And here we are the final divisional previews for the 2012 MLB season and its the eastern divisions of the AL & NL. We are going to kick off the final preview with the AL East. This is a division that had been dominated by the Yankees but over the past few years the balance of power has shifted a bit more to even out among the Yankees Rays and Red Sox. And we are going to kick off the preview with the Baltimore Orioles.
It has been a rough stretch for the O's as they haven't made the playoffs since their last division title in 1997. In fact 1997 was also the last time the Orioles had a winning season. Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta were the only two Baltimore pitchers to hit double digits in wins last season for the O's. the 3rd best pitcher the team had last season was Jeremy Guthrie who won 9 games for the team, and he now pitches for the Colorado Rockies. Heading into opening day Arrieta is the teams #1 pitcher and Britton is on the DL at the moment, so it will be a rough start for the pitching staff. The club has yet to name its closer. Kevin Gregg had the job last year saving 22 games for the team, and quite frankly seems the only guy in the pen who can get it done from what it looks like. As for the O's offense it seemed to be powered by three guys last year, Mark Renyolds, Adam Jones, and J.J. Hardy. All three guys drove in over 80 RBI's and Hardy and Reynolds each hit 30 + Homers. All three have been returned to the team for this season. The elder statesman on the club is Nick Markakis who last year put up OK numbers with 19 homers and 73 RBI's and will again be counted on to provide leadership for the club. The Orioles seem to have a good enough team on the field to contend but the biggest factor to determine the team success is it's pitching staff and that seems to be a question mark for them. Baltimore will again be in the basement in the AL East. Sorry Baltimore.
Next up is the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays haven't made the playoffs since they won the World Series in 1993, they have been hovering around 500 the last few seasons but haven't placed higher than 4th in the division since 2007. Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow were the two Jays Pitchers hitting double digits in wins last year and both are right back at the top of the Jays pitching rotations again this year. Sergio Santos will be taking over the role of closer this season, when last year it was Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch had split time as the teams closer both of whom picked up double digit saves a year ago. Both guys have since been traded to the New York Mets. The Jays were able to pick up some insurance for the pen with acquiring Francisco Cordero from the Reds and Darren Oliver from the Rangers. The Jays pen looks ok and can probably hold its own but the starting rotation don't look too promising outside of the top two starters. The offense for the Jays will of course be lead by Jose Bautista who hammered 43 Homers and 103 RBI's to lead the club. He will be back in the fold again this season patrolling right field. Adam Lind was 2nd on the team in RBI's and homers last year and is back anchoring down first base for the Jays. The Jays appear deep enough if they can have Edwin Encarnacion and Omar Vizquel coming off the bench. The Jays will climb back to around 500 again but its going to be tough getting into the playoffs with how loaded this division is.
Next up is the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays have made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years going as faor as the world series in 2008 before losing to the phillies. the only year they missed was in 2009. Last year they got in as the wild card and they won the east in 2010 so Tampa is looking to keep up its strong play again this year. The club is returning its starting 5 pitching rotation from last year. James Shields (16-12), David Price (12-13), Jeremy Hellickson (13-10), Jeff Niemann (11-7) and Wade Davis (11-10) are all back except Davis will be starting the year in the Pen and Matt Moore will be pegged as the teams #4 Starter. Kyle Farnsworth will once again be closing games for the team coming off a 25 save season a year ago. The Rays have a very solid pitching staff that will be able to take them places again in the division. Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist led the offensive charge last year. Longoria had 31 Homers and drove in 99 runs while Zobrist hits 21 homers and drove in 91 runs. Both guys are expected to lead the charge again this season. BJ Upton Matt Joyce and Carlos Pena are also expected to bring big things to the Rays this year. Pena comes over from the Cubs bringing along with him 28 Homers and 80 RBI's while Upton and Joyce each add 15-20 Homers and 75-90 RBI to the mix. Right there is the heart of the Rays order and will be carrying the team this season I see the potential for another playoff birth here for Tampa.
Now on to the Boston Red Sox. The Sox have not had a losing season since 1997 and have finished in 3rd place in the East the last two years so the Sox are looking to get back into the swing of things this year. The top four winning pitchers from last year, Alfredo Aceves (10-2), John Lacky (12-12), Josh Becket (13-7) and John Lester (13-9) are all back in the fold for the Red Sox. Aceves will be doing most of his work out of the pen this season, while Becket Lester and Lacky are still in the starting rotation although Lacky is currently on the 60-day DL. Clay Buchholz Felix Doubront, Daniel Bard and Daisuke Matsuzaka round out the rotation. The Sox have to try to find a replacement for the loss of closer Jonathan Papelbon who saved 31 games for the team will now be doing that for the Phillies. Red Sox pitching staff will put them right in the thick of things in the East. Mike Aviles comes over from the Royals to play shortstop and Ryan Sweeney comes in from Oakland to play right field. The biggest change to the red sox is the retirement of Jason Varetek at Catcher. Right now the team has Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the starting catcher but he is going to have some mighty big shoes to fill with the retirement of Varetek. The offense is going to be powered right now by the same four guys who powered it last year, Adrian Gonzalez (27 Home Runs 117 RBI), David Ortiz (29 Home Runs 96 RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (32 Homers 105 RBI) and Dustin Pedroia (21 Homers 91 RBI). The Red Sox have a good lineup that can compete and should be able to hang with any team in baseball. One thing that worries me is really how deep this club actually is, because if something happens to one of the Sox regulars then I don't really know how deep this team is. New manager Bobby Valentine is gonna have a very good ball club to work with.
Finally we get to the New York Yankes. This ball club has missed the playoffs only once in this decade and that was in 2008. That was the first Yankees team to miss the playoffs since 1993 so yes the Yankees are very very good. The Yanks won the East last year. And here is how you know that the franchise is good they have not had a lossing season since 1992. The Yankee offense hasn't changed at all since the end of last year. The only real change to the Yankee offense was at Catcher. Russell Martin is still the starting catcher for the team but his backup has changed. Jesus Montero was viewed as the next star catcher for the yankees but he was shipped off to the Seattle Mrainers so Russel Martin has the job outright as of now. Curtis Granderson is looking to build off last years MONSTER year of 41 Homers and 119 RBI's. Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira each also drove in 110 runs last season, whit Tex adding 39 homers and Cano hitting 28. A-Rod had a down year by his standards only appearing in 99 games hitting 16 homers and driving in 62 runs, but I think Rodrigues qill return to his form again this season and hit at least 30 homers and drive in around 100 again. The Yankees pitching staff took on a bit of an undertaking. CC Sabathia is still the #1 starter for the Yanks going 19-8 last season. Ivan Nova (16-4) and Freddy Garcia (12-8) are also back in the rotation. Phil Hughes is hoping for a bounc back year after going 5-5 in a slight injury plagued year last year. Hiroki Kuroda joins in the mix after going 13-16 for the Dodgers last season. Michael Pineda appears to fill out the starting rotation after going 9-10 for the Mariners last year. Bartolo Calon went 8-10 in New York alst year but was no longer needed for the Yankees so he is now in Oakland. And of course the team still has the greatest closer ion the history of of he game in Mariano Rivera coming out of the pen. Rivera had another awesome season last year saving 44 games for the Pinstripes. The only slight question mark for the yankees is how they are possibly going to bridge the gap between the starters and Mariano. But manager Joe Garadi will be able to find a way to win.
Here is how I see the AL East finishing at the end of the season.
1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles
Not it's time to take a look at the NL East! The Phillies have won the last 5 straigth division titles. Them and the Braves have won the division Every year siance 1992. the only other team to win teh division was the 2006 New York Mets. This division has been basically controlled by two teams and it looks that way again this year. Lets start things off with the Washington Nationals.
The Nats have only made the playoffs once in thier history and that was when they were the Expos back in 1981 and the last time the team was at 500 was its first year in Washington in 2005. They finished 3rd in the East last. John Lannon lead the team in wins with 10 and Drew Storen lead the team in saves with 43. This season the Nats have Brad Lidge coming out of the pen wioth him pitching with the Phillies last season with Henry Rodriguez expected to be the closer. As for the starting rotation in Washington Stephen Strasburg is expected to return as the #1 man in DC after missing all of last year due to tommy john surgery. Edwin Jackson, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, and Ross Detwiler round out the starting rotation. The Nats pitching staff may be one of the weaker staff's in thet East. Michael Morse was the leading hitter in the Nats lineup last year with 31 Homers and 95 RBI's. He will be playing this year but currently he sits on the DL with Rick Ankel who are going to be impact players with this team. Washington is going to have a solid lineup everyday as of now. With what they have to field everyday Adam LaRoche Jason Werth and Ryan Zimmerman are going to be leading the charge. With what they have the Nats should bue around 500 this season.
Next uop is the Miami Marlins. The Marlins haven't made the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2003 and havent had a winning season since 2009. last year they were in last place in the east and are looking to berak out of the basement this year. Javier Vazquez and Ricky Nolasco hit double digits in wins. Vazquez isn't even in teh league at this point so that is 13 losses out the window from last season. Nolasco is slated as the #3 starter in the rotation behind Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. Carlos Zambrano and Anibal Sanchez round out the rotation. Zambrano is coming in from the Cubs while Sanzhez is returning to the rotataion from last year. Juan Oviedo paced the Marlins last year with 36 saves but he has been replaced by Heath Bell as the closer which is set at about 40 saves a guarentee. Giancarlo Stanton paced the Marlins offense with 34 Homers and 87 RBI. He and other leading hitters Gabby Sanchez and John Buck will be back in the lineup again this year. Hanley Rameriz had a down year last year and is looking to try and bounce back. Now he has to try and adjust to the new position of 3rd base. The reason for the position switch is the monster contract the Marlins issued to their new Shortstop Jose Reyes. Reyes comes over from the Mets after winning the batting title last year in the NL. So with Reyes thrown into the mix, the Marlins are going to be over 500 and a contender in the East.
Next up is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have finishied in 2nd place in the division the last two seasons and haven't won the East since 2005. Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson were the only Atlanta pitchers to hit double digits in wins last season, adn Derek Lowe was under 500 and missed the double digit mark by one win. Lowe isn't returning to the team but the other three will be in the starting rotation again this season for the Braves. Craig Kimbrel led the team with 46 saves last season and will be back in the closer role again this season for the team from Hot Lanta. Dan Uggla was able to pace the Braves offense with 36 Homers and 82 RBI. He will be joined by Freddy Freeman and Brian McCann as the big hitters in the Braves lineup. They had Chipper jones in the lineup and he will be back when he comes off the DL but this is the last year for Chipper as he will be retiring at the end of the season. Plus throw in the talent of Jason Heyward. The Braves have talent but it won't be enough to get over the hump in the division. I can see a 3rd place finish at best for the club.
Next up is the the champions of the east the Philadelphia Phillies. The fighting Phils have won the Eastern Division each of the last 5 seasons. The pitching staff in the city of Brotherly Love was unstoppable last year. They were lead by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hammels, and Vance Worley, all of whom hit double digits in wins. Roy Oswalt fell one game short of 500 and one game short of double digit wins. Oswalt was the only one of the big pitchers who didn't return to the team. So to fill the void in the rotation the Phillies added Joe Blanton and and Kyle Kendrick to the mix which is making the Phillies starting rotation dangerous. Ryan Madson led the club in saves last season with 32 but has been replaced as closer with former Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon. Otherwise the Phillies have kept their team in tact. Ryan Howard paced the club with 36 Homers and 116 RBI's but he is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon which is causing him to be out for a while. The Phillies have plenty of depth at 1st base in Ty Wiggington and Jim Thome so the team is covered till Howard can return. This is almost a no contest the Phillies are going to win the East again.T
Finally we end the predictions with the New York Mets. The Mets havcent made the playoffs since winning the division in 2006. Dilan Gee John Neese and Chris Capuano were the lone Mets in double digit wins. Capuano is now a Dodger out in LA. neese and Gee are back in the rotation as is the returning Johan Santana. Throw in the Knuckelball throwing RA Dickey and the Mets may have an OK starting rotation. The question for the team is how well will Santana be pitching after missing all of last season with Tommy John Surgery. So Santana is a question. Teh Bullpen for the Mets has been a big question the past few season but has gotten a needed improvement in the winter months. Last year K-Rod led the team with 23 saves before he got traded to the Brewsrs in July. Now Frank Fransisco is expected to be an improvement as a closer. And if all else fails the team has other guys in the pen with experiance as closers such as John Rauch who they picked up from the Blue Jays. The team did lose their best centerfielder in Angel Pagan to the Giants in the Fransisco trade. Carlos Beltran led the team with 66 RBI and he is now playing for the Birds in St Louis. David Wright had a very down year driving in 61 runs on 19 Homers. Ike Davis missed most of the season after a freak ankle injury after a collision with David Wright, but Davis is 100% and should be ready to rock and roll. Andres Torres will take over in centerfield with the departure of Pagan. Torres was picked up for his defenseive play in center. Slugger Lucas Duda will be getting the starting role in right field and Jason Bay will be back patroling left. Bay hasn't exactly been living up to his big contract but hopefully this will be a breakout year for him Wright and Davis in the heart of the order. With Reyes signing with the Marlins, Ruben Tejada will get th8e starting job and shortstop and Justin Turner willbe holding down the fort at 2nd. Finally Josh Thole will handle the bulk of the catching duties this season. The Mets may not have the strongest lineup in the east but there is a chance they may be able to surprise a few people in there and hopefully hover right around 500.
Here is how I see the NL East playing out:
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Miami Marlins
3. Atlanta Braves
4. New York Mets
5. Washington Nationals
So there you have it the predictions for all of Major League Baseball!
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