AL East Preview

I am now beginning the previews of all the divisions and then an overall look at the Milwaukee Brewers pitchers/position players.  I will highlight their key acquisitions, a player I like, player I hate, and finally a prediction for the upcoming season.

1. New York Yankees- KEY ACQ: OF Curtis Granderson, DH Nick Johnson, SP Javier Vasquez  I LIKE: Granderson: Numbers were down last year, but now gets the benefits of playing at Yankee Stadium I HATE: A.J. Burnett: Ton of innings last year and the year before, are we all ready for the headline "Burnett Goes Down with an Elbow Injury."  PREDICTION: The Yanks will win the AL East by a small margin, but I think they will find themselves in the World Series for a second straight year. 

2. Boston Red Sox- KEY ACQ: SP John Lackey, OF Mike Cameron, 3B Adrian Beltre, SS Marco Scutero I LIKE: Victor Martinez:  He has been a consistent player for years, he will benefit being in-between Pedoria/Youk.  I HATE: Lackey:  Everything I am hearing about him doesn't sound good, risky arm, and poor stats in Fenway.  PREDICTION: The Sox will be the Wild Card and the second best team in American League. They will fall to the Yankees in a seven-game classic this coming October. 

3. Tampa Bay Rays- KEY ACQ: RP Rafael Soriano I LIKE: David Price- Now a main stay in the rotation, I think there is no stopping him from having a great season.  I HATE: Pat Burrell- Obvious choice, but seriously he doesn't belong in a lineup.  PREDICTION: They will push the Sox for that Wild Card and fall off just slightly. In my opinion, the three best teams in the American League reside in the AL East.  

4. Baltimore Orioles- KEY ACQ: 3B Miguel Tejada SP Kevin Millwood RP Mike Gonzalez  I LIKE: Matt Wieters- I think he will live up to the hype and have a great season, I bet he hits three or four by July  I HATE: Tejada- I like the fact he moved to third but let's face it, hasn't been the same since roids'.  PREDICTION: I think they could finish as high as third in another division and they have a ton of young talent who will grow.  This is a team I think will be tougher come August/September.  

5. Toronto Blue Jays- KEY ACQ: SP Brendan Morrow  I LIKE: Ricky Romero- Young guy who had a pretty strong rookie campaign, will get better.  I HATE: Vernon Wells- Might be in some trade rumors come July, but I think he will have a sub-par year.   PREDICTION: It will not be a pretty one for the Jays as A.H. (After Halladay) begins and they have somewhat of an offense, but I would expect a 10 to 15 win drop off at least.

-Charlie.

Los Angeles' Answer.

The Los Angeles Dodgers knew that they had to make a move with the Philadelphia Phillies trading for Cliff Lee and they have deliver that answer with dealing for Baltimore Orioles' George Sherrill for a couple of prospects.

My thoughts on this one is the Dodgers did a great job at getting a solid reliever who will be their closer right now and then their eight inning guy when Jonathan Broxton comes back from injury. Sherrill has had a good year so far with twenty saves and a 2.43 ERA plus he throws from the left side making him more deadly. Baltimore has Jim Johnson who can be the closer for the Orioles and they didnt really give away a cornerstone. It was a very smart idea for the Orioles to deal Sherrill.

The one thing I didnt know about the Dodgers is the fact that they are the second highest bullpen innings in the league which is something to raise concerns. Los Angeles is going to need big innings out of guys like Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Hiroki Kuroda. If their bullpen begins to get over worked you have to worry about the Dodgers in September.

-Charlie.