The Race Has Begun in the AL EAST

With spring training less than a month away, it is time for some fun predictions in the loaded American League East. At this point in time last year, it was a two-team race between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. That is not the case for this year.

The Tampa Bay Rays made their mark on the field last year. Not only did they make it to the World Series, first time in franchise history, but they also won the AL East, also a first.

In doing so, they became the first team not named Yankees or Red Sox to win the division since the Baltimore Orioles in 1997.

With all that said, picking a team to win the East just seems to be getting harder. It’s almost as hard as picking who is the number one team in football.

We will start with the defending champs the Rays. Man does that sound weird to say. You can make a strong case for them to repeat this with all that talent they have. They play baseball the way it is meant to be played, stealing bases and making all the defensive plays.

They return almost everybody from last year’s team which could mean big things for this young team. David Price will also be a big help for the pitching staff. He has maybe the livest arms in the league. In his second full season you can expect big numbers again from Evan Longoria.

Not to mention their coach and what a great job he has done. He has made them into a force that nobody wants to deal with. They have speed everywhere and power to go along with it.

The Boston Red Sox are still a powerhouse in the American League. Even without Manny, they made the playoffs and looked just as good with him. Terry Francona is one of the best managers in the entire league. They have great young talent all over the field like the Rays.

Boston has one of the best if not best closers in the game in Jonathan Papelbon. They also have an excellent starting rotation.

Their offense is just as good as any other team in the AL East. Any time you have speed at the top of your lineup and power all the way down like them you are going to hard time getting outs. Dustin Pedroia may be their most dangerous hitters in the lineup he has speed and power. Not to mention he always puts the ball in play.     

The New York Yankees are always considered in the hunt every year. With the lineup that they can put out there everyday, there is no reason to count them out of it. With the addition of Big Tex to their lineup, they got that much stronger.

The Yankees have always been known as a power hitting team which will be the case again this year. One bad thing is that they are getting older while the other teams are young.

Their pitching staff should not be a problem for them this with the additions of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. They will help out a pitching staff that had its fair share of struggles last season. The Yankees also have one of the best closers in the game in Rivera.

They do need to get a little bullpen help to close out games also, which they will get, knowing how the owner and his sons like to spend money.  

With all three of these teams being so good, this will be a fun and exciting year for the American League East.