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| NYaT bloggers think that A-Gone is the key for the Sox (CBS) |
AL East
Ben W: Baseball's toughest division got tougher. No one team in the division can be taken lightly. Toronto has a young, but talented rotation. The Orioles should continue to improve as they did during the second-half of last year. The Rays also sport a young, but talented pitching staff. And then there are the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Red Sox clearly improved their offense and it is more than on par with the Yankees. I give the Red Sox the edge for the division because they are more established with their #2 starter. Red Sox.
Ben P: Maybe I'm a homer, but I think the Yankees are just as good as Boston. Both rotations have question marks, but I think the yanks have a deeper offense and a better bullpen, so I'll pick them to take it. The Sox will take the wild card. The Rays lost too much to compete at the same level but they still have a lot of youth and talent and will be hard to beat if their young pitching comes through. The Blue Jays and Orioles are also improved teams. It will be very hard for any team in this division to get 95 wins. Yankees.
Jay: Let's face it - Boston has a deeper starting rotation than New York. And they significantly upgraded their offense and defense by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Meanwhile, the Rays lost too many weapons in the offseason and the Yankees have too many holes in their starting rotation -- Nova/Garcia/Colon aren't going to get it done in the Bronx. The Red Sox smell like division champs with a shot at 100 wins. Red Sox.
Alex O: Gotta start here. Boston improved and is getting healthy but they also have an older Papi, and their starters are no more of a sure thing than the Yankees. Yanks have some good young blood in Montero and Banuelos to keep the old guard energized. I think Jeter will have a year closer to 2009 than 2010, but still hope Girardi has the stones to bat him second and lead off Gardner. Comparing Yankees and Red Sox I think starters (slight edge to Sox) and bullpen (slight edge to Yanks with Soriano addition and Paps not what he once was) are a wash. I give the line-up edge to the Yankees since I think their 3-4-5 of Tex, Arod, and Cano are best in mlb. Defense is not enough of a factor to change my mind that my very biased opinion is that the Yankees will win the AL East. An interesting side show will be watching Manny and Damon deal with Tampa---- I root for the rays since my folks live in that neck of the Earth, and wish TB all the best. Yankees.
Andrew: This is the Red Sox division to lose. They still need to be healthy and to get their starting pitching in order, but they acquired two of the best players in baseball this off-season and bolstered an already very good bullpen. But fortunately for the Yankees and Rays, divisions aren't won in the off-season. Unfortunately for the Yankees and Rays, they both have huge question marks on their teams--the Yankees in the back of their rotation and the Rays in the middle of their lineup. The Orioles pitching stinks but their hitting should be just as good as anyone in the AL East (I love Adam Jones to have a huge year) and the Blue Jays have a good young nucleus (H/T G-C). Since they almost won it last year even with all their injuries, I still think that this is the Red Sox division. Red Sox.
AL Central
Alex O: Gardenhire does such a great job every year it never is a surprise when the Twins win the division. It will be a surprise when they do not win this year----- I am picking the Cleveland Indians. The mistake on the lake gets a (division) winner. Good bullpen and Shin Soo-Choo (2nd best WAR in AL last year), and hopefully Carlos Santana will go back to his “Evil Ways” behind the plate. Plus they have Shelly Duncan who I always liked and Justin Masterson who was born in Kingston, Jamaica despite being the guy who looks the least like he was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Yes I realize this is a dark horse pick. I also hope Charlie Sheen starts showing up to games. Indians.
Jay: The White Sox have a stellar bullpen with Matt Thornton and Chris Sale, and some very good starters in John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Mark Buehrle. Having added Adam Dunn (to US Cellular Field, no less!) to an offense that already boasts Alex Rios, Paul Konerko, and Gordon Beckham (who is primed for a breakthrough), the White Sox are the favorites. White Sox.
Ben P: Minnesota just always finds a way to get it done. It seems like Morneau will be back and if they keep Liriano, they will be a very solid all-around team. The White Sox have a great lineup but none of their pitchers scare me. The Tigers are destined for another 500 year and the Indians and Royals are destined to be two of the AL's worst. Twins.
Ben W: The only thing certain about this division is that the Indians will finish 5th and the Royals will finish 4th. If Justin Morneau is recovered, then this division will once again go to the Twins. The White Sox are an improved team, having added Adam Dunn. The Tigers could go either way, depending on what they get out of their starters not named Justin Verlander. Twins.
Andrew: It's amazing how little respect the Twins get. They basically "added" Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau to a playoff team from 2010. I love the White Sox getting Adam Dunn and the Tigers getting Victor Martinez was a great pickup--but both of those teams have had good offenses the past few years and have failed to master the Twins (and the Tigers. I think this division will do a job on each other with Kansas City showing some improvement as well. Twins.
AL West
Ben W: The Oakland A's are one or two hitters away from being a real threat. They have a young pitching staff that should continue to improve and a solid bullpen with a dominant closer. The Texas Rangers will still be in contention, but they will probably miss Vlad's bat far more than Cliff Lee's arm. After all, the Rangers didn't get Cliff Lee until the middle of last season and he didn't really pitch great until the end of the season. A's.
Ben P: I think the Angels get back to their winning ways this year. Their pitching has a lot of deptch and if they get Morales back from the DL soon, their lineup should be strong enough. The Rangers has a fantastic lineup when its healthy, but I they need a lot of young pitchers to play well if they want to repeat. The A's has some very talented and promising young pitching which will allow them to compete, but that lineup wreaks of AAA. Besides for King Felix and Ichiro, the Mariners belong in AAA as well. Angels.
Alex O: Pitching, pitching, pitching. Nuf said. A's.
Jay: I like the Texas Rangers to repeat in the West. Their lineup is scary good, even though Josh Hamilton is bound to regress (thanks to his .390 BABIP last year). Adrian Beltre was a nice pickup, and they still have some great arms, including C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Neftali Feliz as the closer. I think Texas has just enough pitching to fend off the A's and their up-and-coming rotation. Rangers.
Andrew: I've gone back and forth in this division. Let's first eliminate two: I really don't like the Mariners or the Angels. I think the Angels had to have had the worst two back-to-back off-seasons in MLB history. I think the Mets did better than them. The Mariners stunk last year and there's no reason to think that without Cliff Lee they won't stink more this year. The Rangers added Adrian Beltre to an already potent and deep lineup--but I don't like the chances of their pitching staff holding up again. Instead, I'll go with the the team with the deep pitching staff and a bullpen that will be really deep once Andrew Bailey comes back from the DL. Their hitting isn't great but they have enough pieces they can pick up a bat at the trade deadline. A's.
AL Wild Card
Jay: The Yankees will get just enough offense out of a resurgent A-Rod, an aging Derek Jeter, and their core of Cano/Teixeira/Swisher/Granderson to eke out the Wild Card. Their downfall, as expected, will be the lack of starting pitching. CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes can only do so much, and there's little for the stellar bullpen to do if the Yankees don't have the lead. Yankees
Ben P: Red Sox
Alex O: Red Sox
Ben W: Yankees
Andrew: Here are the Yankees biggest threats to the Wild Card (of teams I didn't pick to win division): Rangers, White Sox, Tigers, and the Rays. Are you confident that any of those teams are markedly better than the Yankees? I think that Ivan Nova will be fine and the Yankees will find some pitcher at the deadline. The Rangers do scare, me, though, and much of this year feels like 2008. I'll still be a homer and go with my team. Yankees.
AL MVP
Ben W: Adrian Gonzalez should have a monster first year in Boston.
Ben P: A-Rod plays as close to a full season as Girardi lets him and gets his average back up towards .300 with plenty of homers and RBI's.
Jay: This stings, but Adrian Gonzalez's swing is tailor-made for Fenway Park, and his gaudy numbers will reflect that. Put those stats on a division winner and you have your 2011 AL MVP.
Alex O: Mark Texeira starts hot and never stops
Andrew: This is going to make people go crazy if it ever comes true, but I'm going with Adam Dunn. He should hit 50 bombs in that ballpark and if the team competes, it's going to be an interesting debate if a DH should really be eligible for MVP. I think he gets it.
AL Cy Young
Alex O: Trevor Cahill
Jay: King Felix's 2010 triumph notwithstanding, voters usually vote for pitchers who win a lot of games. The Red Sox will win a lot of games. If Jon Lester can avoid the slow start he suffered last year, he will take home his first Cy.
Ben P: Jon Lester is simply the most talented pitcher on all the AL contenders.
Ben W: Jon Lester. It's wrong to say that he's underrated but at times it certainly feels like he is.
Andrew: I know that it's probably going to be impossible in that ballpark but I love John Danks and think that he's going to open some eyes this year for the White Sox who should give him plenty of offensive support.
Best AL Off-Season Acquisition
Ben W: Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. Red Sox finally got the big bat at 1B that they have wanted for a while.
Ben P: Adrian Gonzalez is going to like hitting in Fenway and having a stacked lineup, a lot.
Jay: As much as it pains me to say this, the Boston Red Sox made the biggest impact by signing Carl Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez. With these moves (and their already strong rotation) the Red Sox are set up perfectly to jump from third to first place in one year amidst strong AL East competition.
Alex O: Russell Martin----anything that gets Jorgie away from the dish is great
Andrew: I'll join the crew and say the Red Sox getting Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. They fit amazingly into that team and that lineup--and they both are probably the best defensive players at their positions. Scary.
Worst AL Off-Season Acquisition
Jay: It's tough to call this the "worst" acquisition, since Rafael Soriano is a great pitcher and had a very impressive 2010 season closing for the Rays (45 saves, 1.73 ERA), but $35 million over three years is too much for a setup man. Even a setup man who will form an overpowering combination with the Yankees' closer emeritus, Mariano Rivera.
Ben P: Bobby Jenks hasn't had it for a few years and he's not going to enjoy the Boston Press.
Ben W: Vernon Wells to the Angels. He's not even going to play CF!!!
Alex O: Johnny Damon. Let the kids play, Johnny is washed up.
Andrew: I'm going to go with Vernon Wells not because he is the worst player acquired but just the ridiculous price that was paid by the Angels to get him. I keep on waiting to hear that the Blue Jays are taking back a lot of money in that deal but it just never happens.
AL Rookie of the Year
Ben W: Jeremy Hellickson. Should be another in a long line of impressive Rays' home-grown pitchers.
Ben P: JP Arencibia leads all rookies in homeruns.
Jay: Tampa Bay hasn't yet decided what Jeremy Hellickson's role will be on the 2011 Rays. He could be the 4th starter or maybe even in the bullpen. I lean towards starter, and he could win 14-15 games as well as ROY honors.
Alex O: J.P. Arencibia
Andrew: I love Hellickson and Arencibia as much as the next guy, but I'm predicting Doug Drabek will sneak in and win this award.
AL Winner
Alex O: Athletics
Ben W: Red Sox (over Twins)
Ben P: Yankees
Jay: Red Sox (over Rangers)
Andrew: Red Sox (over Yankees)
What do you think of our picks? Let us know who you think will take home the trophies in the comments below.
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