This is an exciting division, but in truth, it isn’t. There is a lot of talent at play here, but the likelihood is, the placement at the end of the season will fall just as everyone expects it to.
New York Yankees – The Yankees don’t have much pitching, but that’s ok, because neither does anyone else in the East. What the Yankees do have is hitting, to go along with their experience and tradition. There weren’t any major additions, despite what you think about Johnny Damon. All he will provide is an object for other baseball fans to hate, which will be nice as it takes some of the heat off of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Jason Giambi. It’s the potent offense that will propel the Yankees into first.
Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox are full of former Marlins, like Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Matt Clement. Keep in mind, that the former Marlins all have World Series Rings. The Sox are full of question marks, but have had a tendency to pull through when it matters, which should be enough to get them to at least second in the east. Sometimes, questions have good answers.
Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays have the best pitching in the east, top to bottom, with maybe a little weakness in the middle. What they don’t have is a solid offense. Sure, they added the overrated Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay, but that, in conjunction with Vernon Wells is hardly enough to overtake the much harder hitting Yankees and Red Sox.
Baltimore Orioles – The O’s are so lacking in pitching, that it’s more likely they end up last in the East than it is they will finish third or higher. Their offense is unhappy, which means that they aren’t going to play well. Tejada wants out, Javy Lopez doesn’t want Ramon Hernandez around, and the ramifications remain to be seen. It doesn’t look like the Orioles will have the hot start they did last year.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays – The Devil Rays could surprise a few teams this year. No, really. They finished hot last year, playing above .500 in the second half, and now they have a manager that believes in them. Their pitching staff is atrocious, featuring Scott Kazmir and Casey Fossum as starters 1 and 2, but with guys like Aubrey Huff, Carl Crawford, Jorge Cantu and Julio Lugo who put up solid stats every year. Combine them with Joey Gathright and Rocco Baldelli, the Devil Rays have a solid offense for the future, or at least, good trade chips to get there. But that will be in the future, not this year.
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