MLB Preview: AL East

Can The Red Sox Fountain Of Youth help them make another AL East Run?

The American League east is the best and most competetive division in Baseball. The AL East is also home to, by far, the best rivalry in Baseball,-Red Sox-Yankees. The rich history, starting back to when Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919, has had many grat players for both teams. On The Yankee side: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Bucky Dent, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and in the future, Phillip Hughes, Jose Tabata and Joba Chamberlain.


The Red Sox have also had some great players on their side: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, Bill Buckner, Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Curt Schilling, and in the future, Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury.


In This MLB Preview, we will preview the AL East and see if Tampa Bay, Baltimore, or Toronto have a shot to leapfrog Boston or New York for first or second in the division?


BOSTON RED SOX
Boston won the division away from New York for the first time in Fourteen seasons. The Red Sox rolled through the postseason. They swept the Angels in the ALDS, went through turbulence but survived in Cleveland in the ALCS, and swept away the hottest team in Baseball, the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.

Pithing Wise, Boston is set for 2008, even without Curt Schilling. Schilling will be replaced by Clay Buchholz.Buchholz, in his second Major League Start, threw a no hitter against their division rival Baltimore Orioles. One Season has passed, and we now know that Daisuke Mastuzaka is not lights out. But we know that Hideki Okajima is. Okajima should be in the running for the 2008 Relief Man Award. Josh Beckett was lights out in the 2007 Postseason and should have won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award. Expect him to be back with a vengenance in 2008.

Offensively, Thunder & Lightning will return to the Red Sox in 2008. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez will hit a lot of homeruns at Fenway Park.

Boston also has a "Fountain Of Youth" on offense as well. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedoria helped propel the veterans to the World Series Pennant. Ellsbury will take over in Center Field, forcing the Red Sox to trade Coco Crisp.

NEW YORK YANKEES
2008 is the Final Season Baseball will be played at "The House That Ruth Built." The Yankees will be moving into New Yankee Stadium, "The House That Jeter Bulit" Next Season.

Joe Girardi goes from Broadcasting the Yankees to Managing The Yankees. Girardi replaces four time World Series Winning Manager Joe Torre, who is now managing down in Chavez Ravine. Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera are back with the team, and both will be wearing Pinstripes in the New Yankee Stadium. This past season was the first time in twelve seasons New York did not win the division.

The Yankees have their own Fountain Of Youth. Joba Chamberlain and Phillip Hughes will both be Starters for the Yankees this season. Expect to see Jose Tabata, The Yankees Future Great Outfielder, get his Golden Ticket to The Show This Season. Melky Cabrera will play Center Field, moving Johnny Damon to Designated Hitter.

The Yankees were in the running for Johan Santana. They didn't get him. Their Crosstown Rivals, The Mets, did get Santana, and as a Result, The Mets are getting picked to the World Series, and not The Yankees.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Many People Are Picking Toronto To Be A Sleeper Team this season. They signed 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein and traded Third Baseman Troy Glaus to the St Louis Cardinals for Scott Rolen. Frank Thomas, if he has a big season, can Pass Harmon Killebrew on the all time Homerun list this season. Pitching wise, A.J. Burnett will have to stay healthy.

Toronto could be a sleeper, but I don't think they have enough to overtake New York or Boston.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
The Orioles are getting ready to get competitive in the future. Adam Jones will join Nick Markakis in the outfield. The Trade for Eric Bedard was a trade that had to be made, as Bedard was going to become a Free Agent Anyway. The Orioles will bring back their version of "Old faithful" Steve Trachsel.

TAMPA BAY RAYS
Tampa Took The Devil Out Of Their Name. Literally. This team made more news for the change of their name and the trading away of players than who they signed. Tampa Bay Traded Away Outfielder Delmon Young, but got Shortshop Brendan Harris and Pitcher Matt Garza.

Tampa signed Cliff Floyd and Pitcher Troy Percival, but they key to the Devil Rays will be how fast will Evan Longoria (no relation to Eva Longoria) and David Price (First Pick in the 2007 MLB Draft) come up and play well.

Tampa Bay will build a winning team around their new Stadium, Evan Longoria and David Price.

MY PROJECTED ORDER:
BOSTON
NEW YORK
TORONTO
BALTIMORE
TAMPA BAY


In Our Next MLB Preview, we will look at the American League West. Can Seattle Win The Division? Will Torri Hunter help the Angels? Is There a Catcher Controversy In Texas? Can Oakland compete after the dumping of their high priced talent? Find Out In The Next MLB Preview.

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MLB Fans, Your AL East Preview Is Coming Up Later Tonight!

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MLB Fans, Your NL East Preview Is Below!

MLB Preview:NL East

Can Johan Santana help Mets Fans forget the pain of Last Season?

The Trading For Johan Santana (and the subsequent bank-breaking extension) sent shockwaves throughout the baseball world. The two epicenters of this deal was both Minnesota and New York.

In This MLB Preview, we will look at how the signing changes the landscape of the NL East Picture.


PHILLADELPHIA PHILLIES
The Phillies in April looked flat. Their team was in Last Place, and their angry manager (Charlie Manuel) was talking to reporters, wanting to fight them. The Phillies picked it up the rest of the way. propelled by National League MVP Jimmy Rollins (who talked the talk and walked the walk) to the 2006 National League Rookie Of the Year Ryan Howard (who walked the walk and produced big in the clutch).

Pitching Wise, Cole Hamels, Jon Lieber (now an injury risk for the Chicago Cubs), Brett Myers (the first guy In a while to start and close in the same season), Jamie Moyer, and Rookie Kyle Kendrick formed the best rotation in the National League East Last Season. Could they be the best rotation in the NL East again? Abselotely. Especially after Johan Santana, the Mets have nothing but questionmarks in their rotation.

Kyle Kendrick will replace Jon Lieber in the rotation. Kendrick shined at Double A, was called up to The Show, and shined there as well.

Defensively, the Phillies lost Aaron Rowand (who may replace #25 in Left Field for the San Francisco Giants) and Tadahito Iguchi, a mid season addition last season, to Free Agency.

NEW YORK METS
Heartbreak and dissapointment came to Mets fans last season, The Mets still had a seven game lead in September, with 17 games to go. The Mets, however, would lose 11 of their next 16, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to tie them with three games left. The Mets lost to the Marlins 8-1 in the final game of the season, while the Phillies went on to win their final game 6-1 against the Nationals and clinch the NL East by one game. The Mets became first team in MLB history to blow a lead of seven or more games with only 17 games to play, and, by one analysis, it was the 2nd worst collapse overall in MLB regular season history. Despite the season ending debacle, Minaya announced that Randolph would remain as manager for the 2008 season.

The Mets has to make changes this offseason and they did. They made the biggest trade of the offseason, as The Mets agreed to trade four minor league prospects, including outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitcher Philip Humber to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Johan Santana, who agreed on a six-year contract extension on February 1 worth $150.75 million, the highest amount ever for a pitcher on a long-term contract. The trade was finalized on February 2nd when Santana passed his physical.

Santana is already the favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award, and he improves their rotation. But what about the rest of their rotation? John Maine and Pedro Martinez fill out the rest of the rotation as of today. Tom Glavine, who helped the Braves win the 1995 World Series, is coming back to the Atlanta Braves for the 2008 Season.

Offensively, The Mets will be back, but they are old. Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado are aging, but the two best young players on this team, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, should carry this team. Ryan Church replaces Shawn Green in Right Field, and Brian Schneider, one of the best defensive catchers in Baseball, replaces Paul Lo Duca behind the plate.

ATLANTA BRAVES
After the Braves won fourteen consecutive division titles, the Braves have had a pair of third place finishes. The Braves are still trying to win. The "Old Men" rotation of John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, and Tom Glavine will have the usual hope of staying healthy all season. On the offensive side, the Braves would be smart to resign First Baseman Mark Texiera to an extension. Omar Infante and Yuniel Escobar will be the table-setters for Texiera and Chipper Jones. Andruw Jones had horrible power number last season, and they will only get worse playing in Chavez Ravine. Mark Kotsay, the former Oakland Athletics Outfielder, will compete for Andruw Jones's old spot in Center Field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
The Washington Nationals are on the way up offendively. They have a Future All Star and Gold Glover in Ryan Zimmerman, and Elijah Dukes could be a major sleeper if he cleans up his act. The Nationals will need to improve their rotation if they want to be competitive.

The Future is now for the Nationals. They have the newest ballpark in Baseball and hope to put together a team to compete with the Mets and Phillies.

FLORIDA MARLINS
The Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1997. They then purged their roster of high priced talent. The Marlins again won the World Series in 2003, they purged their roster in 2006, and in 2008, finished purging their roster as they traded away the two cornerstones from their 2003 World Series Run, Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera and Pitcher Dontrelle Willis.

The Marlins will be hoping their pieces from the trade (Mike Rabelo, Andrew Miller) will be enough to build confidence for the youngsters.

The Marlins and Devil Rays will compete to be the worst Florida Team in Baseball.


My Projected Finish:
NEW YORK METS
PHILLADELPHIA PHILLIES
ATLANTA BRAVES
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
FLORIDA MARLINS


In the next MLB Preview, we will preview the American League East. Will The Red Sox be able to repeat? Will Joe Girardi find success in New York? Can The Blue Jays Be A Sleeper this season? Can Tampa Bay Be Competitive This Season? Find out in the next MLB Preview.

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