AL East Preview: 2007

New York Yankees

Story Last Season - After winning their division, the Yankees lost in disappointing fashion to the eventual AL World Series representatives the Detroit Tigers.

Key Losses - The Yankees lost two big names in Gary Sheffield and Randy Johnson by trading them away for prospects. They will also likely lose longtime Yankee Bernie Williams.

Key Additions - New York lured former pitcher Andy Pettitte back to the Big Apple where he has had much success. They also outbid other teams for the rights to Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa. Both should help solidify a shaky pitching rotation.

• NOTE: The Yankees could further help their pitching by convincing Roger Clemens to pitch for them. It is not known who Clemens will pitch for just yet.

Impact Players for 2007

• Robinson Cano - Often lost in the Yankee's mix of talent, Cano had a terrific season last year posting a batting average of .342. That was good for third in the league. If he can stay healthy, he should be one of the better players on a good team.
• Derek Jeter - No surprise that the captain, who had a MVP-type season last year, is on this list. The Yankees always expect Jeter to make plays and he usually comes through.
• Andy Pettitte - The Yankees got rid of Randy Johnson for being a disappointment on the field and re-acquired Pettitte because of his past success in big games for them. If he can pitch a low ERA, the Yankees will be a scary team.

Prediction - The Yankees will battle the Red Sox for the division crown, as usual, and make the playoffs in some fashion, as usual.

Boston Red Sox

Story Last Season - After landing Josh Beckett, the Red Sox were a big disappointment finishing third in the AL East and not even close to a playoff berth as the season finished.

Key Losses - The Red Sox did not lose many big name players but they did part ways with Trot Nixon, a fan favorite, and also allowed Alex Gonzalez to leave.

Key Additions - A big offseason ended with J.D. Drew and Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was coined as the gem of his free agency class.

Impact Players for 2007

• Jonathon Papelbon - Papelbon was one of the best closers in the league in his rookie season. Now the Red Sox are hoping he can have the same success as a starter. Boston lost a lot of games because of poor pitching and Papelbon emerging as a solid starter will go a long way in determining their success.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka - After investing more than a hundred million dollars total, the Red Sox expect an immediate impact.
• David Ortiz - The Big Papi is the center of the Bo-Sox offense and needs to continue his dominance as a DH. He has increased his home run total each season for the past seven years. But belting more than 54 may prove to be his toughest challenge in the majors yet.

Prediction - Give Theo Epstein credit, he made all the moves needed. With a much better starting rotation, the Sox should be playoff-bound once again.

Toronto Blue Jays

Story Last Season - The Blue Jays finished second in their division for the first time in a long time but still fell well short of playing in October.

Key Losses - Remember that fight between the Jay's manager and Ted Lilly? Well to no one's surprise, Lilly is playing for a different club now.

Key Additions - Frank Thomas had somewhat of a resurgence as an Athletic last season and now the Blue Jays are hoping for much of the same from him. Aside from Thomas, the biggest signings the Jays had were resigning their own big stars like Vernon Wells and Gregg Zaun.

Impact Players for 2007

• Roy Halladay - Roy is one of the best pitchers in MLB when he can stay healthy. He has been to the All-Star game the past two seasons and would provide a big boost to his club if he has another All-Star caliber year.
• Troy Glaus - We all know how good Vernon Wells, never mind how "underrated" he is said to be. Glaus is a great player in his own right who was been plagued by injuries in Anaheim near the end of his tenure. If he can stay on the field, like the past two seasons, expect him to be a reliable bat in the middle of the Jay's lineup.
• B.J. Ryan - With a shaky pitching lineup after Halladay, the Blue Jays need a reliable bullpen. Ryan is among the best closers in the league and should provide them with this strength.

Prediction - The Blue Jays seem like they are ready to take a step back from last season, not forward. They have a great offense but not enough pitching to get past the Yankees or the Red Sox.

Baltimore Orioles

Story Last Season - Besides watching Miguel Tejada play out his terrific career on a bad team and wondering if Corey Patterson could steal fifty bases, there wasn't much of a story in Baltimore.

Key Losses - The Orioles did not lose any big name players.

Key Additions - The only notable name added was Jamie Walker, a pretty good left-handed setup man.

Impact Players for 2007

• Miguel Tejada - Almost no one plays better from the shortstop position. Tejada is capable of having a MVP season any year, but his support has gotten weaker and weaker in Baltimore. Bet he is wishing he chose a different team now.
• Melvin Mora - Mora has great potential but after batting .340 in 2004 he has had nothing but disappointments since. If he can regain some of his form from his best season and bat over .300, the Orioles may win more games than they are expected to.
• Corey Patterson - Once one of the highest rated prospects in the majors, Patterson was a disappointment as a Cub and was moved to Baltimore last offseason. In his first year with the team, he did decent. His power numbers need to improve, however, and he, like Mora, could add security in the lineup for Tejada.

Prediction - The Orioles have no big offseason moves and so they have essentially the same roster as last year's seventy win team. Expect much of the same, if not worse, unless a lot of Oriole players get a lot better fast.

TampaBay Devil Rays

Story Last Season - A perennial loser in the league, the Devil Rays finished yet another season with over a hundred losses.

Key Losses - The D-Rays didn't lose anyone big. That's the good thing about being a bad team, nobody wants your players.

Key Additions - Tampa Bay added a Japanese player, Akinori Iwamura, like the Yankees and Red Sox. The bad news? He wasn't nearly as coveted as the other two players.

Impact Players for 2007

• Carl Crawford - Speedy and smart, Crawford is one of the lone bright spots on a pretty woeful team. He has stolen over 150 bases in the last three seasons and is batting just under .300 for his career. Expect him to be the feature player of this team.
• Scott Kazmir - One of the better, young pitchers in the league not enough people know about. Kazmir had an excellent record, 10-8, considering how bad his supporting cast was and his ERA was very encouraging. He should continue improving this season.
• Ty Wiggenton - He led the team in home runs and RBIs last season. Usually bad teams like Tampa Bay are filled with young players waiting to bust out, and Wiggenton should experience further improvement in his game this season. 100 RBIs would be a good benchmark to reach.

Prediction - No chance in the world does this team contend. Too young, too inexperienced and not enough talent.