2006 Predictions = AL East

Finally the AL East. The home of the greatest franchise in sports history, the New York Yankees. The Yankees though are in a little bit of a title drought as they haven't won the World Series since 2000. We Yankee fans are hungry for our 27th world title. Will this be the year? Well, they have a tough division to contend with. A newly improved Toronto Blue Jays. Baltimore's pitching staff gets a boost from Leo Mazzone. The Devil Rays are on the rise. And the Red Sox, well, they're the Red Sox. As much as I hate to say it, they're always a tough foe. This year shouldn't be any different......
1)New York Yankees: Now I'm not picking the Yanks to win the division because I'm a Yankee homer. I actually believe they have an offense that is second to none, a bullpen that is greatly improved over seasons past, and a deep rotation that provides many options in case of injury. With the addition of Johnny Damon, the Yankees lineup consists of 5 of the top 12 leaders in runs scored for 2005, 3 of the top 4, and the top 2. That's pretty impressive. It's very possible the Bombers will break the 1000 run mark. The one hole they had going into the offseason was filled when Damon signed. He brings a bonafide leadoff hitter to the lineup and that allows Jeter to take the 2 spot, a position in the order he is better suited for. Randy Johnson had an impressive spring and any problems with his mechanics seemed to have been corrected. Their bullpen is greatly improved and everyone knows that Rivera is the game's best closer. You can't argue with that. There are enough arms in the rotation that any injury shouldn't hurt too badly. If they didn't have such a cold start in 2005, they would have easily run away with the division. They've improved themselves with the offseason acquisitions and should win the division again, for the 9th straight year.
2)Boston Red Sox: As much as I want to pick them to finish behind the Blue Jays, I can't. For that to happen, several things have to go Boston's way. Coco Crisp needs to provide enough punch that losing Johnny Damon won't sting as much. Beckett needs to avoid blister problems. Schilling and Foulke need to bounce back. And Manny needs to avoid his yearly "trade me" request. Enough will go right to outlast the Jays, but not enough to catch the Yankees. Their offense will suffer with the loss of Damon.
3)Toronto Blue Jays: Toronto did a total offseason overhaul and have made themselves a legitimate contender. But being in the AL East, they have a lot to contend with. Halladay, if healthy, can easily run away with the Cy Young award. Glaus, Overbay, and Molina bring a lot of added punch to the line-up. I wonder about the pitching staff with the exception of Halladay. Will Chacin have another good year? Can Burnett be more than a .500 pitcher? How will Ryan do? These questions, and others, can only be answered through the course of the season and the Jays will be lucky to get favorable answers for each question. They'll miss O-Dog's glove and range.
4)Baltimore Orioles: I'd be lying if I said the Baltimore Orioles didn't scare me. They started off well enough last year to show any doubters that they do have the potential to win. Bringing in Leo Mazzone as pitching coach scares me even more. With his guidance, the sky could be the limit for Daniel Cabrera, Erik Bedard and Rodrigo Lopez. Mazzone has had enough success stories that dominating performances are not of the question for the Orioles. The O's could make a splash, but still don't have enough to battle the Yanks and Red Sox. The biggest question in Baltimore is what's going to happen to Anna Benson?
5)Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The division bottom feeders since their inaugural season will likely again end up on the bottom looking up. They aren't though anything to scoff at. A new GM, new manager and plenty of young talent acquired through the years will make the D-Rays a team to be reckoned with....in a year or two. They have loads of young talent, some of which are still lingering down in AAA. Integrating Gathright into the lineup as an everyday player will add to the Rays success. Look for a big year from Jonny Gomes. When Delmon Young and BJ Upton arrive on the scene, the rest of the league will be taking notice.
Opening Day is tomorrow night. At long last, baseball is back. Prior to the game tomorrow, I'll post my postseason predictions. Who will win the wild card? Who'll win the pennant and ultimately the World Series? Cy Young? MVP? Rookies and Managers of the Year? All that answered sometime tomorrow. I hope you come back to check it out.
Peace. See ya later. Later. Later. Later alligator. (Bonus points to anyone who can name the song that lyric is from)
J