- Boston Red Sox (97-65) - Best rotation in the AL... no holes defensively... best bullpen in the division... I know there is no "fear of God" guy in the lineup but Youkilis, Victor Martinez, and Pedroia are monsters, and Big Papi was quietly pretty good post-all-star-break last year (16 HRs)... go along with JD Drew who won't kill you, and a potential bounceback year from Beltre, and I'm in... The key? Dice-K... if he's the guy from 2 years, they win 100 games
- New York Yankees (96-66) - Effectively it doesn't matter who wins the AL East because they're both getting in... the best lineup on planet Earth resides in the Bronx... you know the cast (A-Rod, Tex, Jeter, etc.) but Granderson is an all-star level guy who should improve in a good lineup, and although I remember how dreadful Vazquez was in NY the first time, he was awesome last year... Mo Rivera needs to hang on for one more dominant year but they'll be a juggernaut
- Tampa Bay Rays (90-72) - I wish the Rays were in another division.. I feel like they'd be a 95 win club in the AL West... very, very good and diverse lineup with speed (Crawford and Upton), power (Longoria, Pena, Burrell) and glue guys (Zobrist, Bartlett)... the pitching is where they fall behind the 2 powers... they are solid, but there isn't a dominant guy (although Price has the upside) and the bullpen is still a committee thing.... they'll compete to the end...
- Baltimore Orioles (75-87) - And the bottom drops out.... Baltimore has a pretty good offensive, however young they are.. the issue is the 7-9 guys (Garrett Atkins, bleh) and a pitching staff that could be nothing short of woeful... They have some young guys that could be okay, but I don't trust it, and I definitely don't trust Mike Gonzalez upon hearing he's throwing in the mid-80's...good luck with that
- Toronto Blue Jays (68-94) - Mediocre offense... bad pitching...bad bullpen... not a good recipe... I like guys like Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Edwin Encarnacion... but the rest of the lineup is sketchy, and the pitching staff has absolutely no "pencil it in" guys... they're all young and/or injury risks, and the bullpen is anchored by Kevin Gregg... Worst team in the AL....
The system is flawed a bit... the best 3 teams in the league shouldn't be in one division... but it's a classic AL East tale of haves and have-nots this year... Part 4 to come to kick off the National League...
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