62 although the 42 steals are nice.

4. Orioles (Projected Victories 77-85):

Buck Showalter made news this spring for his shall we say less-than-flattering comments about Boston GM Theo Epstein and Jeter. When you play somebody 19 times per season, you shouldn’t like them and there’s too much of opposition patting each other on the back these days. If that gets his ballclub to play better, more power to Showalter. The O’s responded to his appointment last season by finishing 34-23, showing there is hope in Baltimore.

Key player: Nick Markakis is the best player on this team and he’s coming off an excellent season (.297, 12, and 60).  If they can get anything from the aging Derek Lee and whiff-machine Mark Reynolds, who does hit homers (32 last season with Arizona) when he does make contact, the O’s could cause some problems for the AL East’s top dogs.

5. Blue Jays (Projected Victories 75-87):

Live and die by the longball. Toronto hit a big league-best 257 homers last season with Jose Bautista leading the way. Bautista had a career year, 54 dingers (he hadn’t hit more than 16 in any previous year), that will probably be difficult to repeat. The rotation is young but has promise with Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil going a combined 39-23 last season. Young Kyle Drabek, acquired in the Roy Halladay trade, is waiting in the wings.

Key player: Not a player for the Jays, but rookie manager John Farrell. The AL East can be an unforgiving place for any skipper, let alone one with no managerial experience at any level. Farrell will have a tough job overseeing a young pitching staff and a lineup prone to slumps because of its reliance on the big fly.