The Yanks lost Damon and Matsui but at least they got younger and better I think in the process. They signed Nick Johnson, Curtis Granderson and Randy Winn to replace those great clutch bats which is impossible but I'd rather see a player leave a year early as opposed to a year later. They have big shoes to fill but Johnson when not injured can be a great hitter and Winn is a good defensive player and has started for most of his career. Curtis Granderson is the best addition to the bats even though he cant hit left handed pitching with a tennis racket. He will replace Damons lack of defense and most likely produce more offensively. The question is where will he play? Brian Cashman said when he was signed that he was the starting center fielder but the Yankees might want to give Brett Gardener a chance which i think they should do. He doesn't have much of a bat but he makes up for it with his speed and that's all they really need considering 1-8 hitters will most likely hit 20+ home runs each with at least 75 runs batted in and that's not counting the bench. How do you pitch to that kind of line up? Very very carefully and a lot of luck.
On the pitching aspect the Yankees added Javier Vazquez and I hope it goes better then last time. I think this is a good situation for him considering he doesn't have the pressure of being the #2 and instead he'll be the #4 behind CC, AJ, and Andy. Who will follow him? My guess is Joba. Not based on performance but because they spent the last 2 years giving him stupid unnecessary rules on how many innings he can pitch so he doesn't get hurt. Pitchers have been converted from the pen without these rules for decades but apparently he's one of the special exceptions so they have to see what he is capable of or the last 2 years were for nothing. That leaves 4 potential starters that will go to the bullpen (Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre, and Chad Gaudin). I think Gaudin would be the best to fill the 5th spot but it's Joba's to lose. That leaves the Yanks with one hell of a pen and the best damn closer period in Mariano Rivera.
I expect a slow start as usual but after the All-Star break the Yankees will start their drive to the World Series behind the excellent veteran leadership of Mark Teixera (who usually starts slow), Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and hip hip Jorge Posada. We'll see great 2nd half pitching from C.C Sabathia and of course Andy Pettite. There are many pies to come this year for the Yankees. Joe Girardi might need to change his number to 29 next year.
The Red Sox will be staring at pinstripes in front of them in the standings as they will finish 2nd in the AL East this year. Their starting staff is probably the best in baseball with 3 potential Aces in Beckett, Lester and Lackey. They round it out with a solid young pitcher in Clay Buchholz and the last pitcher could be the old knuckle baller Wakefield or Daisuke Matsuzaka if he's healthy for once. That combined with a great bullpen could give the Yankees some trouble but do they have the right guy behind home plate calling the games? Nope. Their captain's gonna be riding the pine because he can't hit himself out of a paper bag. Jason Varitek calls a great game but he's such an easy out. With Beltre at 3rd they can't move Kevin Youkilis from 1st which means catcher is the only place Martinex can go since Big Papi plays the kind of defense you expect from an elderly woman. Victor Martinez is terrible defensively but he's got a hell of a bat and that's one thing the Red Sox need since David Ortiz is off that HGH and they lost Jason Bay to free agency over a couple million dollars(Dumb). Granted they brought in Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron their line up is not as good as in years past. Camerons 37 so he's not gonna be able to play every game and his .250 average doesn't help. Scutaro had his best season statistically last year but that was at age 33. I guess the Sox are hoping he can repeat that. Beltre had one of his worst seasons last year but still gets almost 14 million a year which baffles me but he should benefit from the green monster. They got older bats in the off season and it doesn't look promising for the future. Maybe they're eyeing Crawford next year but who isn't? I kinda think he'd look good in pinstripes.
The team to watch out for though is the Tampa Bay Rays and I would not be too surprised if they did better then the Red Sox. They have a great young team but their starting pitching is questionable at best. They are hoping David Price can be the pitcher they want him to be, an ace or at least a number 2. Along with James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Matt Garza. They have a formidable foursome but nowhere near as good as the Yanks or Sox. Tampa's bullpen is pretty good but when it's compared to the Yanks and Sox it doesn't look like much. Talk about great young talent, this team is full of it. Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and Ben Zobrist will try to propel this team to a wild card berth. I also like the signing of Kelly Shoppach who could end up replacing Dioner Navarro if he doesn't bring his average up this year. The sad part is they could really make a run for it if they were in any other division but the Yanks and Sox are here and they will be the teams to beat. If anything this will be an exciting team to watch, especially that line up.
The Baltimore Orioles will probably finish 4th and again that's only because they're in this division. Baltimore does have a better team then they usually do with some nice off season acquisitions like Garret Atkins and Mike Gonzalez. They also brought back Miguel Tejada and traded for Kevin Millwood but do they still have anything left in the tank? The O's need them to play like it's 2002 if they wanted to make any kind of run. As unlikely and as far fetched as it may sound Baltimore's not to be overlooked because they have some young bats that could give teams trouble. Adam Jones is going to be a great player and is one of the top all around center fielders in the game (best move Orioles have made in years getting rid of Eric Bedard for him). Matt Wieters at one point was one of the best catching prospects in the minors is now getting his chance to start the whole year. Nick Markakis is probably the scariest bat that not many people know about and he's only 26 and Brian Roberts is still one the premiere 2nd basemen in the league but the O's have to keep a close eye on his ailing back to make sure it doesn't affect his future. Other then Millwood the pitching staff is pretty young and has a lot to prove but this team really looks like it has a good future. They have great talent which could be hard to keep for a team like Baltimore but if it does the AL East is going to be 4 teams deep leaving the poor Toronto Blue Jays in last which won't be too surprising for them because that's where they will be this year.
There are very few reasons to watch the Blue Jays.
1. If they're playing the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays.
2. The 2 stockbrokers that pose as umps.
That's about it. They have a couple good players in Adam Lind and Aaron Hill but that's about it. They have absolutely no chance of finishing anywhere but last. It's not like anyone in Toronto will care, mainly because they'll be paying attention to how the Maple Leafs mess up another off season.
AL East projected Standings:
New York Yankees 104-58
Boston Red Sox 89-73
Tampa Bay Rays 87-75
Baltimore Orioles 80-82
Toronto Blue Jays 66-96
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