Al East predictions

[riverside sluggers]

I don't see the Yanks getting pitchers during the year, because not many teams will be out of the race and looking to deal. Does anyone know any possible big-name pitchers who could be on the market mid-season?

 

The Marlins are rumored to continue the firesal by dealing off their ace Dontrelle Willis by mid-season

[Strawman]

The Marlins are rumored to continue the firesal by dealing off their ace Dontrelle Willis by mid-season

 

I'm pretty sure I've had nightmares where D-Train is pitching for the MFYs in the WS

[MANNYHOF24]

you guys will be surprised

 

Yankees

Blue Jays

Red Sox

D-rays

O's

 

i think the red sox aren't the team they were last year. we lost a lot of key guys and the yankees and jays have improved.

 

Explain how we are not as good as last year, please we have a better pitching staff and defense, and we still have Manny and Ortiz, plus i think Crisp is going to be a star. The only improvments the Yanks have made is Damon, but the pitching is a huge question mark there.

[Goalstopper]

Explain how we are not as good as last year, please we have a better pitching staff and defense, and we still have Manny and Ortiz, plus i think Crisp is going to be a star. The only improvments the Yanks have made is Damon, but the pitching is a huge question mark there.

 

we won't be good as last year because we have a bunch of new guys. i am not sure they can gell like they have in previous years. we will still have a great pitching staff. and i am not saying manny and ortiz will slump. the damon signing was huge for the yanks they finally have a leadoff hitter and revenge for the choke they had two years ago.(which wasn't exactly our fault;) )

[Strawman]

we won't be good as last year because we have a bunch of new guys. i am not sure they can gell like they have in previous years. we will still have a great pitching staff. and i am not saying manny and ortiz will slump. the damon signing was huge for the yanks they finally have a leadoff hitter and revenge for the choke they had two years ago.(which wasn't exactly our fault;) )

 

Ok, I'll buy your argument as soon as you show me the pertinent statistics that suggest chemistry is worth a damn or has any impact on the game played at all.

[See Red]

Explain how we are not as good as last year, please we have a better pitching staff and defense, and we still have Manny and Ortiz, plus i think Crisp is going to be a star. The only improvments the Yanks have made is Damon, but the pitching is a huge question mark there.

 

With the second half he had last year, and the tendinitis in his shoulder, Damon, himself, is a question mark.

[riverside sluggers]

Foxsports

 

Red Sox season preview

 

Spring training offered fewer clear answers than the Red Sox might have hoped. Still, at least one area that proved a grave disappointment last season appears likely to show improvement this year. The Red Sox rotation seemingly never assumed its ideal form last year. After a season of faltering mechanics and puzzling results, Curt Schilling no longer appears wounded on the mound. Josh Beckett, meanwhile, dazzled in his spring appearances, suggesting that the team might have a presence atop the rotation that was missing last year.

 

The improved health of starters Schilling, Matt Clement and David Wells (the latter two having undergone offseason arthroscopic surgery on a knee) permitted the team to deal Bronson Arroyo. The starting five of Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Beckett, Clement and Wells (in that order) looked strong as a group. The rotation might end up carrying a sizable load, however. Despite an offseason makeover designed to improve bullpen depth, the Sox relief corps generated more questions than it answered this spring.

 

Keith Foulke did not pitch in the first three weeks of exhibition games while receiving injections of a joint lubricant in both knees. Mike Timlin, the linchpin of the bullpen last year, spent some time on the shelf during the World Baseball Classic and the Grapefruit League season with a tired arm.

 

Offseason imports Rudy Seanez, David Riske and Julian Tavarez did little to clarify the kind of contribution that they might make. Seanez and Riske both yielded almost a run an outing in their first three weeks of spring while combining to strike out just six in 18 1/3 innings. As was the case last year, Jonathan Papelbon and Timlin will likely be thrust into the most crucial middle-innings situations.

 

Although the team has repeatedly suggested that the lineup might not live up to its 900-run yields of the last three years, it will nevertheless remain formidable. With Manny Ramirez still in a Red Sox uniform, the middle-of-the-order presence of David Ortiz and Ramirez will ensure that the team won't face offensive hardship. As for Coco Crisp, the leadoff hitter and center fielder who will succeed Johnny Damon has adapted seamlessly to the Sox. In exhibition play, Crisp demonstrated a top-of-the-order dynamism that offered no hint of discomfort.

 

If he continues his career-long upward trends at the age of 26, the Sox might be able to absorb diminished output at third base, where Mike Lowell replaces former batting champ Bill Mueller, and short, where Alex Gonzalez flashed great leather but little at the plate this spring.

 

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON: RHP Josh Beckett has maintained or increased his starts, innings and wins in each of his four big-league seasons. If he continues that trend, the 25-year-old's nasty three-pitch arsenal could vault him among the elite of his new league.

 

ON THE DECLINE: SS Alex Gonzalez proved repeatedly in the spring that he possesses a dazzling glove, but he must also show that he is not an offensive albatross in order to maintain the starting job. Gonzalez had just three hits in his first 31 spring at-bats and hit just five homers last year after launching a combined 39 in the previous two years. If he does not bounce back, 2B/SS Dustin Pedroia could push him for playing time by midseason.

[Goalstopper]

Ok, I'll buy your argument as soon as you show me the pertinent statistics that suggest chemistry is worth a damn or has any impact on the game played at all.

pertinent article

 

you might be right that they will have great chemistry but it's happened before to us. before millar and those cowboys or idiots were here. they were the only difference we had for the 2002 where we didn't even make the playoffs and in 2003 we made it. the reason was we had those "team guys" like millar that could get the guys going.millar wasn't on the team in 2002. now i am not saying millar was the MVP of the team but he was our X-factor.

[CrespoBlows]

Millar hit 25 HR's for possibly the greatest offensive team in the history of baseball. Millar's contributions with his bat was probably his best contribution. In 2004, every offensive player besides Orlando Cabrera had an OBP over .373. The rotation featured three starters with an ERA at 4.00, plus a lights out closer. Team chemistry probably had a little bit to do with the WS win, but the Red Sox were the best team in baseball that year.

[Strawman]

Millar hit 25 HR's for possibly the greatest offensive team in the history of baseball. Millar's contributions with his bat was probably his best contribution. In 2004, every offensive player besides Orlando Cabrera had an OBP over .373. The rotation featured three starters with an ERA at 4.00, plus a lights out closer. Team chemistry probably had a little bit to do with the WS win, but the Red Sox were the best team in baseball that year.

 

Right you are. The point is that if the Royals had the best team chemistry in the world with their set of players, it would probably still result in a fifth place finish. Team Chemistry is the icing on the cake, it is not the definition of a championship team.

[Optimist]

Wow...Fox has the Jays winning it all...

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5455724

 

(Well, not Fox...but one of their writers...)

[riverside sluggers]

Foxsports contradicts themselves a good number of times

 

Ken Rosenthal has the Blue Jays

Dayn Perry has the Red Sox winning it all.

 

Im not surprised by Rosenthal's quote about the Red Sox "could win 80, could win 100"

[Strawman]

Wow...Fox has the Jays winning it all...

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5455724

 

(Well, not Fox...but one of their writers...)

 

While I wouldn't necessarily mind the Jays winning it all, I still have yet to see someone explain it in a way that makes sense.

[CrespoBlows]

Not really.

 

Perry and Rosenthal have different opinions, that isn't a contradiction. Rosenthal, is actually half way right. If everything falls the Red Sox way, they'll win 100 games, but I don't see the Red Sox losing less then 90. They have way too much depth. Hell, if the Red Sox can win 95 games with Jon Halama, and Jeremi Gonzalez getting starts last year, how in the world can they lose more games this year?

[CrespoBlows]

While I wouldn't necessarily mind the Jays winning it all, I still have yet to see someone explain it in a way that makes sense.

 

I don't see it happening, but the Blue Jays could have the best pitching staff in the AL East with Halladay and Burnett leading them.

 

Their offense should score 800 runs, and their probably above average at each position.

 

That bullpen could be among the AL's best. Ryan, is the AL's version of Billy Wagner, and the rest of the 'pen fills out nicely with Chulk, Schoenweis, Speier, Frasor, and Downs.

 

Plus, watch out for Dustin McGowan, he'll be in the starting rotation for good come June.

[Strawman]

But if there are two other teams in their division scoring 900+ runs, won't that render their effort substantially ineffective? re: Roger Clemens' stellar 05 starts but paltry backing offense.

[CrespoBlows]

Not if they have the best pitching in the division. In all honesty, I don't see the Blue Jays winning the division, nor do I see them finishing third. That Glaus trade was terrible, as it renders their defense ineffective.

 

For them to even have a shot, they need Halladay and Burnett to win 18.

[Beckett95]

Red Sox-- 96 wins

Blue Jays--91 wins

Yankees-- 89 wins

Orioles-- 70 wins

Drays-- 68 wins

[KeepTheFaith1229]

89 wins for NYY isn't going to happen.

[Beckett95]

89 wins for NYY isn't going to happen.

there pitching is way to sketchy, but their lineup should keep them in the race for a while. I just dont see enough pitching depth for them in august and september when pitchers start to wear out. Pitching > Hitting.

[KeepTheFaith1229]

there pitching is way to sketchy, but their lineup should keep them in the race for a while. I just dont see enough pitching depth for them in august and september when pitchers start to wear out. Pitching > Hitting.

 

Still, I'm willing to bet my hair the Yankees win more than 89 games this year. It's that simple. Even Red Sox fans have to admit that.

[Beckett95]

Unless either Pavano or Chacon step up and become a good #3 starter, i don't see them getting 90+ wins

[Optimist]

Where is this idea that Red Sox pitching is so much better than Yankee pitching coming from?

 

From my point, both teams are full of question marks. Maybe the Yankees are a bit more questionable, but not by that much.

[Strawman]

Still, I'm willing to bet my hair the Yankees win more than 89 games this year. It's that simple. Even Red Sox fans have to admit that.

 

How long's your hair?

[CrespoBlows]

The Yankees pitching staff is already racked with injuries. The Red Sox has the potential to be racked with injuries. So right now, I'd give the edge to the Red Sox. A healthy Schilling and Beckett overpowers the Yankees front two in Mussina and Johnson. Besides, who in that rotation is a number three? Wang's K/9 rate should make any Yankee fan nervous. Chacon's K/BB ratio also doesn't bode well for the future. Throw in the fact that Small, Wright, and Pavano are all on the shelf, and I guess you classify that as disarray.

 

That bullpen could fall into tatters as well. Farnsworth has been horrible in big situations throughout his whole career. In New York, that's every day. If Rivera goes down, it's over. The Yankees will finish third. But, until that happens, that offense is way too good to allow them to loose. They won't a World Series this year, but they'll demolish small market clubs. They should go 50-0 against the D-Rays, Orioles, Royals, and Mariners. It wouldn't be shocked one bit, if that happens.

[CrespoBlows]

My predictions

 

Yankees (100 wins)

Red Sox (98 wins)

Blue Jays (93 wins)

D-Rays (72 wins)

Orioles (65 wins)

[Beckett95]

Where is this idea that Red Sox pitching is so much better than Yankee pitching coming from?

 

From my point, both teams are full of question marks. Maybe the Yankees are a bit more questionable, but not by that much.

 

IMO, the Red Sox have better depth.

 

1. Schilling

2. Wakefield

3. Beckett

4. Wells

5. Clement

6. Papelbon

7. Dinardo

8. Lester

 

VS.

 

1. Johnson

2. Mussina

3. Chacon

4. Pavano

5. Wang

6. Wright

7. Small

8. Henn

 

I think the Sox have a better staff with fewer question marks. Schilling, Beckett and Wells we all know have had injury problems before. Johnson, Mussina, Pavano, Wright and Wang also have had injury trouble in the past. Also we dont no how good Small or Chacon is yet since neither have yet to have one solid year. They both pitched good at the end of last season, but never have they pitched good for a whole year.

[Strawman]

Where is this idea that Red Sox pitching is so much better than Yankee pitching coming from?

 

From my point, both teams are full of question marks. Maybe the Yankees are a bit more questionable, but not by that much.

 

Johnson is uberquestion mark, Pavano not so much but still a question. Who knows if Small can repeat in any way at all resembling his 05 performance, same goes with Chacon, and there's not much of a bullpen in the long relief. Their lineup is good, but it's still very top heavy.

 

Conversely, the Sox don't know about Schilling, the shelf-life of Beckett, whether Clement will ever function post ASB, or what performance if any we'll get from Foulke, Lowell and A-Gone (whose "A" may stand for "Already"). But we have Papelbon and people like Meredith, Alvarez (though not as likely as), Hansen to fill in holes that might pop up and Snow, Youk, and Choi for those infield questions (granted that Snow may be as big an offensive liability as Gonzalez.)

 

Crisp has potential to be, ahem, the next Johnny Damon (tongue in cheek), and Damon was a question mark for us for a lot of 05, despite his many hitting streaks, and is already looking like he's on the same track.

 

So while we may have the same number of questions in our starters, our questions are not nearly as imposing and we already have a number of answers prepared, whereas the Yanks have very few contingencies.

[Strawman]

Anyone giving odds the O's lose 100 games?

[Beckett95]

the yankees obviously have the better closer of the 2, but other than Rivera theres not much depth. Farnsworth has his ups and downs, probably a downgrade to gordon. Sturtze, Villone and Meyers are average to below average middle relivers. Dotel will most likely be there best middle reliever but he wont play untill July

 

Foulke, i think, will have a strong comeback season. Even if he doesnt, theres Timlin, Papelbon and Hansen waiting to become the closer if Foulke sucks. I think Tavarez and Riske will be adequate middle relivers. I really have no clue what seanez will end up doing. He could have a great year like last year or pitch like he did the last time he was on the sox. Even if he does screw up, theres Delcarmen, Hansen and Dinardo ready to be called up.