Staff picks for the AL East

Brett M. Rhyne

With the baseball season practically upon us—you forgot it was almost April, didn’t you? This has been a very long winter—it behooves us to offer our picks for the AL East, the most dramatic and entertaining division in the big leagues, thanks in no small part due to the fact that it serves as home to both our beloved Boston Red Sox and the dreaded New York Yankees. I’ll start:

1. New York Yankees: The best team money can buy got better this off-season with a quarter-billion dollars in new acquisitions, and that doesn't even include the inevitable mid-season signing of this year's Best Starting Pitcher Available, Pedro Martínez. He will, of course, be a bust, but live arms CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett should carry the Yank-me's into the post-season. Sure, the lineup and defense have more holes than Roger Clemens' story, but once A-Roid returns, he and opposite number Mark Teixiera—the best three-four punch since, well, Manny Ortiz—and stalwart Derek Jeter will supply enough wood and leather for the Evil Empire to capture the flag.
   
   
2. Tampa Bay Rays: Last year was no fluke. The Rays will continue to compete, largely on the strength of their superlative young starting pitching and the offense of their young talents, Evan “Desperate Housewife” Longoria and Carlos “Why Can't The Red Sox Get Players Like That?” Peña, as well as other young standouts like Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, etc. etc. Did I mention they were young? The Tropicana Dome will be the Rays' secret weapon and the bullpen will be their Achilles heel, and it would be no surprise if they end up with the best home record and the worst road record in the league. Still, they have the talent—and now, the experience—to take the wild card.
   
   
3. Toronto Blue Jays: Just as our neighbor to the north is suffering more than we are during this economic downturn, so too is Canada's lone representative in Major League Baseball. The weakness of the Canadian dollar severely hinders the ability of Jays' management to assemble—through the market or the farm—a competitive team. They'll be lucky to finish 10 games below .500. Still, they’re more fun to watch than Baltimore, if for no other reason than they, not the Orioles, now have Kevin Millar at first base. Before the season's end, the Jays will be candidates for relocation or contraction.
   
   
4. Baltimore Orioles: At least they have snazzy uniforms; and, as far as the rest of the division is concerned, no more Erik Bedard to pitch a good game once in a while. The Birds will continue to nest among the dregs of the Junior Circuit.
   
   
5. Boston Red Sox: 2009 may well become known as the Year of the Great Collapse. Predictably fine years from homegrown talents Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon, as well as imports Jason Bay and setup man Ramon Ramirez, will get the Old Towne Team off to a good start. As the season progresses, though, centerfielder/leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury will continue to fail to live up to expectations, necessitating his getting dropped to the ninth slot in the lineup. Whoever thought we'd miss Coco Crisp? Likewise with Jed Lowrie, whose ongoing troubles at the plate will affect his defense and have us pining for (choose one): (a) Julio Lugo; (b) Alex Gonzalez; (c) Edgar Renteria; (d) Nomar Garciaparra; (e) any of the above. In every one of the hundred or so games that he plays, JD Drew—one of this writer’s favorites—will go 1-4 with two walks, simultaneously raising his OBP while lowering his BA. Aging vets Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz will initially rebound from off years/injuries, but all three will break down by August, with no comparable substitutes in sight. Starter Josh Beckett will suffer his usual assortment of blisters, strains and pulls, thereby limiting his contribution, while Dice-K Matsuzaka will simultaneously own one of the league’s lowest ERAs and highest WHIPs. Tim Wakefield—another favorite—will lose as many games as he wins, and neither will be in double digits. The fifth spot will be a work in progress, with candidates including underperforming wunderkind Clay Buchholz and losing gambles Brad Penny and John Smoltz. Ultimately, sinkerballer Justin Masterson is moved out of the bullpen, weakening an already unreliable middle-relief corps. The Sox jump out to an early season lead in the standings, but fade down the stretch, falling behind first the Yankees, then the Rays, Jays and O’s. Oh, and the consecutive-game home sellout streak ends, too, shortly after the All Star Break, as the team tumbles.