AL East Predictions

Team Win Loss
Yankees 95 67
Red Sox 93 69
Jays 88 74
D-Rays 76 86
Orioles 73 89



I may be a little biased because i'm a yankee fan but I honestly believe that they will come in first. First of all, they have one of the best if not the best offense in baseball. Every hitter in the lineup is a serious threat for a quick run except Doug M but hes their for defense. Then it comes to bullpen. Many people think the Yankees dont have a solid bullpen but if used correctly it could be very solid. They have one of the best closers in the game and Kyle Farnsworth (who should be able to put it together this year). They also have a nice young power arm in Brian Bruney and aquired young Chris Brittain in the trade for Jaret Wright. Also, Scott Proctor will be their until Torre makes him pitch another 100 innings and his arm falls off.
Then comes to the achilles heel of the Yankees. The starting rotation. Ill be the first to admit it is weak but guys like Mussina and Pettitte will give you solid season and hopefully Wang will have similar numbers to last year. That leaves Igawa and Pavano. Reports on Igawas stuff havent been spectacular but hes supposedly having a nice camp and could be a solid number 5 innings eater. I dont expect Pavano to be able to pitch the whole season so Im expecting (hoping) Phil Hughes will be able to come up and have an effect close to that of Verlanders or Weavers.

This was obviously a very close race. Boston has improved their lineup this year with the additions of Lugo and Drew. Everyone knows what to expect from Manny and Ortiz but their are some question marks. Will Lugo return to form after a horrible stint with the Dodgers? Can JD Drew become a solid offensive force in the lineup? I believe they both can and the Sox could also have one of the best lineups. Then comes starting pitching. They have a HUGE question mark in Dice-K. Although he seems like he will make the transition well, you never know. Then there is Curt Schilling who is still probably going to be a solid pitcher but he is getting older and will be more injury prone. Then comes to another wild card in Beckett. Will he be able to get his control and home run tendencies in check? Jon Papelbon is another guy who your not sure what your gonna get. IT will be intresting to see if he can be as dominate as a starter as he was as a closer. Hopefully he didnt get used to only pitching one innings. Finally Tim Wakefield will be Tim Wakefield. Then comes to the weakness of the Sox. Their bullpen. They signed many guys this offseason but none of them too impressive. As a Yankee fan watching them vs the Sox last year, even when a starter would be solid, the bullpen would blow it. The only saving grace of the pen last year was Papelbon and now hes gone. Hopefully for the Sox guys like Tavarez, Hansen, and Donnely step up.

Toronto is a very solid team. They have a lineup full of solid hitters with some big guns in Wells, Glaus, Thomas and Rios. This could be a solid lineup that could win some games for them. There bullpen is also decent with a good set-up man in League and a top 10 closer in BJ Ryan. Then comes the starting rotation. Their is the always great Roy Halladay who if stays healthy could be in contention for a Cy Young. Then comes AJ Burnett who really needs to stay healthy this year and live up to his potential. The rest of the guys are definate back-end starters like Chacin, Thompson, and others who may have solid season but also have to watch out for injuires which have plagued them before.

This is a out on a limb pick but I feel the D-rays will be better then the Orioles. The D-rays have a great young group of guys on offense like Young, Upton, Crawford, Baldelli, and more guys coming up through the minors like Brignac and Longoria. Though their entire pitching staff is shaky they have a solid ace in Kazmir. They also have a young guy in Niemann who could be very good for them. That brings us to the Orioles who have traded away a solid reliver for Jaret Wright. They also signed Steve Trachsel to start. I dont see how that could possibly imporve your team. They didnt improve much offensively and I can fully see the D-Rays pulling a good season outta nowhere and finishing ahead of the Orioles.