Monday, March 14, 2016

2016 Predictions - AL East

    The 2016 MLB season is almost upon us. With that in mind, it's time to make some predictions. Over the next several days I will offer my predictions for the upcoming season, division by division. So, let us begin with the AL East:

5. Baltimore Orioles
     The Baltimore Orioles went into the off-season with a considerable number of question marks,  most notably their rotation.  Though they did sign Yovanni Gallardo, they still do not have a true number one. They might not have noticed, but that strategy did not work out so well for the Boston Red Sox last season . And yes, they did re-sign Chris Davis, but, I don't believe it's going to be enough to land them any higher than dead last.

4.  Tampa Bay Rays
     As is the case for most offseasons, the Rays made a myriad of moves in order to fill spots and address needs. I love the additions of Corey Dickerson, Brad Miller and Logan Morrison, although they did have to give up quite a bit, Nate Karnes & Jake McGee, to get them.  Chris Archer is one of the top 10 starters in all of Major League Baseball, but, the back end of the rotation and bullpen could be the reason they may come up short.

3. Toronto Blue Jays
     Although, like the Baltimore Orioles, the Jays do not have a true ace.  Marcus Stroman may be one of the best up and coming pitchers in the game, at least, that is what David Price said of the 24-year-old before he departed for Bean Town.  The jury is still out on how effective Toronto's new rotation additions, J.A. Happ, Jesse Chavez & Gavin Floyd, will be.  However, they still have former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, the afore mentioned Stroman, and Marco Estrada, who had a pretty spectacular season last year. Not to mention, one of the most daunting lineups in all of baseball.  With their ability to bash their way back in to any game, they should be in the hunt all season.

2. New York Yankees
     Health is the primary focus for this team in 2016. If they can keep Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Elsbury, Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda from any major stints on the DL, this team could be electric. After his breakout season, Nathan Eovaldi looks like he is ready to pick up right where he left off, before departing from last year's season with an injury.  Aaron Hicks appears to be ready to fill in the shoes left by Chris Young and Starlin Castro is poised to have a monster year now that he no longer has to worry about his playing time being in jeopardy.  Oh, and by the way, five words:  back end of the bullpen.  If healthy, we could see some special things from this team this year.

1. Boston Red Sox
     Although it kills me to do it, I have to go against my Yankee loving gut. The addition of David Price provides that number one that Boston so desperately needed.  As he has done in the prior three cities for which he has pitched, he makes everyone around him better. Bucholtz is as good a number two as there is, and, Porcello has shown some signs of brilliance, even if he is the highest-paid number three in all of baseball.  The transition to first base will be much more seamless to Hanley Ramirez than most think.  And, even if that doesn't work out, the plethora of talent they have in their outfield and at the Triple-A level is more than enough to make a move for whatever they find themselves lacking.  Craig Kimbrel forces Koji to a set up role, which, when you say it out loud, is pretty unfair.  In the swan song of David Ortiz's career, Boston seems poised to make a run at another title.

 Let the debating begin!



13 comments:

  1. Benny,

    Welcome officially to the boards. First article and you have the Blue Jays finishing in 3rd place.... going for broke huh? I joke, nice article and thank you for sharing.

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    1. Welcome Benny, have a long and fun time here with those of us that don't have the writing talents you have...mainly me!

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    2. Damn Benny and Daniel, I had the Yankees for 3rd place this year being the pessimist I am. I hope to be wrong but with all our question marks one never knows.
      With them keeping CC in the starting rotation in favor of a better pitcher...that sucks. And we don't have a clue what we will get out of Hicks, Castro, Headley, Refsy and the back-up catcher...whomever that may be! Romine?

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    3. I too have the Yanks 3rd possibly 4th. Since I agreed with Reed he will now change his current stance on 3rd place and move the Yanks to 2nd place.

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  2. Reed,

    I have the Yankees finishing second again. I also have Toronto finishing third because that's where they would have been had they not gotten David Price. Marcus Stroman is good but he's no Price. he was unstoppable after the trade.

    Also CC is bound to get hurt. It's not if, it's when. He will have his knee drained and he will need a couple weeks off. It's almost a given and guarantee.

    Hans,

    And no, I didn't pick second just to disagree with you. I had them second all along and have said another Wild Card berth is possible and probable if they stay relatively healthy.

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    1. Burch my points are to Reed. If I agreed with him he would switch his position. He is always saying Hal is a tightwad and then says Hal will spend. Hal won't spend and it is pretty evident as he has money coming off the books after this season and there was talent out there that we needed to sign and passed on. I have been a Yankee fan from the mid sixties so I have seen my share of pitiful Yankee teams as well as ownership. Say all the things you want about George. The first thing he realized is to re-invest in the team which Hal doesn't understand. People are excited about this staff. This staff to me screams ??????? There is not one pitcher on this staff that you can throw out there and be confident that they will pitch up to their ability or more importantly not get injured.

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  3. It's funny that the Yankee bias seems to stem even to it's fans. Can somebody explain to me how Boston picks up 1 starter and 1 closer and suddenly makes up 15 games. Picking up Price and Kimbrel were great moves, but I can guarantee you that their combined WAR wasn't 15. Boston may have gained an ace, but they lost their most consistent starter from last year in Miley. The only starter they had that made 30 starts and sniffed 200 innings. They improved the bullpen with Kimbrel, but I would rather have Chapman. And why does everybody expect improvement from their 30+ year old players (Pedroa, Ramirez, Sandoval, etc.) and regression from ours? As far as Toronto, how did they improve? They lost Price and Buerhle. Plus, can't the same stigma be put on them that gets put on the Yankees every year? They all got another year older just like the Yankees. Here's a prediction for the AL east, Toronto, New York, Boston, Tampa, Baltimore.

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    1. I can only speak for myself here. Boston added an ace and a closer but they also had a ton of young talent to boot. While their 30 year olds may not get better their young core should.

      Also see what Price did for the entire Toronto team last year? Double that with Kimbrel.

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  4. If you wanted to, you could really flip a coin and use that as the way to determine who's going to end up where. Just like during last year's spring training, every team in the division has question marks, and it ended up being one of, if not the toughest divisions in baseball. I think this might be the hardest division to predict because of that. Although, I think it's pretty funny we ALL have Baltimore seller dwelling

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    1. Baltimore had a lot to lose this offseason and didn't do enough to get back. If Tampa didn't have so much pitching I would pick them for last, but they have a crap ton.

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  5. Oh, and by the way, thank you for all the kind words and acceptance into this awesome blogosphere

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    1. You are a welcome breath of fresh thought for this Blog and Daniel needed the help...so you are doing a favor for all of us.

      And Yes, you are right about the coin flip. All three teams have ???? marks. I am hopping I am wrong and the Yankees stay healthy all year win the division, win the play-offs, and the WS...but I can't see it happening this year.
      Look to 2018 for better days!

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)