The AL East is widely regarded to be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball, and in all of sports for that matter. Unfortunately for the Orioles, 85 wins may only be good enough for fourth place in the division in 2014. With Opening Day only a few weeks away however, it is time to make picks in the division, and time to look in detail at the other four teams competing with the Orioles. This time a year ago, the Toronto Blue Jays had “won” the offseason and were a trendy pick to win 90 games and contend for the World Series, and the Boston Red Sox were coming of a 69-93 season and looked unlikely to contend in 2013. As we saw, the Blue Jays went on to finish last in the division and the Red Sox won 97 games and eventually won the World Series as well. It’s quite difficult to predict the 2014 season, as every single team in the AL East can realistically contend for a playoff spot. That being said, here we go:
New York Yankees
For a large chunk of the first half of last season, the Yankees sent out a lineup last season that included Travis Hafner, Lyle Overbay, and Vernon Wells, and as a result the team finished 10th in the AL in runs and 12th in both batting average and on base percentage.
The offense got better as the season moved on, and got even better over the offseason despite losing the best offensive player from a year ago in Robinson Cano. The Yankees committed big deals to free agents including Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, and Jacoby Ellsbury. These signings, along with the recoveries of Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira have the Bronx Bombers thinking they can return to an elite offensive output in 2014.
Last season, the pitching buoyed the team for the majority of the season, as Hiroki Kuroda won only 11 games, but managed an ERA of only 3.31 and Andy Petite and Ivan Nova had good seasons as well. C.C. Sabathia struggled to the tune of a 4.78 ERA, but still pitched over 200 innings and won 14 games. Sabathia has reported to camp in better shape this year, and vows to pitch better in 2014.
If the team can adequately replace the retired Andy Pettite and the departed Phil Hughes, they can contend in 2014. The Yankees also signed the prize starting pitcher free agent in Japanese stud Masahiro Tanaka, who is expected to make an immediate impact after signing a seven-year contract worth over $150 million. All-time great closer Mariano Rivera also retired following the season, but setup man David Robertson is more than capable of stepping in and performing immediately. The rest of the bullpen including Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton will have to adjust to setup roles, but are more than capable as well.
PREDICTION: 84-78, Fourth Place
The Yankees pitching staff may pitch at a similar level to last season, if Tanaka is as good as advertised or if Sabathia can bounce back. There are question marks though – Kuroda tired last season down the stretch and it remains to be seen whether or not Nova can pitch the way he did at times last season over an entire year. Barring injury the offense will be better though, and the Yankees will finish with a record similar to last season, when they were more lucky than good, with a run differential of -21.
With health and luck however, the team could be back in the postseason.
When you spend half a BILLION dollars in one offseason, anything less has to be considered quite a disappointment.
