Prediction-athon 2k11 is on REVISED

While I'm at it, allow me to elaborate on my AL East predictions. I write this mainly to go on the record so if I'm right about any of these I can rub it in Ryan King's face... Just as he would do to me. My red sox description will be pretty detailed, but I'll keep the others short and sweet.

After seeing opening weekend I have made a few changes, mainly correcting spelling errors, but also swapping the Rays and O's. Turns out the Rays lost even more contributers than I thought. They are playing solid last place baseball. The O's sent a message in the Trop this weekend too, they can pitch from time to time and can produce runs.

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox - Will I pick the Red Sox to win the East every year? Absolutely I will. However, an offseason like this one actually makes this pick from the head as well as from my heart. With a healthy Ellsbury and Pedroia back at the top of the lineup I am already more confident, but add in Carl Crawford hitting in the 3 hole and Adrian Gonzalez protecting Youk (with Big Papi protecting A-Gonz), this lineup is built to produce at the top. It doesn't just stop there though. Tito has the pieces to get base runners on again late with Scutaro, Lowrie, and Salty with a couple more bats capable of producing runs such as Mike Cameron off the bench (and against a lot of LHP) or JD Drew. Speaking of JD Drew, I am on the record as a JD Drew fan, which seem to be few and far between amongst Red Sox Nation. Its simple, he is legitimately the best defensive right fielder in Red Sox history. Every year Drew also has a 3-5 week span where he drives the entire offense. Think back to Papi's wrist injury of 09 when JD Drew drove in run after run and piled up serious HRs throughout the entire month of June. Everyone has spent spring training talking about this vaunted lineup, but the pitching rotation could be just as dominant as any in the division or the league. The back end of the rotation is Josh Beckett and Dice-K who are both looking to bounce back. I honestly expect Beckett to have a realistic rebound while Dice-K may never be the pitcher we saw in 08 again. Jon Lester looks like a Cy Young winner and could (and I predict he will) post his first 20-win season. John Lackey hopes to settle down in his second year in the Boston rotation and Clay Buchholz will bend curve balls past hitters again this year for anoth sub-3 ERA. I will post more specific pitching and offensive numbers later, but bottom line: This years Red Sox club will score runs, steal bases and play defense better than the rest of the division, but there are questions at the back of the rotation but a solid work horse in Jon Lester at the front end. I see 93-99 wins for my beloved Sox. One last thought, Big Papi took a lot of extra cuts this spring training and it seems to be paying off already, he appears to have avoiding his usual .190 month of april and already has a couple of dingers.
2. New York Yankees - Questions about their rotation were answered somewhat by Freddy Garcia showing he still has something left in the tank in spring training. But it's simple, the Bronx Bombers will still score runs and Mariano will still save games, but AJ Burnett is still a head case and the 4 and 5 starters will be liabilities all season. Phil Hughes may or may not be able to reproduce his success from last year. If '10 Hughes is back, the Yanks will push the Sox for the division title, if he has a let down, the yanks will have to fight to hold off the rest of the division. However, Tex seems to have shaken off his usual slow start, so pitchers can't attack him in April as much as they have the last 2 seasons.
3. Baltimore Orioles - Confidence is a good thing, but Buck Showalter's rant earlier this month was a bit of a red flag for me. I thought he'd have this team ready for a Ray-esque turn around (over the course of 2-3 years) but he seems to be trying to motivate his guys with his comments in the media. Makes me question the ball players he has. They have potential at the top of the lineup but their pitching will hurt them at times. This is a team that needs its 1 and 2 starters to pitch 7-8 innings to save the bullpen for their 3-5 guys. Their lineup proved themselves highly capable of manufacturing runs and will play small ball late in games.
4. Toronto Blue Jays - Chicks dig the long ball. Nike got it right in the 90's with those commercials. The Jays will hang bomb after bomb in the Rogers Center again this year, as well as anywhere else they play. This rotation had some shining moments last season and features Ricky Romero who has filthy stuff. With John Farrell taking the helm, I look for this rotation to improve after all his years as a pitching coach.
5. Tampa Bay Rays - Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Rafael Soriano. All great Rays for the last few season, all playing for other teams now. The Rays bullpen is the biggest liability for a team that has hung its hat on closing out games the last 3 seasons. Without guys like Crawford and Pena driving this offense but new names (but familar foes) Manny and Damon stepping in the Rays will still scrap and fight anyone, but will run out of steam late in games. Bottom line, this team looks ugly early.