AL East Preview

Predicted Finish:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays

These predictions should not differ too much from many of those you will see by baseball experts. The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry will dominate the headlines once again, but I think the Yankees and Rays will decline. Baltimore hopes to see its youth movement pay off, while the Blue Jays are in an all out rebuilding mode.

1. Red Sox - The new Red Sox lineup is downright scary, every bit as much as the Yankees. Health was the main concern in 2010, with Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis out for much of the season. With the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, Boston's Nos. 1-6 hitters are the best in the business. The rotation is headlined by Jon Lester, but there are some concerns for varying reasons with other pitchers. Is Josh Beckett healthy? What was up with John Lackey? Can Dice-K put it together for a full season? The bullpen saw several upgrades and should be productive. By the end of the season, I bet the Red Sox win the division decisively.

2. Yankees - Their hitting needs no introduction and should be good enough to keep the team in contention, but we could see declines from Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. The bigger question concerns pitching, as in where is it? C.C. Sabathia is a legit ace. Behind him is Phil Hughes, who many analysts believe was a "lucky" pitcher in 2010. A shaky A.J. Burnett is the No. 3 and he was such a disaster last year the Yankees would have done anything to avoid using him in the playoffs. Behind him, you are looking at potential comebacks by Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. That is just depressing.

3. Rays - No doubt the loss of Carl Crawford will sting, but the team is good enough that it would only be a mild surprise to see the Rays get a playoff spot. There are some holes on the roster, from players who have not contributed before in Sean Rodriguez and Dan Johnson, to aging veteran signees such as Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. What holds this team together is its deep pitching. Led by David Price and finishing with top prospect Jeremy Hellickson, it seems like there is no end to the organizational depth for the Rays.

4. Orioles - Book me now for saying this Orioles team will not be that bad. It could even be a good team if the young rotation takes a step forward. The lineup looks competitive and veteran experiments on Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee have a better chance of working out than disasters like Garrett Atkins and Miguel Tejada. Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz should do fine in the rotation. The future of the deep depends on the development of Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton. This team needs those two to hang with the division heavyweights in order to compete.

5. Blue Jays - The team is in an all out rebuilding mode having rid themselves of the nasty Vernon Wells and Alex Rios contracts. However, it does not seem to be particularly loaded with prospects and the remaining veterans are not exactly impact players. Jose Bautista would need to repeat and huge rebounds are necessary from Adam Lind and Aaron Hill for the team to have any shot. The rotation is in decent shape with Ricky Romero followed by up-and-comers Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil. Keep Morrow's name in mind. You will be hearing his name a lot this season.