AL East Smack talk 2014

[obxyankeefan]

Well, there could be some surpising orders. How about this:

Baltimore
Toronto
New York
Tampa
Boston

Lots of ifs here:
Manny Machado quickly matures into what most of us think he can be.
Ubaldo Jiminez learns to be consistent
Chris Davis keeps up with last year's pace
Nelson Cruz has a 35/100 season
I learn how to spell

I can see the O's winning the division

 

[bksballer89]

Well, there could be some surpising orders. How about this:

Baltimore
Toronto
New York
Tampa
Boston

This will never happened unless NY and Boston suffer some significant injuries.

 

[bksballer89]

Yankees starting pitching looking good in ST

 

[bksballer89]

This yankees starting pitching look pretty scary

 

[obxyankeefan]

Richard Justice: AL East will again be MLB's powerhouse division | MLB.com: News


Interesting that he doesn't give the Blue jays any chance, but does say it would not be a surprise if any of the other four won.

 

[steveringo]

Richard Justice: AL East will again be MLB's powerhouse division | MLB.com: News


Interesting that he doesn't give the Blue jays any chance, but does say it would not be a surprise if any of the other four won.

I like the "They'll be rolling if" sections...

Tampa
The rotation rolls out the quality starts. That front four of Price, Cobb, Moore and Archer could carry the Rays right to the postseason, and if Jeremy Hellickson returns and pitches at a high level, Tampa Bay could sprint right into October

Boston
Buchholz makes 30 starts, Middlebrooks has a breakthrough season and rookie shortstop Xander Bogaerts is as good as he's projected to be. In short, this is a very solid club with a winning vibe. The Red Sox will be tough to beat

Baltimore
Jimenez pitches the way he did in the second half of last season for the Indians. With Chris Tillman, Gonzalez and Jimenez at the top of the rotation, the Orioles might have enough pitching to hang with the division leaders

New York
Jeter, Teixeira and Sabathia have roll-back-the-clock seasons. All three of them have passed every test in Spring Training and seem confident they'll have healthy, productive seasons. But the real answers to the questions surrounding them won't be known until the season plays out over the weeks and months ahead

Toronto
A group of competent starters emerge. Hutchison has front-of-the-rotation stuff, and with all their offensive firepower, the Blue Jays might not need great starting pitching to hang in the race. But it has to be better than it was last season.

I'm still not sold on Baltimore's pitching. I'd probably list the Yankees ahead of them...

 

[obxyankeefan]

I like the "They'll be rolling if" sections...



I'm still not sold on Baltimore's pitching. I'd probably list the Yankees ahead of them...

If I were to pick an order, I would have Baltimore in last because I think they have more questions than any other team. Those questions start with the pitchers.

 

[molsaniceman]

Sox
Rays
Yanks
Os
Jays

 

[Nyfan1980]

I think Dellin Betances will be the Yankees secret weapon in the bullpen this season and may end up the 8th inning man. Guy can throw 99 MPH and has that slurve. Looked great this spring, has been a different pitcher as a RP, was a mess as a SP. Betances will make the team, he has to after dominating spring.


Michael Pineda officially won the 5th spot, has looked really good this spring. Good feel good story about how he has came back. Came to the Yankees overweight, ended up needing shoulder surgery, now is a much more mature person and has dedicated himself to his craft. Interested to see how he does this year.

1-CC Sabathia
2-Hiroki Kuroda
3-IvanNova
4-Masahiro Tanaka
5-Michael Pineda

That is what the Yankees are going with. Tanaka is the 4th starter due to them wanting to split Kuroda and him up since they are similar pitchers.

 

[steveringo]

I think Dellin Betances will be the Yankees secret weapon in the bullpen this season and may end up the 8th inning man. Guy can throw 99 MPH and has that slurve. Looked great this spring, has been a different pitcher as a RP, was a mess as a SP. Betances will make the team, he has to after dominating spring.


Michael Pineda officially won the 5th spot, has looked really good this spring. Good feel good story about how he has came back. Came to the Yankees overweight, ended up needing shoulder surgery, now is a much more mature person and has dedicated himself to his craft. Interested to see how he does this year.

1-CC Sabathia
2-Hiroki Kuroda
3-IvanNova
4-Masahiro Tanaka
5-Michael Pineda

That is what the Yankees are going with. Tanaka is the 4th starter due to them wanting to split Kuroda and him up since they are similar pitchers.

What is the word on Phelps? He looks to be having a nice spring, too...

 

[Nyfan1980]

What is the word on Phelps? He looks to be having a nice spring, too...

He'll end up in the bullpen.

 

[bksballer89]

Richard Justice: AL East will again be MLB's powerhouse division | MLB.com: News


Interesting that he doesn't give the Blue jays any chance, but does say it would not be a surprise if any of the other four won.

Can you blame him? They're the only team who hasn't done shit in the last 5 or 6 years

 

[obxyankeefan]

Can you blame him? They're the only team who hasn't done shit in the last 5 or 6 years

Last year the Jays were the sexy pick. With basically the same team, everyone is writing them off this year.

 

[navamind]

Last year the Jays were the sexy pick. With basically the same team, everyone is writing them off this year.

I don't think they'll make the playoffs, but I think the Jays will be a lot better. Especially if they're much healthier than last year. Rotation can't be any worse than it was last year.

In a way, they're kind of like the 2012 Red Sox. Just about everything that could go wrong for them did. A lot of room for improvement. Granted the Jays haven't had the offseason that the Sox did last winter.

 

[bstn8tive24]

No, it goes like this:

Sox
Sox
Sox
Sox
Sox
.........yup I'd say that's about right !!

 

[navamind]

No, it goes like this:

Sox
Sox
Sox
Sox
Sox
.........yup I'd say that's about right !!

 

[CSD]

In all seriousness, it should be a pretty crazy season. There really isn't a team that stands out between the Sox, Yanks, and Rays. O's and Jays aren't exactly cupcakes either. Literally everything that could go wrong for the Jays last year did (though I guess that's been the story for about a decade or so now). Rotation still leaves a lot to be desired, but it can't be any worse. They should score plenty of runs.

The Rays suck. Quality rotation with no offense, plus they only win at home. Shitty team IMO.

The Yankees need more young studs on the team. Age is showing on guys like Jeter and CC. I do foresee a deep playoff run this season for the Bronx Bombers.

The Jays have no team chemistry, lots of talent but no chemistry. They'll finish in 4th or last place again.

The homeless looking slobs from Boston will probably win the wild card since the Yanks will have an 8 game lead by September 20th.

The O's are still in rebuilding phase but definitely going in the right direction. I enjoy going to Camden Yards every year to watch my Yankees win.

This thread has a very high potential....

I agree.

 

[bksballer89]

someone needs to sticky this already.

 

[CSD]

Daily posts will keep it sticky.

 

[navamind]

The Rays suck. Quality rotation with no offense, plus they only win at home. Shitty team IMO.

The Yankees need more young studs on the team. Age is showing on guys like Jeter and CC. I do foresee a deep playoff run this season for the Bronx Bombers.

The Jays have no team chemistry, lots of talent but no chemistry. They'll finish in 4th or last place again.

The homeless looking slobs from Boston will probably win the wild card since the Yanks will have an 8 game lead by September 20th.

The O's are still in rebuilding phase but definitely going in the right direction. I enjoy going to Camden Yards every year to watch my Yankees win.






I agree.

Lurk more, post less.

I like that you call the rays offense shitty, but you don't say the same thing about the yankees offense. The same offense that was 10th in the AL in runs and 13th in OPS and lost a 2nd baseman with an OPS+ of 145 last year.