MLB 2012 Preview: AL East

5. Baltimore Orioles: Its going to be a long year, if you’re a Baltimore fan. The O’s are a decently talented offensive team (J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Brian Roberts lead the O’s attack). But pitching wise, they really lack talent. This will be one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball. And to make things worse, the O’s play in baseball’s toughest division, the American League East. And take in the fact there are now four legit teams in this division, this will not be an easy summer for Baltimore. Look for the O’s to be in a lot of high scoring games, but they lose a majority of them because they have no pitching what so ever.

4. Toronto Blue Jays: It hurts to have to pick Toronto this low. They are a team on the up and coming in this division. They have some very good young hitters (Brett Lawrie, J.P. Arencibia) and some good young pitchers (Ricky Romero, Kyle Drabek). And don’t forget they also have the two time reigning home run king in Jose Bautista. The Jays set out this past offseason to improve the back end of their bullpen, and they did just that. They perhaps made the most underrated move of the offseason when they acquired Sergio Santos from the White Sox. Santos is coming off a terrific year for the Sox, earning 30 saves and getting 92 K in 63.1 IP. The Jays are going to give the teams above them a run for their money this year, but they will ultimately come up short because the teams above them are just so much more talented and have much more experience with playing meaningful September games.

3. New York Yankees: This was the one team we had the most trouble with placing. The Yanks come in as again a World Series favorite, after setting out to get some starting pitching this offseason. And they did just that, when they traded their top prospect C Jesus Montero to Seattle for the young fireballer Michael Pineda (Pineda though, will be starting the season on the DL with shoulder problems). Then throw in the fact Andy Pettite is making a comeback with the Yanks, and one would say this team should be a favorite to win the division. But a lot of their chances rest with their lineup and keeping future hall of famers Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez healthy and in the lineup. But both made trips to the DL last year, and if both were to go down at the same time this year the Yanks will be in trouble. It all just makes too much sense to pick the Yankees. We felt they were due for an off year, so the gut feeling here is that they will finish third and be contenders for the second Wild Card spot.

2. Boston Red Sox: The Sox had an epic collapse in 2011. Gone is manager Terry Francona and closer Jonathon Papelbon. To replace Francona, the Sox went with former Mets skipper Bobby Valentine, a more fiery clubhouse presence than Francona was. The Sox still have a good team in place, they just had to change a few parts during the winter. They still have a good pitching staff (Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Buchholtz) and a powerful lineup (Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury lead the Red Sox lineup). The Sox bullpen could pose a few question marks for Boston, but if they can get good starting pitching and hitting like they should, it shouldn’t be that big of a concern for Red Sox Nation. The Sox should come out fired up after last September’s dismal performance and make a push for a division title. But they will fall just short on that mark, but look for them to hold down a Wild Card spot come October.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Last year, the Rays took advantage of the epic Red Sox collapse, to fight their way into the postseason. They come into 2012 looking good as ever while making a few changes to their squad during the winter. They first brought back Carlos Pena to add some power to their lineup while playing first base. They then brought in Jose Molina, who has been a good all around presence behind the plate the past few years for Toronto. So add those players to the Rays lineup (Led by 3B Evan Longoria) and keep in mind the Rays hold one of the best starting rotations (David Price, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann, and Wade Davis) in all of baseball, and you find yourself with one outstanding baseball team. Joe Maddon has been a genius as to how to get the most of his players, and this year will be no exception. He will get the most out of this team, and guide the Rays to a second AL East division championship in their history.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Look for the 2012 Minnesota Twins preview tomorrow followed by the AL Central preview on Tuesday.

Opening Day is Here!

Almost 6 months ago, the Twins were bounced once again by the Yankees in the postseason. And at long last, they hit the field to begin their 2011 season. They start the season in Toronto and then go to New York before opening up their home schedule April 8th against Oakland. So here's what you should and should not expect from Opening Day for the beloved Twins.

What You Should Expect-A Lot of Offense. Pitchers are very vulnerable early in the season. And on Opening Day, they are pitching with lots of butterflies and adrenaline. Despite Carl Pavano's great spring stats (2-1, 2.16 ERA, 25 IP), he pitches to contact. And Toronto is a very hitters friendly ballpark. The Jays did end up leading the major leagues in the home run category (257), last season. But the Twins also possess a good lineup and should be firing right back against the young and inexperienced Jays rotation during the Opening Series. So in this series, look for 5-7 runs to go up on the board for both teams.

What You Should NOT Expect-Great Things From Justin Morneau. Despite being cleared to play, one should not expect Morneau to do much during the opening series. He had a short spring, and he looks like he is still trying to get his timing down. But, I could be dead wrong here. Morneau could get very fired up to exercise his demons (He suffered his concussion in Toronto last year), he could tear the cover off the ball. We just don't know yet. But if he has a series where he say gets 1-3 hits in 12-15 at bats, please don't use the "He hasn't fully recovered from his concussion" excuse. He is ready to go. It would just be more of a getting into rhythm type of deal. So keep your expectations low.

Twins Player to Watch: Delmon Young. In his career against the Jays, Young has hit .309, with 6 home runs and 18 RBI with a .494 slugging percentage. And at Rogers Centre he has an even better .322 AVG, with 3 HR, 10 RBI, and a .522 slugging percentage. Last year Delmon was a huge factor in the Twins success, and from what I've heard he has strengthened his upper body giving him more power. So if he can get the ball up in the air in Toronto look for him to hit a couple of home runs and help the Twins get a opening series victory.

Jays Player to Watch: Edwin Encarnacion. Last year, the Jays had great success against the Twins. A big reason for that was Encarnacion. In 2010 alone, he hit .483, with 7 HR, and 14 RBI with a 1.758 OPS. To compare how ridiculous that last number was, Encarnacion's season OPS was .787. So as you can see, he loved playing the Twins. Also in his career, Encarnacion has hit .389 against the Twins. So if he can continue his success against the Twins, it could be a long series for the visiting team.


One last thing before you leave. Please sit back and enjoy Opening Day. This day is like a holiday. Just appreciate the fact baseball, and mainly the Twins, are back. There are 161 other games we can over analyze. Just leave this one alone.

MLB 2011 Preview-AL East

5. Toronto Blue Jays-Every year, Toronto fields a pretty decent team. The problem is, they play in the toughest division in all of baseball. As they head into 2011, they find themselves without the face of their franchise, Vernon Wells, who was traded to the Angels in the offseason. But even without Wells, the Jays will still pack a pretty good punch on offense. Offensively, hey are led by home run champ Jose Bautista (54 in 2010) and the power hitting second baseman Aaron Hill. This team will continue to hit the long ball (257 home runs in 2010; the most in MLB), considering the band box they play home games in. Pitching wise, they have young starting pitching (Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Brett Cecil, and Kyle Drabek), which will be the setback for them in 2011. If they can get a lead to the late innings, they should be able to hold it down with a pretty solid bullpen. But the problem will be getting to the late innings with a lead. And someone in this division has to finish last, and the Blue Jays will be that team.

4. Tampa Bay Rays-Tampa enjoyed a very successful 2010, winning the AL East but fell in 5 games to the Rangers in the ALDS. And in the offseason, the lost key players, such as Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Grant Balfour, and Rafael Soriano. They enter the 2011 season with no set closer, and a bullpen that lost its best pitchers from 2010. They did bring in OFs Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez at very cheap deals, but they cannot fill the void left by Crawford in the lineup. They still boast a strong starting staff, led by David Price, and have a good up and coming pitcher in Jeremy Hellickson at the back end of the rotation. They play in one of the worst stadiums in the big leagues, they have a fan base that never comes out to the ballpark, and a owner unwilling to spend money on maintaining a great roster. All of this adds up to a fourth place finish in 2011 for Tampa Bay.

3. Baltimore Orioles-Derrek Lee, JJ Hardy, Mark Reynolds, and Vlad Guerrero. These were the players Baltimore brought in to help their offense. And with those additions added to the presence of Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Brian Roberts, and Nick Markakis; the O's now boast one of the best lineups in all of baseball. They also boast one of the youngest rotations in all of baseball. The staff is led by Jeremy Guthrie (11-14, 3.83 ERA in 2010) and Brian Matusz (10-12, 4.30 ERA). If these two can continue to improve on their 2010 numbers they should be very tough to beat. And if they can get decent production from the back end of the rotation (Brad Bergesen, Jake Arrieta, and Justin Duchscherer), the O;s could put up a serious fight. Their bullpen should be halfway decent now with the addition of closer Kevin Gregg. Add him with Koji Uehara and Mike Gonzalez, the O's might win quite a few games if they can get the lead in the late innings. The O's are set up very nicely to have a good year. And they find themselves no longer in the AL East cellar, but in a very respectable third place.

2. New York Yankees-During the offseason, the Yankees banked on signing Cliff Lee. They failed. They banked on Andy Pettitte returning. They failed. So the bombers go into the season with a rotation that could potentially be disastrous after C.C. Sabathia. AJ Burnett had his issues in 2010, and Phil Hughes had a decent season, but he could fall either way this year. After those three, the Yanks have Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia battling for the final two rotation spots. Its not exactly a model blueprint for a good starting staff. Besides the rotation the Yankees have a solid team. A good lineup and a very good bullpen. They brought in former Rays closer Rafael Soriano to be the setup man for Mariano Rivera for the next three years. They also brought in former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, to hopefully put his career on the right path again. The Yanks will be a good team. But, their rotation issues will prevent them from winning this division. It does get them the Wild Card though.

1. Boston Red Sox-If you think anyone but the Red Sox were the sweepstakes winners this offseason, your crazy. They first signed Carl Crawford to man left field, they then went on to finally acquire Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres to play first base. It gives the Red Sox the best lineup in all of baseball. The hope is for this team, is it can stay healthy for the season. Last year the Sox lost Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury to injuries, forcing the Sox to play with a depleted lineup. Pitching wise, this is a very deep team. The rotation is led by lefty ace Jon Lester, who is becoming one of the premier pitchers in all of baseball. Their bullpen, is one of if not the best in baseball. The addition of Bobby Jenks coupled with Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima, and closer Jonathon Papelbon (if he can be effective) will make it nearly impossible to get a win in the late innings. As I before stated, this is a very deep team. It is team built to win the World Series. And they might just do that.