Which of the AL East teams should be better than they were last year, and why?

[Frobby]

I'm just following up on a post by Olehippi in another thread. Which of the AL East teams do you think should be better than they were in 2011, and why?

Edit - you can find a list of key transactions for each of our four competitors here: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/foru...ghlight=Lowrie

[TGO]

I picked only the Orioles, who at this point I think will win maybe 1-3 games more than last year.

Honestly if you told me the standings this year would be exactly the same as last year, I'd buy it. If anything I'd say no one will improve and the division overall will win fewer games.

[Basketeer]

It's gotta be the Sox. Considering their roster, they underperformed majorly last year. It'll be interesting to see how the new changes affect things. But they ought to be back in the hunt for the division title.

[crowmst3k!]

Yankees for sure. Added Pineda, traded Burnett, Phil Hughes should be back to form, plus a good #4 and #5 in Colon and Nova, respectively, with Freddie Garcia ready to fill in should one of the 5 go down or become ineffective.

The have depth and quality in their pitching staff.

Just adding Pineda alone they take a large step forward.

I don't think that Granderson will have the superb year that he had last year at the plate, but I also don't think that Rodriguez will be as lackluster. I'd put the offense on about an even keel as the previous year.

I don't see Boston improving from a player addition standpoint. Actually, how Bobby Valentine meshes with the ball club will determine a lot of the success/failure of the 2012 Red Sox. They clearly have enough talent to go far, if they can get their heads screwed on right and not totally implode, they could very well be better than last year.

The Rays should be about flat. Their young staff will likely improve, while the offense remains similar. If Luke Scott can recover from his Labrum injury, he should be a quality addition at DH.

The Blue Jays also should be about flat. If Rasmus takes the next step, they'll be a better team. They have a great core, a good pitching staff, but really could have used the addition of another #1/#2 starter to complement Romero. Cecil and Morrow are question marks heading into the season.

[El Gordo]

I think TB because they have such great SP and they added some pop with Luke and Pena. MFY's have questions in their rotation after the first two, and Jeter, ARod, Tbag and Swisher, look to regress IMO. Sux have FO and clubhouse problems, and questions at SS, RF, LF, and back end of the rotation, along with an aging DH and health questions at 3B. TOR improved their bullpen but failed to upgrade their SP. The O's improved with depth at SP and the bullpen, upgraded their back up C and 4th OF.

[El Gordo]

I picked only the Orioles, who at this point I think will win maybe 1-3 games more than last year.

Honestly if you told me the standings this year would be exactly the same as last year, I'd buy it. If anything I'd say no one will improve and the division overall will win fewer games.

The addition of Moore to TB rotation for a full season trumps Pineda for the MFY's IMO. Starting pitching is the most import aspect and they are head and shoulders above the rest of the divisison. Price, Shields, and Moore, could all be #1's on the other teams.
I'd rank them
TB
MFY's
SUX/TOR
O's

[weams]

I'm just following up on a post by Olehippi in another thread. Which of the AL East teams do you think should be better than they were in 2011, and why?

Red Sox and Tampa will be worse.

I hope the Yankees are.

I think Toronto will be about the same.

So Its the Orioles that will be the improving team.

[weams]

Red Sox and Tampa will be worse.

I hope the Yankees are.

I think Toronto will be about the same.

So Its the Orioles that will be the improving team.

Why. Red Sox are old and I don't believe in their starting pitching.

Tampa is offensively an issue. Pena won't be the old Pena. There pitching is good but they will probably trade some mid season. I think they are up against it financially.


Yankees have better starting pitching but no depth and they are REAL old.

Toronto is probably as good as they have been. Brett Lawrie should be good. No reason to think they will be any different than they have been.

[Skeletor]

They've all improved, either by additions or maturation.

[Frobby]

Here is how I see it:

The Yankees improved their rotation with Pineda and Kuroda instead of Burnett and Colon. They made some depth signings but their offense is mostly just a year older. I think they are a bit better than last year.

The Red Sox treaded water, IMO. The key to their season is health. They lost 804 games to injuries last year. However, a lot of that was Dice-K, Lackey and Jenks, none of whom have really been replaced. On paper, they are weaker than in February 2011, but if they have better luck with health, they could be improved.

Tampa added power with Carlos Pena and Luke Scott instead of Damon and Kotchman. The keys to their season are (1) development of Matt Moore and Desmond Jennings, both of whom were impressive at the end of 2011, and (2) whether they can continue their incredibly good luck with injuries. Last year they lost only 271 days to injuries and most of those were to inconsequential players. The only player they lost for 50 games was Alex Cobb. I'm going to guess that they won't be that fortunate in 2012, and that increased injuries will cancel out other gains.

Toronto didn't change anything significant on offense, or in the rotation, but bolstered their bullpen with Sergio Sanchez and Francisco Cordero. They have a lot of minor leaguers who are close to being ready to contribute, and Lawrie will be in the big leagues all season.

All in all, I think the Yankees and Jays are somewhat improved, and the Sox and Rays are about the same as before. I think the Orioles will be as improved as anyone in the division because the pitching will be much better, but that won't get them out of 5th place in the AL East.

[Lester Freamon]

I really think that Tampa, with that pitching staff, is the class of the AL East. Every year I expect the Yankees aging roster to actually show the signs of that aging and then they go out there and just win 90+ games. That being said, I still feel like there are questions around their pitching, even after adding Pineda and Kuroda. I mean, I still think they'll win their share of games pitching with that offensive support, but I'm not 100% sold that they will pitch as well as they did last season. Overall though, I think the Yanks will be about the same as they were last year. I think the Sox were better than their record last season and could improve. I'm struggling with how to rate Toronto. I thought they might make a FA splash to really improve their team but it didn't happen. Obviously still better then the O's but I'm not sure if they will be better then last season, but I don't really think they'll be worse either. I do think the O's roster has improved from last season and I figure they are a 70something win team.

As of right now my prediction would be:
Rays - 95 - 99 wins
Yanks - 90 - 95 wins
Sox - 90 - 95 wins
Jays - 80 -85 wins
O's - 70 -75 wins

[Fan4Life]

I picked only the Orioles, who at this point I think will win maybe 1-3 games more than last year.

Honestly if you told me the standings this year would be exactly the same as last year, I'd buy it. If anything I'd say no one will improve and the division overall will win fewer games.

I'm about here as well.

[jets4ever]

I picked the O's.

Whether that's enough to get them to .500, and out of lat place, who knows?

[Oriology]

I went with NYY, TB, and the O's.

I like the Yankees' new starters and think they'll find a way to get 95ish wins once again.

I think the Rays added some pop and that a full season with Moore could be a slight boost.

Our pitching is a bit better/deeper, but I still can't see much more than 75 wins.

The Sox have pretty much the same team. I think Valentine is a clown and that injuries will that hit them hard this year.

I'm not really sure about the Jays. The might have some natural progression but that team doesn't jump out at me as one primed for an improvement this year.

But, really, as many have said no one improved too substantially.

[McNulty]

Here is how I see it:

The Yankees improved their rotation with Pineda and Kuroda instead of Burnett and Colon. They made some depth signings but their offense is mostly just a year older. I think they are a bit better than last year.

The Red Sox treaded water, IMO. The key to their season is health. They lost 804 games to injuries last year. However, a lot of that was Dice-K, Lackey and Jenks, none of whom have really been replaced. On paper, they are weaker than in February 2011, but if they have better luck with health, they could be improved.

Tampa added power with Carlos Pena and Luke Scott instead of Damon and Kotchman. The keys to their season are (1) development of Matt Moore and Desmond Jennings, both of whom were impressive at the end of 2011, and (2) whether they can continue their incredibly good luck with injuries. Last year they lost only 271 days to injuries and most of those were to inconsequential players. The only player they lost for 50 games was Alex Cobb. I'm going to guess that they won't be that fortunate in 2012, and that increased injuries will cancel out other gains.

Toronto didn't change anything significant on offense, or in the rotation, but bolstered their bullpen with Sergio Sanchez and Francisco Cordero. They have a lot of minor leaguers who are close to being ready to contribute, and Lawrie will be in the big leagues all season.

All in all, I think the Yankees and Jays are somewhat improved, and the Sox and Rays are about the same as before. I think the Orioles will be as improved as anyone in the division because the pitching will be much better, but that won't get them out of 5th place in the AL East.

I think your team by team summary is right, but the synopsis at the end is wrong.

I would say the Rays and Yankees improved a few wins each. The Sox might be the third best team, but a lot will hinge on their starting pitching. They could easily win 95 games if Beckett, Lester and Buchholz stay healthy. Bard is a total wildcard, but I do not think he can succeed as a starter. I saw him fail in college doing it even with that ridiculous fastball.

The Jays are going to get a little better just from internal progressions, as you mentioned. So while no one is, on paper, markedly improved, I'd say they all at a minimum got a little better. Everyone gushed over the Sox getting Gonzalez and Crawford last year, so who knows what will actually happen.