As we come to the end of this series about the contenders in baseball, we head to the division with the best winning percentage in the league, the American League East. This division seems to get the most coverage every year by the major media outlets, and it probably should since a team from the AL East has played in four of the last six World Series. It's the division with the two most recognized teams in baseball, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and one of the most exciting young teams in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays. And as we head towards the postseason, this looks like another year where a team from the AL East could be headed for the World Series.
New York Yankees: When the Yankees spent so much money on free agents in the offseason, many people speculated about how the organization was continuing to throw money at big name players without really addressing their problems. Well, it looks like it worked this time. The offseason signings of C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have worked out brilliantly and the Yankees seem to be pulling away from everyone else in the American League East. As everyone around baseball knows, a World Series championship is the only standard of success for the Yankees, but this team certainly appears to have all the tools to accomplish that goal.
If I had a vote for the American League MVP award, it would go to Mark Teixeira. People can talk bad about his decision to take the money and play in New York, but Big Tex can flat out play. He's hitting .288 with 33 home runs and 93 RBI's, and he's probably going to win another gold glove at first base. He's been a consistent performer for this team and he's just what they needed, someone to come in and produce on the offensive and defensive end and lead by hustling on the field. Derek Jeter is the unquestioned leader of this team, but the addition of Teixeira has been key in taking the spotlight away from Alex Rodriguez and keeping distractions at a minimum. If Teixeira can continue his outstanding play in the postseason, the Yankees have a great chance at making it to another World Series. He has so much protection in that potent lineup that pitchers are forced to deal with him, or take their chances with the other dangerous hitters sitting behind him. He's done a great job of dealing with the pressure that comes with playing in New York during the regular season; let's see how he handles the postseason.
When I look at this team, the only potential weakness I see would be the starting pitching. C.C. Sabathia has been very good, with a 15-7 record and a 3.59 ERA, but the other starting pitchers haven't been quite as strong. A.J. Burnett and Joba Chamberlain have struggled at various times
during the season, and Andy Pettitte has provided consistency but nothing overwhelming. When the Yankees get to the playoffs, they'll need at least one of those three to step up and deliver a string of quality starts. Their offense will score runs, but probably not in the same way they have in the regular season, and quality pitching will become even more important. The starting pitchers need to be able to go deep into games and protect the bullpen, which will make Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera even more effective. And an effective Mariano Rivera usually means playoff success for the Yankees.
Boston Red Sox: Lately, all we hear about the Red Sox is how many problems they have. It says something about the standard of excellence you've set when everyone is criticizing your team and you're 18 games over .500 and have the fifth best record in baseball. However, this is certainly a different team in Boston than what we've become accustomed to seeing over the past few years and they don't appear to be nearly as dominant and playoff ready. They still have time to get some of their problems sorted out, but after losing two convincing series to the Yankees in the past three weeks, the folks in Fenway have reason to be concerned.
The biggest problem I see with this team is the depth of the pitching staff. After a rocky start to the season, Jon Lester has been great and I think he's become the anchor of that staff. And Josh Beckett has been very good, even though he got rocked by the Yankees this past weekend. But after those two guys, the Red Sox can't seem to find anyone to step up as a starter. Everyone thought the signing of John Smoltz would be a great fit in Boston, and it turned out to be a disaster. The signing of Brad Penny seemed questionable, and it hasn't turned out well either. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been rendered useless due to injury. Tim Wakefield was pitching wonderfully until an injury sidelined him for the past month. And Clay Buchholz shows signs of becoming a great pitcher, but can't seem to put it all together yet. So when people express concern about the Red Sox and their chances this season, it's because starting pitching is the one area where you can least afford to be struggling. Bad starting pitching gets you behind early in games, which takes you out of your gameplan, and it also eats into your bullpen, which makes those pitchers much less effective when they can't be brought in for particular situations or against certain batters. Still, the thing that makes this Boston team so dangerous is the fact that all of these guys have been here before. If they can create some momentum and get their starting pitching headed in the right direction, it seems like the Red Sox can take it to another level once they get to the postseason.
Tampa Bay Rays: I love how many of the early projections for this season had the Rays winning the World Series. For some reason, people think that if a young team has a great year and they don't lose many pieces from that team, then they'll be even better the next season; which, for the Rays, meant winning the whole thing. If everything were that simple. This is a team that caught everyone by surprise last year and they quickly became the feel good story in baseball. The unorthodox coaching methods of Joe Maddon and their incredible display of power and speed made them an exciting team to watch and an easy team to pull for. However, all the attention they received last season created enormous expectations for this season, and they're a team that will no longer sneak up on anyone.
Let's be honest, the Rays have had a good year. They have a 68-56 record, they had five players on the All-Star team (including the MVP), and they're only three games behind Boston for the Wild Card spot. But, by their own standards, they'd probably say they've underachieved. Their record on the road has been terrible at 26-35, and they're the one contending American League team with a losing record against left-handed pitching. After being quite lucky last season in not having to deal with major injuries, they've been forced to move players around this year and deal with season ending injuries. And, in my opinion, the bullpen hasn't been anywhere near as good as it was last year. Grant Balfour was much better last season as an 8th inning guy, and they were able to use J.P. Howell in particular situations before turning the game over to Troy Percival in the 9th. This season, Balfour has been marginally effective and Troy Percival has been awful, which meant moving J.P. Howell to the closer's role (where he's done very well) and leaving a void in their group of middle relievers. I think Chad Bradford and Dan Wheeler could be key pieces in strengthening the Rays bullpen, and that improvement in the bullpen could be the key to getting them back to the playoffs.
Prediction: I think the Rays will run out of magic and struggle against all the quality teams on the remainder of their schedule. I like the Red Sox to win the Wild Card, and we'll see what happens from there. If they get to play the Angels in the ALDS, it will be interesting to see if Los Angeles can get over the mental hump of beating Boston in the playoffs. And the Yankees are running away with this division. They'll win the American League East and I think they'll win the American League.
Recap: According to me, the American League playoff teams will be New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In the National league, we'll have Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Colorado. Certainly some proud franchises in both leagues! I'm taking the Yankees to be the representative from the American League and I'm going to take the Cardinals in the National League (but Philadelphia wouldn't surprise me at all). We'll see how good or how ridiculous my predictions look in a few weeks, and it should be an exciting end to the season. Feel free to leave your own predictions or offer any opinions about my own picks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment