Calling it now....

[birdcrazy]

The majority of the experts will predict the Os finish 3rd or 4th (Yankee huggers) based on the Boston and Toronto improvements. We listening to MLB radio the other niught, and they were talking about how the Os got lucky this year because so many pitchers got injured or traded this year in the AL East.....

[AlbionHero]

The majority of the experts will predict the Os finish 3rd or 4th (Yankee huggers) based on the Boston and Toronto improvements. We listening to MLB radio the other niught, and they were talking about how the Os got lucky this year because so many pitchers got injured or traded this year in the AL East.....

I don't see how you can't consider the Blue Jays the favorites now.

[Orioles4Life21]

I don't see how you can't consider the Blue Jays the favorites now.

They still have to pitch right?

[weams]

I don't see how you can't consider the Blue Jays the favorites now.

In fact...it's a given that they will win the World Series...against the Red Sox.

[birdcrazy]

We have to see who the Orioles end up signing in FA, but our roster still looks better.

[Guest]

They still have to pitch right?

Buehrle , Dickey , Stroman (stud) will be just fine with that O. Plus they got some young kids that are almost ready. I bet they sign a pitcher before 2015 starts.

[AlbionHero]

They still have to pitch right?

Their pitching is good enough... the rotation doesn't look any worse than ours. But their lineup is completely stacked now. Possibly the best lineup in baseball.

This isn't to say that the O's can't still win the division, but I can't consider them a better team on paper than the Jays right now, assuming Cruz especially.

[AlbionHero]

*assuming Cruz leaves

[Orioles4Life21]

Buehrle , Dickey , Stroman (stud) will be just fine with that O. Plus they got some young kids that are almost ready. I bet they sign a pitcher before 2015 starts.

Dickey will 40 years old next season, and he's been about league average and has given up 61 homers in his last two seasons. Buehrle had a nice year but he'll be 36 next season. I'd expect him to be closer to 4.00 than the 3.39 ERA he put up this past year. Stroman is very good, albeit a POS at the same time. They definitely need another starter.

[Orioles4Life21]

Their pitching is good enough... the rotation doesn't look any worse than ours. But their lineup is completely stacked now. Possibly the best lineup in baseball.

This isn't to say that the O's can't still win the division, but I can't consider them a better team on paper than the Jays right now, assuming Cruz especially.

I disagree with the bolded.

[Orioles4Life21]

Oh and not to mention their bullpen was ranked 25th in the league last season, compared to ours being ranked 6th. I'll take our staff ten times out of ten.

Even by FIP we had them beat handily, at 15th compared to 26th for them.

WAR? 4.6-1.3 in our favor.

But of course, as we all know, bullpen performance can change drastically year to year.

[oriole]

We go through this every off-season where other clubs make flashy moves and it's doom and gloom for some folks while listening to expert "predictions" like they're fortune tellers. The AL East will always be competitive. All you hope for is a healthy effective team while the rest of the division plays well beneath their expected performance. Kind of like what happened last year.

[birdcrazy]

Aside from some Yankees teams, when does stacking a bunch of big names ever work? The Blue Jay's are repeated examples of that. So were the Angels until this year, and the Dodgers. Most of the teams the win it all anymore are teams that are not stacked with big names, or have top 5 payroll. They are teams like Cards, Giants, and 2012 Red Sox. Teams that have "it" based around a core group of guys.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Their pitching is good enough... the rotation doesn't look any worse than ours. But their lineup is completely stacked now. Possibly the best lineup in baseball.

This isn't to say that the O's can't still win the division, but I can't consider them a better team on paper than the Jays right now, assuming Cruz especially.

Is it just me or does this phrasing imply that our rotation was bad last year.

[BohKnowsBmore]

We go through this every off-season where other clubs make flashy moves and it's doom and gloom for some folks while listening to expert "predictions" like they're fortune tellers. The AL East will always be competitive. All you hope for is a healthy effective team while the rest of the division plays well beneath their expected performance. Kind of like what happened last year.

I think our biggest "move" will be Manny coming back. Before he went down again, he was looking like he was going to embarrass my projections/hopes for his offensive potential. I thin, assuming a full recovery (big qualifier, I know) he has 30 HR and 40 2B this season with GG defense. MVP vote-getter.