AL East Preview

The American League East has been a division of dominance for a few decades now, with obvious heavyweights the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox leading the chrage. Coming into the 2010 season, it appears as if the division is up for grabs, as 3 excellent team all vie for the top spot. The ultimate division winner is difficult to decide, but there is one thing for certain: The Blue Jays will finish in last.

5.) Toronto Blue Jays
Known as the team with Roy Halladay for most of the decade, they will have to find a new identity as they traded their ace Halladay to the Phillies during the offseason. Alex Rios is now playing for the White Sox and the team seems all but destined for a cellar-dweller season. Vernon Wells claims the team is his team, but looking at the roster this is only because their is no one else on the team. With starters field players such as Buck, Lind, Ruiz,Bautista, and other anomalies,and a staff whose supposed ace is Sean Marcum, the Blue Jays will remain in rebuilding mode for a while.

4.) Baltimore Orioles
It hurts to put the Orioles only fourth, as they are clearly a team on the rise, but in this division in 2010, it's as far as they can go. With Allstar outfields Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, infielders Miguel Tejada and Brian Robets, and the much-hyped catcher Matt Wieters, this can be a feared offense. Throw in off-season acquisition Mike Gonzalez to close games and this team looks good. Then you remember their pitching staff of Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie and realize why this team is stuck in the 4 spot for now.

3.) Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are the grandparents of the division, as their lineup seems old and beatup. David Ortiz, Mike Cameron, JD Drew, Victor Martinez, and Adrian Beltre would have been an awesome lineup... in 2005. These players have a lot of experience, but injury prone players that are fading out of their prime are never the key to championships. The addition of John Lackey will help, but Beckett of late has not been the Josh Beckett we know of from 2003, and Wakefield has to break down at some point. The talent is there, but can they last a full 162 to be able to compete with the next two teams? I doubt it.

2.) Tampa Bay Rays
As we saw 2 years ago, the Rays are a young team with a lot of talent. Lead by MLB 2K10 coverboy Evan Longoria, the Rays also feature Allstars Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. An offense filled with both speed and power, and a solid rotation, the Rays should be cotending all season. Two key players that may determine the Rays position this year are David Price and newly acquired closer Rafael Soriano. Price was a former number 1 overall pick who showed glimpses of genius in a relief role against the Red Sox in 2008. However, he is currently slotted as the number 4 starter. Will he raise his game to the potential he has, or be just another fourth starter? The Rays have been known for the inconsistentcy in the bullpen and Rafael Soriano was brought in to solve this problem. If he can establish himself as a dominant closer, the Rays should be real good.

1.) New York Yankees
It's often said that you are the champs until someone beats you, and there is no reason to assume that will occur. Despite losing Matsui and Damon, the Yankees have replaced them with arguably better players in Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson. The trade for Javier Vasquez gave the Yankees an unbelievable rotation for this year, lead by C.C. Sabathia and AJ Burnett. The best news for the Yanks, however, is the amount of returning stars from their World Series win last season, as the entire all-star infield, as well as Pettite, Posada, and the great Mariano Rivera will all be on the squad and be contributing to what could be another Yankee division win.