American League East Preview

As the weather turns warm it's time for baseball season to kick off, and we at Danger Zone Sports turn our attention to the American League East.

1. New York
The Yankees are looking like the top dog in the division, especially with the addition of Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda to the already strong pitching staff (3.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP). The Yankees only concern will be offensive production at the bottom of the lineup. Russell Martin is the new starter this year and will need to improve on last year's .237 average to be a consistent force for the Bombers. Another concern for the Yankees will be SS Derek Jeter's downward production. Will Giradi move him down in the lineup if his numbers fall off? Only time will tell and even if Martin and Jeter don't hit as well, the Yankees are still the class of the division.





2. Tampa Bay
The Rays have one of the best rotations in the majors, and its young, so it's only going to improve. Stud pitchers like James Shields (16-12, 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 249.1 IP) and Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 189 IP) are workhorses who will carry the Rays to the wild card spot. On offense, the Rays have All-Star Evan Longoria (.244, 31 HRs, 99 RBIs, .355 OBP) who had a down 2011, but will most likely revert to his career averages (.274, .360) and have a much better 2012. Matt Joyce (.277, 19 HRs, 75 RBI, .800 OPS) looks to replicate a successful 2011 and help the Rays return to the playoffs.

3. Boston
After last season's epic September collapse, the Red Sox had a huge turnover, GM Theo Epstein left for the Cubs, manager Terry Francona's option was declined, longtime catcher Jason Varitek retired, and new manager Bobby Valentine was brought on to right the ship. The Red Sox forte will once again be offense, led by 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.338, 27 HR, 117 RBI, .410 OBP) and CF Jacoby Ellisbury (.321, 32 HR, 105 RBI,  .376 OBP, 39 SB). The Red Sox Achilles heel will be their pitching. The starters aren't very solid beyond Josh Beckett (13-7, 2.89 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 175 K) and Jon Lester (15-9, 3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 182 K) and the bullpen will suffer without Johnathan Papelbon (51 saves) who left for Philadelphia in the offseason.

4. Toronto

Last year the Blue Jays were all about Jose Bautista, and with good reason, Bautista led the team in average (.302), home runs (43), RBI (103), OBP (.447), and hits (155). The Jays are going to need more than Bautista tearing the cover off the ball to make any real noise in the toughest division in the majors. The pitiching staff must improve from  last season, which saw only one starter (Ricky Romero) finish the year with an ERA under 3. The Jays finished last year at .500, a mark that will be a stretch to equal in 2012, especially with teams around the league figuring out how to work around Bautsita.

5. Baltimore
This blogger's beloved team, the Orioles finished last season 24 games under .500, and unless the young pitching staff gets it together after an abysmal 2011 (Brian Matsuz: 1-9, 10.69 ERA. Jake Arrieta: 10-8, 5.05 ERA, season ended due to elbow surgery) the Orioles could find themselves in a very similar position. But there is hope in Baltimore as Matsuz, Arrieta, and fellow young gun Zach Britton are all projected to improve and the offense wasn't actually that bad., particularly JJ Hardy (30 HR, 80 RBI) and Mark Reynolds (37 HR, 86 RBI). The Orioles are also rich in young talent ( C Matt Wieters, CF Adam Jones, IF Robert Andino) but are still a year or two away from actually accomplising anything beyond moral victories. That being said, don't be surprised if the Orioles overtake Toronto and climb out of 5th place for the first time in years.