Predictions for the AL East this year

[Andrea>Dirk]

Honestly, where do you see the Jays finishing this season, as well as how the whole division will look come late September?

[Mak]

Again we need a lot of things to go right for us to win the East. AJ and Roy has to stay healthy. We need our 3/4/5 guys to give us a chance to win and our pen will need to step up.

Of course we need what is expected out of our hitters. Can't have any of Thomas/Rios/Wells/Glaus/Overbay have bad years.

[Franchise_411]

In my opinion, the Blue Jays are more than capable of winning the AL East, however there are still a few question marks on the team this year,

1) The middle infield - While I love what Troy Glaus brings to the ballclub, they sure did give up a lot when they lost Orlando Hudson last off-season ... It's clear that his departure left a huge void up the middle.
2) The 3,4,5 spots in the rotation - Tomo, Chacin, Towers have to each win at least 10-14 games, in order for the Jays to stay on par with the Yankees and Red Sox, both of whom made significant improvements to their respective pitching rotations this past off-season.
3) The middle relievers - Last season, this was one of the Jays' most glaring weaknesses, they simply didn't have the firepower in the bullpen to bridge the gap between the starters and B.J. Ryan ... To put it lightly they have to show a lot more consistency this year.

On a personal note, I'm really amped for this season ... It will be interesting to see how Alex Rios follows up on his breakout 2006 season, how Vernon Wells responds to the huge contract and how Frank Thomas fits into this lineup.

[Griff83]

2nd behind Boston

[Garmfay]

2nd Behind Boston and we will win Wild Card

[Geddy]

2nd behind the Yankees, with the wild card

[CB4_Toronto_Raptors]

2nd behind the Yankees, with the wild card

Here's hopein

[moose man]

1. Yankees
2. Blue Jays - barring no injuries to doc or aj
3. Red sox

[jalenrose#5]

Yankees 100-62
BlueJays 92-70
BoSox 89-73
Baltimore 75-87
TBay 70-92

Blue Jays finish 5th overall

Yankees
Angels
Tigers
Twins
BlueJays
BoSox
WhiteSox
Indians

who cares about the others....lol

[cb4_89]

I like this offense very much but the pitchign scares me.

I say 3rd barring any major injuries to any teams.

[SmallTownJournalist303]

I think the Red Sox are going to be better than the Yanks. They've just got a better team overall, IMO. Hopefully we can keep pace.

[2009NBAChamps]

It's going to be hard to be better than 3rd in this division....

Red Sox's pitching might be the best in baseball....
and of course the Yankees have arguably the best lineup this decade with a full year of Abreu at their disposal....

I'm optimistic at our chances of finishing 2nd with a late season push (hopefully take the wildcard) as I think our team despite glaring holes in our pitching is still more balanced than the Yankees but heck even Baltimore could make a run this year if their pitchers live up to their potential....

[The_Hater]

Boston
New York
Toronto
Baltimore
Tampa

To me, Boston looks stacked. They've improved both their offense (Drew/Lugo) and their starting pitching (DM) over last year which should get them back in the 95+ win range. NY has (easily) the best offense in baseball but has tons of question marks in the rotation. I think you'll see a lot of wins like you saw today (9-5).

Toronto is in the same position as they were last year in that they'll need a lot of things go right in order to win the division. It's not impossible but still unlikely. It's too bad because I think that they have an excellent shot to win at least 3 if not 4 of the other MLB divisions.

[Holmes]

New York
Boston
3a. Toronto 3b. Baltimore
Tampa

3a and 3b in the sense that I think we will spending more time fighting off the surprisingly improved Orioles than Sox and Yankees. I really like what the Orioles did in the offseason. Saw the holes they had (bullpen, a starter, another power hitter) and filled them in nicely.

[SmallTownJournalist303]

There's no way the Orioles do anything this season. Their pitching is all question marks (even their top three whom I adore), and Gibbons, Huff, and Patterson don't provide enough offense for their position. Their bullpen is solid, but that's not going to suddenly push them onto our level.

[Holmes]

Do anything doesn't necessarily mean make the playoffs or be a top team. You are assuming that "our level" is what we achieved last year or better.

With the vastly improved Red Sox they are in for more than just 86 wins this year. I believe the Orioles are capable of a .500 season. Frankly, before we went on an 18-10 tear last year in September we were only 5 games above .500. Also we lost 8 times to Baltimore last year. The second most losses to a division rival last year behind the Yankees.

I still think Toronto will finish 3rd. But the gap between Toronto and Baltimore this year may not be as large as it seems.

[The_Hater]

There's no way the Orioles do anything this season. Their pitching is all question marks (even their top three whom I adore), and Gibbons, Huff, and Patterson don't provide enough offense for their position. Their bullpen is solid, but that's not going to suddenly push them onto our level.

I think that Holmes is right, the Orioles could catch us.

Although they spent too much money on it, their bullpen is much better and when you look at their young rotation, it's hard to argue that every single one of them won't be better this coming season (Bedard/Cabrara/Loewan). Those are some talented young arms.

And which team from last year was predicted to be bad but watched all of their young pitching mature at the same time? Wasn't that the AL champs?

[SmallTownJournalist303]

The Orioles have an average offense, inconsistent starting pitching, and a good bullpen. We have a great offense, somewhat consistent starting pitching, and a talented but unproven bullpen. I don't see where this "Jays 3a, Orioles 3b" comes into play anywhere.
I fully expect Loewen to be a star, and while I think he's going to take a step forward this season, he's probably not ready to realize his potential. Cabrera's in the same boat, except his control at this point is even worse than Loewen's. Bedard is great, but their last two rotation spots are filled with trash.
In order for the Orioles to keep up with us, they need Tejada to stop his power decline from last season, Roberts to return to all-star form, good health (Hernandez is already injured), and quick development from Markakis, Cabrera, and Loewen. I just don't see all these things happening.
We could, of course, succumb to injury, but if you take that out of the equation, our roster is clearly better.

[raps4life~]

i think the jays can win the al east. the BoSox have alot of question marks with thier offensive and the yankees suck. i think the jays can win 100 games this season.

the jays have a better 2-6 than any of the al east teams in my opinion.

overbay
wells
thomas
glaus
rios

wow deadly.

[Harold_and_Kumar]

I have a feeling the D-Rays will give us some trouble this year, especially closer to the end of the season when Upton and Young gain some experience.

Baltimore will be better, but I don't believe they'll make a run for everything, so I'll break down the following:

Batting Order:
NY
TOR
BOS

Pitching:
BOS
TOR
NY

Bullpen:
BOS
a) NY, b) TOR (i dont think it'll be nearly as bad as ppl say)

although somewhat hesitant to predict a winner other than the Yanks, I see the Sox winning the division with the Jays and Yanks battling for the WC