AL East Predictions

[Rene88]

I saw a few threads on the upcoming season and wanted to get your thoughts on how the AL East will shape up. Always a tough division to predict. I still think the Yankees are the team to beat despite all the moves the Blue Jays made. Arod is addition by subtraction. I also think the Red Sox will be better since Bobby Valentine is gone, but not sure they can get out of the cellar. I think we will not repeat our success this season unfortunately. Not enough was done to fortify the roster this offseason, but the big factor will be a lack of starting pitching due to ineffectiveness and injury.

My predictions:

NY Yankees

Toronto

Tampa Bay

Baltimore

Red Sox

Tough tough division, wow.

[Mayor McCheese]

I saw a few threads on the upcoming season and wanted to get your thoughts on how the AL East will shape up. Always a tough division to predict. I still think the Yankees are the team to beat despite all the moves the Blue Jays made. Arod is addition by subtraction. I also think the Red Sox will be better since Bobby Valentine is gone, but not sure they can get out of the cellar. I think we will not repeat our success this season unfortunately. Not enough was done to fortify the roster this offseason, but the big factor will be a lack of starting pitching due to ineffectiveness and injury.

Please explain where the lack of SP is?

We have 1 open spot on the rotation that may have be closed out if the JJ deal goes through and he can throw 92 again.

We have the top pitching prospect in baseball ready.

We have another top pitching prospect that is almost MLB ready.

We have a decent amount of SP that are ready to step up: Johnson, Arrieta, Matusz, Britton. (YES they have MLB innings)

We only really needed a MOO bat this offseason.

This offseason did not hurt the Os. We made all the necessary upgrades in August 2012.

[Rene88]

I am not sure you can predict injuries, but they do happen. That much I do know and I don't think our depth is adequate. We can agree to disagree.

Our staff is made up of question marks. Gonzo was nothing short of amazing, but can he do that again? Hammel overachieved, can he stay healthy and perform at a similar level? Tillman looked superb, but will he revert to the old Tillman? Matusz looked great in the bullpen but again lost out there starting. Jake has phenomenal stuff, but he looked like Mitch Williams as a starter. I think Chen is a decent #4.

Just my opinion. We need more depth. Have they even formalized the JJ deal yet? I didn't think they did.

[El Gordo]

I think a handful of games seperate the AL East. They are all 84-86 W teams IMO. I'd give a slight edge to TOR, but I see the O's and the Rays right behind them with the MFY and BOS right behind us. Right now I'd guess,

TOR 89 W

O's 87 W

TB 86 w

MFY 84 W

BOS 82 W

[pdiddy]

Our staff is made up of question marks. Gonzo was nothing short of amazing, but can he do that again? Hammel overachieved, can he stay healthy and perform at a similar level? Tillman looked superb, but will he revert to the old Tillman? Matusz looked great in the bullpen but again lost out there starting. Jake has phenomenal stuff, but he looked like Mitch Williams as a starter. I think Chen is a decent #4

I worry about Gonzo too. Tillman, I hope, was finally living up to his promise. Hammel's key will be health. I'm not sure he overachieved so much as got comfortable with a new pitch and got the benefit of gravity pitching at sea level! Jake is a mystery to me bc I can't explain what happened last year after a great spring and good start. Expectation-wise, if Matusz is in the pen it will be a disappointment based on his draft position, but he looked great out there.

Color me an optimist but I think we'll be ok...I would have liked to have gotten a rock solid predictable #3 type who I know won't blow up, but I think DD will wizard us another guy in-season if we need it. I also think we can expect a splash at the deadline for a TOR or MOO if the team is close...this year feels like the right time to make that push and I think they'll spend the prospects and money.

I think it's a winning record and another WC year unless we get a coup at the deadline, and that's going to be tough.

[pdiddy]

I also think DD will pull the trigger in the next month on a piece if one of the guys isn't getting it done in spring training. I think it's better than 50/50 he'll get a piece regardless.

[MikeAD]

I think a handful of games seperate the AL East. They are all 84-86 W teams and IMO. I'd give a slight edge to TOR, but I see the O's and the Rays right behind them with the MFY and BOS right behind us. Right now I'd guess,

TOR 89 W

O's 87 W

TB 86 w

MFY 84 W

BOS 82 W

I agree with this, although I would have Boston doing a bit worse. The Yankees could go either way. It obviously looks like they are in for a major decline, but they have the resources to change that pretty quickly.

The Rays are probably a bit worse off than they were last year but obviously still have a ton of talent. We didn't really add anything and are coming off a freak season where every single thing went our way. The Jays added a ton of talent, but we've seen a high number of teams over the past 5-6 years do this and either start off really slow and need a late surge, or just not put it together. I can see the Jays starting off going realllly slow. They can put up huge numbers on offense but they will have plenty of games that are high scoring affairs and they might start off with a bad record. If we come out of the gate strong and go something like 25-10 or something, it could pay off huge down the road.

It's really hard to pick the division this year...

[MikeAD]

I also think DD will pull the trigger in the next month on a piece if one of the guys isn't getting it done in spring training. I think it's better than 50/50 he'll get a piece regardless.

No doubt but what sort of piece are we talking about here? I think there is virtually no chance we bring in an impact player before the season starts or at all until the trade deadline. We might add depth or get a role player but we aren't making any big moves.

[harp6]

I saw a few threads on the upcoming season and wanted to get your thoughts on how the AL East will shape up. Always a tough division to predict. I still think the Yankees are the team to beat despite all the moves the Blue Jays made. Arod is addition by subtraction. I also think the Red Sox will be better since Bobby Valentine is gone, but not sure they can get out of the cellar. I think we will not repeat our success this season unfortunately. Not enough was done to fortify the roster this offseason, but the big factor will be a lack of starting pitching due to ineffectiveness and injury.

My predictions:

NY Yankees

Toronto

Tampa Bay

Baltimore

Red Sox

Tough tough division, wow.

The only reason the Yankees get any kind of consideration is because of their past. This is the weakest Yankee team in years. Addition by subtraction only works if you have a quality player to replace that player. Arod and Youkillis put up almost identical stats last year. Youkillis like Arod has been in decline. What about their lineup. They have so many holes. Who is catching, playing left field, right field, shortstop, DHing? None of those position have players that are above league average. The only solid spots are at firstbase, secondbase, and center. When Jeter returns he will be solid at SS, but can he repeat last year or will he regress back toward his previous two years?

Our starting pitching is ineffective and has injuries? I would much rather have our young pitching than the Yankees pitching at this point. Look at the inconsistency, injuries, and age of this list. Sabathia, Nova, Hughes, Kuroda, Pettitte, and Pineda. Obviously Sabathia is great, but after that they are full of questions. Can Kuroda and Pettitte continue to be successful at age 38 and 41. Like some of our young guys, Nova and Hughes have been inconsistent. But the difference is the O's have more depth of young pitchers to fall back on. Pineda has to return from major arm problems. Their bullpen has also taken a hit and should not be as strong as previous years.

[MikeAD]

The only reason the Yankees get any kind of consideration is because of their past. This is the weakest Yankee team in years. Addition by subtraction only works if you have a quality player to replace that player. Arod and Youkillis put up almost identical stats last year. Youkillis like Arod has been in decline. What about their lineup. They have so many holes. Who is catching, playing left field, right field, shortstop, DHing? None of those position have players that are above league average. The only solid spots are at firstbase, secondbase, and center. When Jeter returns he will be solid at SS, but can he repeat last year or will he regress back toward his previous two years?

Our starting pitching is ineffective and has injuries? I would much rather have our young pitching than the Yankees pitching at this point. Look at the inconsistency, injuries, and age of this list. Sabathia, Nova, Hughes, Kuroda, Pettitte, and Pineda. Obviously Sabathia is great, but after that they are full of questions. Can Kuroda and Pettitte continue to be successful at age 38 and 41. Like some of our young guys, Nova and Hughes have been inconsistent. But the difference is the O's have more depth of young pitchers to fall back on. Pineda has to return from major arm problems. Their bullpen has also taken a hit and should not be as strong as previous years.

Well while they are terribly weak you have a lineup that has Granderson, Cano, and Tex. Add to that Gardner, Hafner, Youkalis, Jeter and Ichiro and its a decent lineup. They can make moves and improve that. The rotation might stink but they can bring in any pitcher they want and they really do have good depth in the minors, a lot of talent there.

[luismatos4prez]

Rays

Blue Jays

Orioles

Yankees

Red Sox

[joe42]

Orioles 95 wins

Rays 92 wins

Blue Jays 89 wins

Yankees 85 wins

Red Sox 78 wins

I'm a believer.

[Dark Helmet]

With Torontos offseason, the O's have been an after-thought in discussions i've seen. On MLB network, they were talking about Boston not being as strong as NY, Tor, or TB. Not even a mention of the O's. Oh well. I don't think the 2013 team will win as many as 2012 did.

Rays

Toronto

Orioles

Red Sox

Yankees

[isestrex]

Blue Jays

Orioles

Rays

Yankees

Red Sox

[Rene88]

No way the Yankees are last or 2nd to last, fans would stage a coup and they would just get more talent. Not gonna happen.