Forget about the other 5 divisions in baseball, the champion is coming from the AL East. As a Red Sox fan, im excited about this season, but I'm dissapointed on the transactions the Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Orioles made, especially my beloved Sox and those punks in pin stripes. Its no longer a 30+ man race, its a two man race. They are ruining baseball. The only best part will be when these teams face off 26 (i believe thats the number) times. How can KC and Texas fans get excited over the new season when they know they have virtually no chance of winning. But since I am a Red Sox fan and I don't really give two sh!ts about the rest of the league, I'm hear to say the Sox will win the East. The Red Sox took a page out of the Yankees playbook and upgraded their pitching staff, gettin one of the premier pitchers and the best closer on the market.
Well huzzah for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, while they may have gotten the best closer on the market, the best closer in the game wears pinstripes. The Yanks also upgraded their starting pitching (Vasquez and Brown are better than Clemens and Pettite), their bullpen, and vastly improved their offense. The ONLY way that Boston wins the AL East is if Steinbrenner interferes WAY too much. I'm talking firing Torre and his staff and cutting key players interference. If he just messes around like last year, it won't be enough to stop the Yanks.
(first off, i would love to see this thread stay civilized and mature, and no "Red Sox choke" or "Yankees Sucks" in the posts) "The Yanks also upgraded their starting pitching (Vasquez and Brown are better than Clemens and Pettite), " I'll see it when I believe it. New York is a tough place for pitchers to pitch, because you basically have to be perfect. I'm not sure Vasquez can pitch with that pressure, he's got the goods but Weaver did as well. I think the main concern is that at this point of time, the Yankees don't have a left handed starter, and fact is, the Yankees never won a championship without a left handed starter.
While not great, The Orioles made some significant moves in the offseason. Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez and Rafy Palmeiro will bring some punch back to the lineup. But as usual it all comes down to pitching and if you ask me, Sidney Ponson ain't the answer. It'll be up to a young staff, but still the O's could give the big boys fits just like last year.
Amazingly wrong. The Phillies, Astros, Cubs, and Marlins all can go head to head with Boston and NY any day, and the Angles, Mariners, Giants, and Braves should be tough again as well. Certainly, the Yankees have the best team on paper, as they do every year, but a lot of things have to go right for them to win it all again. Even more have to gel for the Red Sox to break the curse.
Re: Re: AL East I fail to see how the Yankees are any better than the Red Sox, they're pretty evenly matched. Injuries will likely determine the winner. The big problem for the Red Sox is 2005, when so many players are eligible for free agency. Since when has the best team won the World Series? The Marlins won their second WS without having ever won a division. The concentration of talent in the East is a problem, but not the one you make it out to be. The real problem is for teams like the Blue Jays, who would be favorites to win the Central and are now longshots to make the playoffs.
Re: Re: Re: AL East very true. But looking at the East, it is totally stacked. This division could produce two 100 wins clubs, two 80-90 wins teams, and maybe a 70 win team.
Prediction of the Year! I'm going to make a very bold prediction here: The Yankees will not make the playoffs. Here's my reasoning: 1.) Kevin Brown is too much of a liability. If he goes down, there's no way this team can make it. Mussina will be close to 20 wins, but Vazquez is going to have a tough time transitioning to the AL. Jon Lieber anyone? 2.) A-Rod wasn't much of an upgrade. They gain 10 HR's, 30 RBI's for $10+ million dollars. Not a good value trade. 3.) Where's the defense? Trading away Nick Johnson was huge because now 1st base is a liability. Plus, there's no garauntee that A-Rod will have a smooth transition to third. Don't forget 2nd base, Right Field, and Center Field. 4.) The AL East. The Toronto Blue Jays are going to surprise some people this year. They are the dark horse in the AL East. The O's aren't great, but much improved, and even the Devil Rays improved a little bit. I think everyone is going to just beat up on each other and someone else will sneak away with the Wild Card. I really believe the Yankees will miss the playoffs. Plus with this BALCO situation picking up steam, Shef and Giambi could quickly be implicated. You know Steinbrenner will rear his ugly head in if it gets rough.