It's hard to believe that the start of the regular season is only 12 days away (Boston and Oakland have 2 games in Japan Mar. 25-26; first game on American soil is Nats' Home Opener on March 30th). I will be filling this blog with my predictions over the next couple of weeks and I begin with the American League East.
1. Boston Red Sox- The reigning World Series Champs will miss Curt Schilling, but will offset that with recovered Bartolo Colon. They are as deep a team as any in baseball, with the all-important solid bullpen and rotation. Not a weak link in the batting lineup either, with the possible exception of JD Drew. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury(former Blue Rock pictured above) will be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year.
2. Toronto Blue Jays- When you finally have a healthy rotation, and you add 2 proven winners and leaders in David Eckstein and Scott Rolen, you may finally break through the Red Sox-Yankees stranglehold on the East. Too bad it's the same year that the wild-card will come out of the Central.
3. NY Yankees- Something the many Yankee-haters across the country have waited for since 1994- no Yankees in the playoffs. Their starting nine is still filled with All-Stars, but the pitching rotation is more suspect than it's been since the days of Ed Whitson. And one of these years All-World closer Mariano Rivera HAS to get old- doesn't he? Joba Chamberlain will be the only ray of light, but at least they have the closing the Stadium to celebrate all year.
4. Tampa Bay Rays- Stunning array of young talent not enough when you play the top 3 teams in this division a total of 57 times. They will still have the best team in their history (not saying much). If they sign Big Head Bonds, move them to fifth place.
5. Baltimore Orioles- Such a sad state for a former proud franchise. Owner Angelos has signed every poster boy for steroids at one point of another, and now that he's finally rid of those idiots, he trades away his best pitcher (Eric Bedard). This may be the worst team in the majors.
Up next: the AL Central..
6 comments:
Go Blue Jays!!! (They should have been the Toronto Loons, but that's another story)...
Down with the evil empires...
It will be good to have a really good winning season which we truely haven't had since 1992 1993.
I made the mistake of predicting the Yankees would miss the playoffs last year. It seems that this season presents a better opportunity, but I am not so sure. The Blue Jays will not win more 85 games. I obviously adore Eckstein and Rolen, but they are both major question marks. The Blue Jays starting outfield cannot produce enough to make this team competitive (Reed Johnson had a great year that time I used him in MVP '05, you will see more on this at a later time). Vernon Wells' career has the classic steroids arc to it (.245/16/80 after a career year). To sum it up, this team is a joke and overrated. We want to believe they can knock off the annoying frontrunners. It is merely an illusion. The only division they might be competitive in is the NL Central and only because they acquired a quarter of the Cardinals' starting lineup. My predictions will be out in short order, but needless to say, we disagree.
HEY now - that's my blue jays you're talking about! The team I grew up with - although I can say I always pick the loosing teams at every match-up...
My apologies, I will retract the joke part of the statement and merely claim that the Toronto Blue Jays are slightly overrated. I also owe you a rousing rendition of "O Canada" the next time I see you.
"O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command..."
I use no bias when deciding my picks- hatred of the Yanks aside, I think this is the end of the line- unless they trade for 3 pitchers and a center fielder in June-
I hope you are right. This will be an interesting year for them since they didn't add a bunch of free agents. Their season hinges on the arms of Hughes, Kennedy, and all the untested guys in the bullpen. Also, will Pettite be effective?
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