Expert
Predictions: The AL East
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| Ray Flowers | Joseph Kirshenbaum | Jonathan Leshanski | Daniel Paulling | Mathew Souders | Brandon Wilson |
| Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Yankees | Red Sox | Yankees |
| Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Red Sox | Yankees | Red Sox |
| Orioles | Blue Jays | Orioles | Orioles | Blue Jays | Blue Jays |
| Devil Rays | Orioles | Devil Rays | Devil Rays | Orioles | Orioles |
| Blue Jays | Devil Rays | Blue Jays | Blue Jays | Devil Rays | Devil Rays |
Ray Flowers’ Picks
1. Yankees- Let’s all sing it ‘I hate the Yankees.’ Sick to death of them buying the division. Will this be the year their “old-timers” need wheel-chairs? Lots of age in that starting rotation (RJ 41, Brown 40 and Mussina 36).
2. Red Sox- W.S. champs offer waive after waive of offense. No reason to think they will have the “World Series hangover” and the addition of Renteria an a healthy season from Nixon could make their offense even better…a scary thought.
3. Orioles- So much offense…their #8 hitter, Gibbons, had 23 HR and 100 RBI as recently as 2003. Could rival the BoSox offense, but their pitching will hold them back.
4. Devil Rays- Tons of young talent…two or three years away from actually challenging for the wildcard. Crawford and Huff will star this year, Kazmir next and then Upton in 2007.
5. Blue Jays- On the right track, following the A’s method. Won’t contend but should bring some life back to a listless market.
Joe Kirshenbaum’s Picks
1. Yankees -There are over 200 million reasons why the Yankees will win the division.
2. Red Sox - The son of the curse begins.
3. Blue Jays - Look for Halladay to pitch like he did two years ago...unfortunately, that's all they've got.
4. Orioles - Will they ever learn to stop focusing solely on offense?
5. Devil Rays - great future, but currently a last place team.
Jonathan Leshanski’s Picks
1. Yankees - Only injuries can derail this team, and even if they occur the Yankees will just manage to get replacement parts somewhere. The joy of a seemingly limitless budget.
2. Red Sox - They’ll contend if the pitching comes through and I think it will. It’s going to be a good race but they have as many questions as the Yankees so I see no reason to project them higher.
3. Orioles - Still more pitching than the D’Rays and an offense which could match up with the teams above them.
4. D’Rays - Growing up. They’d be challenging for third if Baldelli hadn’t torn an ACL.
5. Blue Jays - Took a step back offensively, though a healthy Halliday might add 10-12 games in the win column.
Daniel Paulling’s Picks
1. Yankees - The Yankees have won 7 straight division titles, which should count for something. I think they can get to an early lead over the Red Sawx with Schilling's ankle injury and should keep the lead for the entire year. Their rotation and bullpen should be much better than last season; their offense will produce roughly the same, perhaps a little better because of improvements from Giambi and A-Rod.
2. Red Sox - The Red Sox will place a very close second, but the questions about their pitching (Wells, Miller, Schilling) will be too much of a detriment. They should be able to win quite a few games, 90+, but don't expect a division title. Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent team, but I don't think they can beat the Yankees over the 162 schedule.
3. Orioles - Take an already awesome lineup, add Sammy Sosa and you get an even better lineup. The Orioles offense will bash with the best of them. Add in a little seasoning last year for young arms Daniel Cabrera, et al. with Sidney Ponson's expected improvement for this year and Rodrigo Lopez's innings should give the Orioles an improved rotation. Youth and lack of depth, however, will stop the Orioles changes of contending. This could be a very surprising team, watch out!
4. D’Rays - Their youngsters have gotten even more seasoning and an entire year from BJ Upton will help this team tremendously. They have the arms to do well, but if those arms do well is a different story. If the team trades Aubrey Huff as is rumored, their season will be over and they will be in last place.
5. Blue Jays - They lost Carlos Delgado and that is too much for Cory Koskie and an improved Vernon Wells to pick up. The pitching should be better with an entire year from Roy Halladay, but there just isn't enough here to win 80 games. There are a few guys here worth a high fantasy pick, but the depth of this team places it in fifth.
Matthew Souders’ Picks
1. Boston Red Sox (AL East, 101-61) - Despite the departure of Pedro Martinez, the injury status of Curt Schilling and Wade Miller, and the uncertainty in their bullpen, the Red Sox return from a WS championship run in 2004 with a stronger pitching staff this year. This is largely because of the additions of Matt Clement, David “Boomer” Wells, and a full season from Bronson Arroyo in the rotation. They’ve also slightly upgraded the league’s third worst defensive infield in 2005 by adding Edgar Renteria to the mix full time.
2. New York Yankees (WC, 94-68) - That’s right…despite the addition of Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, and Jaret Wright; I believe the Yankees will fall back a bit in 2005. I must be CRAZY! Or it could be that the Yanks have actually gotten WORSE defensively in 2005 by failing to address their biggest problem…center field. With Bernie Williams having become the worst defensive center fielder in baseball, those vaunted pitchers are going to be giving up a lot of doubles in 2005. Making things worse, they have no back-up options in CF! The addition of Womack is at best a lateral move, and more likely a big step backward from Miguel Cairo. You can also expect a continued decline out of Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada, and Bernie Williams on offense…plus the start of a decline from Gary Sheffield. The Yankees are OLD guys…they’re likely to show some cracks.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (80-82) - Most people tend to favor the Orioles in the third spot thanks to their addition of Sammy Sosa to an otherwise mediocre outfield. I do not. Two things that jump out at me as causes of the Blue Jays’ catastrophic collapse in 2004 are Roy Halladay’s injury and career down years from a number of players in the Toronto line-up. This year’s team has added Corey Koskie to stabilize their infield defense, Shea Hillenbrand for some line-up balance, Alexis Rios and Gabe Gross to fix the perennial black hole that is right field, and Ted Lilly and a healthy Halladay to address their starting rotation. Expect the Jays to surprise some people.
4. Baltimore Orioles (79-83) - The addition of Sosa is hardly the kind of move that revamps a team and produces a winner. Sosa’s been in productive free fall since 2001 and I don’t see any reason for this to reverse. Meanwhile, the Birds have yet to address a shaky bullpen or a horrific starting rotation in any meaningful way. Expect a lot of high scoring games…and a lot of losses.
5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (69-93) - The D-Rays cracked 70 wins last year and are absolutely LOADED with position prospects and a few good pitchers…but I think they’re at least two years away from really gelling as a unit. Given how tough the AL East may be, I expect them to struggle once again to stay afloat.
Brandon Wilson’s Picks
1. New York - If anything happens to Randy Johnson, there is no way they win the division. The lineup should be as good as last season (maybe better if Giambi can bounce back) so runs will not be a problem, it is the pitching staff that concerns me. There is no room for injury with this group as they are very thin on top talent.
2. Boston - This team still has questions in the rotation if you ask me. If Matt Clement can adequately replace Pedro Martinez then they could very well win the division. While hard to believe, this team could score more than last season with a healthy Trot Nixon and new shortstop Edgar Renteria in the lineup.
3. Toronto - The hitting totally collapsed as a result of Carlos Delgado's poor start last year. Expect more runs scored even with his loss, as CF Vernon Wells steps up and new 3B Corey Koskie adds offense to the lineup. The return of Roy Halladay should be enough to put them ahead of Baltimore.
4. Baltimore - The pitching rotation will have to show a ton of improvement for this team to finish third again. The offense may have peaked last year and the team was not able to add the big bat they wanted this off-season.
5. Tampa - Still a very young team. Will be relying on youth at almost every spot. Still a year a way from making any kind of noise. Loss of Rocco Baldelli for a good part of the season hurts. The retirement of Bautista and Alomar do not hurt. Dare I say that they may be on the right track, for once?
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