NEW YORK YANKEES (99-63)
BOSTON RED SOX (95-67)
TAMPA BAY RAYS (90-72)
TORNTO BLUE JAYS (85-77)
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (65-97)
The New York Yankees saw a significant upgrade in starting pitching over the winter when they traded for young phenom Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees also signed Hiroki Kuroda, who is a free agent after pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. These two pitchers figure to be the reasons why the Yankees will solidify themselves as the number one team in the American League East.
The Boston Red Sox saw closer Jonathan Papelbon leave as a free agent and sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Red Sox have acquired Andrew Bailey from the Oakland Athletics as their new closer. He needs to stay healthy to provide them with a solid ninth inning option while Mark Melancon from Houston will take care of the 8th inning. Last year set-up man Daniel Bard will be moved to the starting rotation as the 4 or 5 spot in hopes to add more depth to their pitching. There is no question about their offense as they consistently rank in the top 5 in most major offensive categories.
The Tampa Bay Rays have one of the best young pitching rotations in all of baseball. Led by David Price, this pitching staff keeps the Rays in games every night, but it is their offense that really holds them back. The Rays just do not have enough fire power outside young star Evan Longoria to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox.
The Toronto Blue Jays are similar to the Rays in that they have above average pitching but not much offense. Jose Bautista is a threat to hit a home run in every at bat but there needs to be other threats in the lineup for this team to complete in the American League East.
The Baltimore Orioles are in a rebuilding phase. They just dealt arguably their best pitcher in Jeremy Guthrie to the Rockies and really do not have many candidates to be an ace of their staff. The offense is filled with big name players, such as Nick Markakis and Adam Jones, but unfortunately many of them do not perform up to their expectations.
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