As the Red Sox are finally ready to begin their regular season and their quest for a World Series title, we present you with our final picks for the AL East. We have already predicted the AL West and AL Central, now it is the time to really show our expertise. Not surprisingly, we have some similar views on the Red Sox, but each of our Divisional MVP is different, and we have some differing thoughts on the final standings for the AL East. This is also a special edition, because it includes our post-season picks, beginning with the ALDS series’, on through to the World Series match-ups and the winner. Today is a big day in Red Sox nation and marks the official beginning to my favorite time of year, baseball season. There may be snow on the ground in Boston, but today is the unofficial beginning of summer. Enjoy, and as always, leave us a comment with your picks for the division and why you chose them.
Predicted Standings:
Derek:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees (AL Wild Card)
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays
Rick:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Tampa Bay Rays
Brian:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees (AL Wild Card)
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Divisional MVP:
Derek:
Rick:
Brian:
Explantations:
Derek:
My favorite sports talk show host predicted the Yankees would win the division and beat the Red Sox in the ALCS. I was so mad I changed the station. The Yankees don’t have the rotation the Red Sox have, although they do have an explosive offense. In the end, there are too many question marks surrounding the Yankees and their starting pitching. I don’t think A.J. Burnett is a legitimate number two starter and after that there’s just too many uncertainty. Is Phil Hughes able to put together a complete season? Who do they depend on for the 4 and 5 starters? Can Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez resurrect their careers? Too much uncertainty and wishful thinking that all the above mentioned miraculously have breakout and turnaround years. I think A-Rod will put up MVP numbers and Jeter will have a bounce back season in his own right, but in the end a wildly explosive offense and a pitching staff led by Lester will lead the Red Sox to the division. Can they win 100 games? IF, and it’s a big IF, Josh Beckett can rebound and regain his dominant form and win 15 games then yes the Red Sox will win 100 games. If Beckett struggles again, I think the ball club will finish with around 97 wins.
Rick:
The Red Sox have too much depth to not win this division. Everyone has talked about how the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez have made the Sox the team to beat. The key to this season will come down to the pitching. Both the starting rotation and bullpen must produce. The question marks are, will Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon be effective again. The Sox need to let Jason Varitek be Beckett’s primary catcher. I think they have a chemistry that works for both. Beckett needs to gain his confidence back and who better but the Captain to help him get there. With their speed and power, this is going to be a dynamic offense that is going to score a ton of runs. Don’t count the Yankees out of this just yet. Alex Rodriguez has found the fountain of youth this spring and looks stronger than he has in a few years. Robinson Cano will continue to grow and will be in the conversation of MVP talks at the end of the year. If they fail to win the division then I expect them to be sitting home watching the play offs this year. This division is most improved and wins are going to be tough to come by with the unbalanced schedule. They do have the best bullpen in the division, the only question being, will the starters last long enough to give them a chance to be a factor. The Baltimore Orioles are the most improved team in the division. The addition of Vladimir Guerrero, Marc Reynolds and Derrek Lee makes this a much improved offense. Adam Jones and Luke Scott are only going to get better. Is this the year Matt Wieters demonstrates why he was the number 1 pick in the draft a few years ago? Brian Roberts is the key to this teams’ success. When healthy he is one of the best lead-off man in the game, but staying healthy has not come easy. Buck Showalter did a phenomenal job with these young pitchers at the end of last year, lets see if that rolls over to wins to start this year. If it does watch for these O’s to make the Yankees life difficult this year. The Toronto Blue Jays are going to regret trading Shawn Marcum and Vernon Wells this off season. Who is going to protect Jose Bautista now with the absence of Wells? Shawn Marcum is one of the promising young pitchers in the game today. Who is going to replace his 195 innings and 13 wins? I predict that this will not be the Tampa Bay Rays finest moments. Yes they still have the best starting rotation in the division, but the bullpen was disseminated this off season. With only J.P Howell to count on from the bullpen, they are sorely going to miss Rafael Soriano and Dan Wheeler this year. Evan Longoria will be the starting third baseman for the All Star team. Manny Ramirez looks primed for a comeback this spring, wonder how long that will last if this team starts losing.
Brian:
I am in complete agreement with Derek on this one, but have a different feeling on overall wins. The Red Sox on paper are the best team in the division, that is nearly impossible to dispute. They have added incredible hitting power and speed in Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford respectively, as well as a healthy pitching staff, making them a serious contender. There are certainly questions with Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and whether they will regain their confidence and dominance on the mound, but even if they struggle, the team is in better shape than the Yankees rotation. I don’t doubt Brian Cashman will go out and find another starting pitcher to add to his staff, likely before the All-Star break unless they happen to get lucky with Freddy Garcia, but the Yankees offense will win them a ton of games on their own, regardless. They will keep the divisional race tight until the end. The Rays lost their entire bullpen and a few key offensive pieces, making them a much weaker team in 2011. They were only divisional champs last year because they got some surprise performances from a few relievers, mainly Joaquin Benoit, and in order to repeat that this year, they are going to be asking a lot from some unknown and unproven arms. If they strike gold 2 years in a row, this will be a tight 3-team race once again. The division will be as strong as it ever has been, with Toronto hitting home runs every other at-bat and the Orioles with a much improved offense and some maturing young pitchers. My Divisional MVP will be the most complete hitter on the most complete team, Adrian Gonzalez. The three of us don’t agree on that one, but all 3 options are great picks. Ultimately, the Red Sox will win 95 or 96 games and the Yankees will be in the 91 to 93 win range as the AL Wild Card. The Rays will compete for a bit, but then fall out of the race in August, with a high-80’s win total. I do think all 5 teams will be within 25 games this year, which will make the head-to-head matchups tough on a daily basis. For those of you thinking the Red Sox will win 100 games, think again. Not in the stacked AL East.
Now onto our Post-season picks…
ALDS Picks:
Derek:
Boston vs. Minnesota – Boston Wins
Texas vs. New York – New York Wins
Rick:
Boston vs. Detroit – Boston Wins
Chicago vs. Los Angeles – Chicago Wins
Brian:
Boston vs. Minnesota – Boston Wins
Texas vs. New York – New York Wins
ALCS Picks:
Derek:
Boston vs. New York – Boston Wins
Rick:
Boston vs. Chicago – Boston Wins
Brian:
Boston vs. New York – Boston Wins
World Series Picks:
Derek:
Boston vs. Philadelphia – Boston Wins
Rick:
Boston vs. Atlanta – Boston Wins
Brian:
Boston vs. Los Angeles – Boston Wins
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