1. Boston Red Sox: Call me biased, but remember that last year I picked New York as number one in the East. I look at the Sox and I see the best starting rotation in the division (maybe the league) and now, finally, a stopper at the back-end of the bullpen in Jonathan Papelbon. Manny’s going to produce even more than normal with J.D. Drew protecting him in the lineup, and of course David Ortiz is going to make yet another run at the league MVP. Unless the Sox see a catastrophic rash of injuries like they did in ‘06, things are looking good in Beantown.
2. New York Yankees: Still the most potent offense in the league, the Yankees have proven the last two post-seasons what a team really needs to make it far into October - namely, pitching. They’ll still beat up on a lot of teams in the American League, and they’ve got a shot at the Wild Card (though the AL Central is looking really strong, too), but I expect to see a mid-season move for a starter if the Yankees hope to make an impact in the playoffs.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: The strong offense was improved with the addition of Frank Thomas, but they lost some big names on both sides this offseason (Ted Lilly, Bengie Molina, Frank Catalanotto). Still, Roy Halladay is a perennial Cy Young contender and A.J. Burnett has a ton of talent, while B.J. Ryan was almost as good a closer as Papelbon last year. They don’t have the winning mind-set the Sox and Yankees do, but if either team stumbles, the Jays are ready to jump ahead in the division (as they did in ‘06 by overcoming the ailing Sox to take second-place).
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: I gotta tell you, I love the D-Rays. I’m a Sox fan through-and-through, but Tampa Bay is an extremely talented young team with one of the best young starters in the league (Scott Kazmir) and some of the most exciting offensive players around (Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Akinori Iwamura). Whenever they’re not playing the Sox, I’m always rooting for the Rays to do well, and that’s not going to change this year as I’m taking them over the Orioles in the AL East.
5. Baltimore Orioles: Baltimore looks like a team that could take the division… in the 2005 NL West, perhaps. The Orioles certainly have some talent in Miguel Tejada, Nick Markakis, and new acquisition Aubrey Huff, but it’s just not going to be enough to succeed in this the toughest division in baseball. Tradition says they will take fourth in the East once again, but I really think Tampa Bay has the advantage in 2007.
1. Boston Red Sox: Call me biased, but remember that last year I picked New York as number one in the East. I look at the Sox and I see the best starting rotation in the division (maybe the league) and now, finally, a stopper at the back-end of the bullpen in Jonathan Papelbon. Manny’s going to produce even more than normal with J.D. Drew protecting him in the lineup, and of course David Ortiz is going to make yet another run at the league MVP. Unless the Sox see a catastrophic rash of injuries like they did in ‘06, things are looking good in Beantown.
2. New York Yankees: Still the most potent offense in the league, the Yankees have proven the last two post-seasons what a team really needs to make it far into October - namely, pitching. They’ll still beat up on a lot of teams in the American League, and they’ve got a shot at the Wild Card (though the AL Central is looking really strong, too), but I expect to see a mid-season move for a starter if the Yankees hope to make an impact in the playoffs.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: The strong offense was improved with the addition of Frank Thomas, but they lost some big names on both sides this offseason (Ted Lilly, Bengie Molina, Frank Catalanotto). Still, Roy Halladay is a perennial Cy Young contender and A.J. Burnett has a ton of talent, while B.J. Ryan was almost as good a closer as Papelbon last year. They don’t have the winning mind-set the Sox and Yankees do, but if either team stumbles, the Jays are ready to jump ahead in the division (as they did in ‘06 by overcoming the ailing Sox to take second-place).
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: I gotta tell you, I love the D-Rays. I’m a Sox fan through-and-through, but Tampa Bay is an extremely talented young team with one of the best young starters in the league (Scott Kazmir) and some of the most exciting offensive players around (Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Akinori Iwamura). Whenever they’re not playing the Sox, I’m always rooting for the Rays to do well, and that’s not going to change this year as I’m taking them over the Orioles in the AL East.
5. Baltimore Orioles: Baltimore looks like a team that could take the division… in the 2005 NL West, perhaps. The Orioles certainly have some talent in Miguel Tejada, Nick Markakis, and new acquisition Aubrey Huff, but it’s just not going to be enough to succeed in this the toughest division in baseball. Tradition says they will take fourth in the East once again, but I really think Tampa Bay has the advantage in 2007.
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