As things stand, who wins the AL East?

[NZSox]

Hi everyone.

Topic's pretty simple, title says it all. As things stand on the 16th of December 2012, who's in the best shape to win the AL East?

This may be a little premature, the off-season has a long way to go yet, but people can continue to post their thoughts on who's the favorite as things develop throughout the winter.

I've attached a poll, but you can choose to hold off on voting until things develop a little more if you'd like. Just figured this thread could be a good place to direct AL East specific chat in the meantime.

[Divinity]

The same team that won the AL East the past two years, Yankees.

[NZSox]

Originally Posted by Divinity

The same team that won the AL East the past two years, Yankees.

I'm less convinced. But that might change if Cash gets some decent business done for you guys.

[rjortiz]

Blue Jays, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles.

[BSN07]

Out of all the teams I'd pick TB. They have deep pitching and a good BP. They have some nice offensive pieces, still a work in progress.

Yankees are old, O's are coming back to earth whether O's fans want to admit it and they still lack any proven top end SP, Red Sox have wholes and I don't care for Toronto's mix of talent all that much.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Yankees, but the Rays will push them.

[NZSox]

Depressing, yet understandably, the Sox have 0% of the vote on their own forum.

Sigh.

Bridging year anyone?!!!!!

[TutGadol]

With the Yanks and Jays aging and stuck with contracts I would've thought it's a good time to rebuild, hold for a year or two and then go back strong to the market. But oh well, another mediocre at best team should be alright too.

[iortiz]

Originally Posted by NZSox

Depressing, yet understandably, the Sox have 0% of the vote on their own forum.

Sigh.

Bridging year anyone?!!!!!

Do not look at us, look at our great FO.


Toronto ALE Champ
NY WC
TB
O's
BOS.

As stands. Could change though.

[Palodios]

As it stands right now, the Toronto Blue Jays are the best team in the division. But, I would bet that the Jays have used up all their bullets this offseason. Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, and Baltimore will follow.

However, I don't believe that Ben is done. If the Red Sox add a very good pitcher, and sign Stephen Drew, they could put themselves in the position to win this wide-open division.

[Palodios]

As it stands right now, the Toronto Blue Jays are the best team in the division. But, I would bet that the Jays have used up all their bullets this offseason. Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, and Baltimore will follow.

However, I don't believe that Ben is done. If the Red Sox add a very good pitcher, and sign Stephen Drew, they could put themselves in the position to win this wide-open division.

[jacksonianmarch]

The Yankees are still gonna win the division and the last week of September will be without drama

[DocHolliday]

Still early, but I really don't see a clear favorite in the division right now.

Baltimore's rotation lacks the clear number one and their bullpen severely overachieved last season, particularly in close games. It wouldn't surprise me to see them drop back 8 wins just from their bullpen regressing to its average output.

Toronto added a lot of pieces, but I'm skeptical of their collective ability to stay healthy over a full season. Reyes, Johnson, and Morrow have all missed significant time to injuries in recent years. They need all of their acquisitions AND core pieces like Bautista and Encarnacion to stay healthy and produce over the better part of a full season. For me, they don't have the necessary depth options to fill in if someone goes down (lots of prospects traded away).

Tampa Bay will miss Shields innings and production this season, and will have to get more from Price, Hellickson, and Moore to help make up for the void. Not sure how much more they can get from Price after the season he had, so the rest of the rotation will have to step up. I think they'll be improved offensively, particularly if Myers is called up mid season, but they will still rely heavily on their pitching.

The Yankees certainly aren't done shaping their team for next year, but their roster has question marks in every aspect of the game. They'll be counting on Kuroda and Pettite to give them significant production despite their age. Sabathia has logged a ton of innings over the last few seasons and has health questions going forward. Lots of questions on the left side of the IF and in the OF. Questions with the back end of the bullpen as well assuming Soriano leaves.

At this point, I'd have to give the edge to Tampa Bay since they seem to have the fewest question marks. I can see the Yankees and Jays doing well if their question marks stay healthy.

Still a little early to start assessing the potential for each team though. I still feel a major move is coming for the Red Sox and the Yankees certainly aren't finished.

[BSN07]

Originally Posted by NZSox

Depressing, yet understandably, the Sox have 0% of the vote on their own forum.

Sigh.

Bridging year anyone?!!!!!

We would have to be wearing our rose color glasses to believe they are the favorite right now

Originally Posted by jacksonianmarch

The Yankees are still gonna win the division and the last week of September will be without drama

example^

I would rather have TB or Toronto's roster over the Yankees right now. And this isn't Yankee hate. I've grown to respect the organization while disliking them as my teams rival. But I feel if I were a Yankee fan I would be scared by the age and amount of ? on the roster. Arod, Jeter, Youk, Gardner, Mo, and even Pettitte are all to some extent health risks and the Yanks will need almost all of those to work out for them to have a successful season.

[jacksonianmarch]

It's Yankees hate. Stop dressing it up as anything else. They have a full yr of CC, Pettitte, Kuroda and Hughes in the rotation. This will carry us to the division title again