AL East Breakdown

By Ben Barker

Editorial. Photos by AP News

         The American League East will once again be a two-team race in 2010. The Red Sox and Yankees have both bolstered their teams enough to ensure a tight finish in arguably baseballs strongest division.

The Rays may stick around for a while, but their lack of quality starting pitching puts them too far behind the big markets of Boston and New York. Baltimore and Toronto will end up fighting for a fourth place finish, and the loser may see some changes in their front office.

2009 Standings                                          2010 Projected Standings

1. New York Yankees                                  1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox                                      2. Boston Red Sox

3. Tampa Bay Rays                                     3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Toronto Blue Jays                                  4. Baltimore Orioles

5. Baltimore Orioles                                  5. Toronto Blue Jays






1st Place - New York Yankees
Division Champions

This off-season, the Yankees once again did what they do best; spend money.

After taking home the 2009 World Series title, the Yankees lost their World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and their starting left fielder Johnny Damon. Sounds rough, right? Wrong.

Instead, the Yanks traded for Detroit’s star center fielder Curtis Granderson. In a new Yankee Stadium that sees more homeruns hit than hot dogs sold, Granderson’s power numbers should thrive from the left side of the plate. But the evil empire didn’t stop there.

They solidified their rotation by trading for former Yankee Javier Vazquez, and rounded it off by snagging Nick Johnson to DH. Just New York being New York…

Projected Rotation                                 Projected Batting Order

CC Sabathia                                           Derek Jeter
A.J. Burnett                                           Robinson Cano

Javier Vazquez                                       Mark Teixeira

Andy Pettite                                           Alex Rodriguez

Joba Chamberlain                                   Curtis Granderson

                                                             Jorge Posada

                                                             Nick Johnson

                                                             Nick Swisher

                                                             Brett Gardner


2nd Place -- Boston Red Sox
Wild Card Champions

The Boston Red Sox surprised a lot of people this off-season.

Instead of investing a ton of money into Jason Bay as everyone thought they would, the Sox went down the road of “run prevention,” by stocking up on pitching and defense.

The addition of John Lackey gives Boston the best 1-2-3 punch in all of baseball. It will be difficult for any team to get by the potentially devastating combination of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a short series. Along with Lackey, the Sox added Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, and Marco Scutaro, guaranteeing that while their bats are nothing to look twice at, their gloves certainly are.

Having Mike Cameron roam center field allowed the Red Sox to move Jacoby Ellsbury to left field where he should be able to eliminate virtually all bloop singles. Moving Beltre to the hot corner and Scutaro to shortstop should solidify what could be the best infield in the MLB.

Projected Rotation                                    Projected Batting Order

Josh Beckett                                             Jacoby Ellsbury

Jon Lester                                                 Dustin Pedroia

John Lackey                                              Victor Martinez

Daisuke Matsuzaka                                      Kevin Youkilis

Tim Wakefield/Clay Buchholz                     David Ortiz

                                                                J.D. Drew

                                                                Adrian Beltre

                                                                Mike Cameron

                                                                Marco Scutaro

Third Place -- Tampa Bay Rays

After an injury-plagued season in which they finished 19 games out of first place, the Rays should see a drastic improvement in 2010. While their lack of pitching depth will probably keep them an arms length behind New York, if healthy, they may be able to give Boston a run for their money for the Wild Card slot.

The middle of the Rays lineup looks as good as anyone’s. Longoria, Pena, Upton, and Zobrist should pack quite the punch at the 3-6 slots, and Crawford will be setting the table at the top of the order. The pressure will be on the arms of the young Rays starters to get Tampa back to the post-season.

David Price will be tested in 2010 after being used very delicately in ’09. Shields and Garza will hold down the front end of the rotation as usual, but if the Rays want to see October, it will be up to their young guns.

Projected Rotation                                  Projected Batting Order

J. Shields                                                C. Crawford
M. Garza                                                  J. Bartlett

D. Price                                                   E. Longoria

J. Niemann                                              C. Pena

W. Davis                                                  B. Upton

                                                               B. Zobrist

                                                               P.Burrell

                                                               M. Joyce

                                                               D. Navarro


Fourth Place -- Baltimore Orioles

After narrowly avoiding a 100-loss season in 2009, Baltimore will once again have their hands full for the 2010 campaign.

While they do boast some young talent, the O’s are still a few years away from being considered contenders in the American League East. Baltimore should see an improvement in the pitching department, but then again it would be tough to see a decline.

Baltimore starters posted a 5.37 ERA last year, almost a full run higher than the league average. What the Orioles do have is one of the best outfields in all of baseball - the combination of Reimold, Jones, and Markakis is a force to be reckoned with, and should give those few remaining Orioles fans something to cheer about. Watching them mature the next few years is an exciting prospect for the city of Baltimore.

Projected Rotation                                         Projected Batting Order

K. Millwood                                                    B.Roberts

J. Guthrie                                                      M. Tejada

C.Tillman                                                       A. Jones

B. Matusz                                                       N.Markakis

B. Bergesen                                                    L.Scott

                                                                     N. Reimold

                                                                     M. Wieters

                                                                     G. Atkins

                                                                     C. Izturis


Fifth Place -- Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays haven’t won 90 games since 1993, and trading away Roy Halladay won’t make it any easier.

Halladay was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise very dismal Toronto ball club. While their lineup isn’t atrocious, the lack of pitching depth should prohibit the Blue Jays from making a serious playoff push in 2010.

Even so, the Blue Jays have committed to sticking with manager Cito Gaston until the young talent begins to develop, and the Jays can make a push for October.


When exactly that happens remains a mystery.


But I can tell you it won't be this year.

Projected Rotation                                     Projected Batting Order

R. Romero                                                   J. Bautista

D. McGowan                                                A. Hill

S. Marcum                                                   A. Lind

B. Morrow                                                   V. Wells

B. Tallet                                                     T. Snider

                                                                  L. Overbay

                                                                  E. Encarnacion

                                                                  J. Buck

                                                                  A. Gonzalez