Baseball

By Sean Holihan
For Outsports.com

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
 

1. BOSTON RED SOX

That’s about all you’ll want to see him wearing:  Johnny Damon.  You have to love this guy;  I’m not a Sox fan and I do.  Leader of the idiots over there in Fenway, Damon became an icon last year with the Sox run for the World Series title.  How many other players can have their faces planted on shirts that say, “Jesus is my homeboy?”  New Arrivals:  SS Edgar Renteria, RHP Wade Miller, RHP Matt Clement, LHP David Wells, CF Jay Payton, INF Ramon Vazquez, LHP John Halama, RHP Matt Mantei  Departures:  RHP Pedro Martinez, SS Orlando Cabrera, RHP Derek Lowe, OF Dave Roberts, INF Pokey Reese, OF Gabe Kapler, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, OF Ellis Burks, OF Adam Hyzdu  Upside:  They found a way to make their offense better.  Amazing.  Especially after two players, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, were voted the third- and fourth-best players in the American League last year. When GM Theo Epstein took over, he said he was going to put a team together that got on base.  That’s just what Boston did last season; they led the league in on-base percentage at .360.  Any time you’ve got you’re whole team getting on base at that rate you’re going to win.   Downside:  They better get on base because Pedro is gone, Wade Miller is hurt, Curt Schilling may be hurt and David Wells isn’t getting any younger.  While cutting ties with Derek Lowe was a good thing, I don’t think Boston ever expected to lose out on Pedro.  The Red Sox have signed Wells to take over his slot, but he is not Martinez by any stretch of the imagination.  To fill  Lowe’s spot, they brought in Matt Clement.  Clement has been regarded as someone with a lot of potential, but when you’re 30, it’s time to fulfill some of those promises.  His best season was in 2003 when he went 14-12 with a 4.11 ERA.  Wade Miller was signed to add a little insurance in case Schilling or Wells went down.  Unfortunately, Boston forgot to get insurance on the insurance.  Boston has just put both Schilling and Miller on the disabled list.    Bottom Line:  There are some scary things going on in that rotation, but doctors are saying that Schilling and Miller won’t miss more than a month.  They say pitching wins championships.  Well, it helps.  Scoring more runs then the other guy wins you ballgames.  That’s what Boston will do this year.  Anyone up for Part 3 of the Boston-New York AL Championship Series?  2004 record:  98-64, 2nd 2005 prediction:  100-62, 1st

2. NEW YORK YANKEES

Spend a night on the town with:  Alex Rodriguez.  I’m not a big fan, but he is  one of the three best players in the league and pretty easy on the eyes.  New Arrivals:  LHP Randy Johnson, 1B Tino Martinez, RHP Carl Pavano, RHP Jaret Wright, 2B Tony Womack, LHP Mike Stanton, RHP Felix Rodriguez, INF Rey Sanchez  Departures:  RHP Orlando Hernandez, RHP Jon Lieber, RHP Esteban Loaiza, RHP Javier Vazquez, 2B Miguel Cairo, 1B Tony Clark, LHP Felix Heredia, 1B Travis Lee, 1B John Olerud, CF Kenny Lofton    Upside:  The Yankees had problems with the starting rotation last year, bringing in no less than seven starters.  To fix that problem they brought in Cy Young runner-up Randy Johnson, Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano.  All three had good seasons last year and should perform better than whom they’re replacing.  They basically have the same lineup as last year, except they’ve brought back Tino Martinez to man first and Tony Womack to take over where Cairo left off.  Downside:  Pavano and Wright were risky signings.  Wright has had only two good years in his career. 1998 and 2004.  In between are five years you wouldn’t want to wish on your worst enemy.  If Braves’ pitching coach Leo Mazzone didn’t prove his worth with Wright, he never will.  Pavano is another story.  He’s always been said to have all the tools to succeed in the league, it just took six years to do so.  Who knows how he’ll react to pitching in New York City.  Another ex-Montreal pitcher who couldn’t handle the pressure was Javier Vazquez who is actually thought to be a better pitcher than Pavano.  Oh yeah, then there’s Jason Giambi; he could hit two home runs or 30.    Bottom line:  Even with the questions that remain with their pitching staf,f this team will make the playoffs.  Their lineup is too good for it.  Expect another MVP season from Alex Rodriguez, who is looking to make up for his “sub-par” first year in New York.  Randy Johnson should pitch like Randy Johnson and if there are any problems throughout the season, expect the Yankees to trade away the rest of their farm system to fix it.  Owner George Steinbrenner wants to win.  Now, dammit.  2004 record:  101-61, 1st 2005 prediction:  96-66, 2nd

3. BALTIMORE ORIOLES

O’ say can you see?  Javy Lopez.  Hottest catcher in the bigs.     New Arrivals:  RF Sammy Sosa, LHP Steve Kline, RHP Steve Reed, SS Chris Gomez  Departures:  OF/INF Jerry Hairston Jr., LHP Buddy Groom  Upside:  Offense!  This lineup reads like a fantasy baseball team.  Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Melvin Mora provide the Orioles with great firepower.  Expect  Sosa’s number back up to what they were a couple years ago with all that protection around him.  Downside:  Pitching!  Quick test:  Name an Orioles pitcher that hasn’t seen the back seat of a cop car this offseason.  Sidney Ponson and Eric DuBose don’t count.  All right, times up.  Their starting rotation is totally unreliable with only Rodrigo Lopez to lead them out of the darkness.  He went 13-9 last year with a 3.59 ERA.  Everyone else’s ERA was at least a run or higher.  That’s no good.  Bottom line:  Even with the rotation as it is, this team should be able to reach .500 this year.  But don’t expect anything more.  The Red Sox and Yankees have this division locked up pretty tight.  Also if you happen to be playing fantasy baseball this year, feel free to pick up an Oriole or two.    2004 record:  78-84, 3rd 2005 prediction:  80-82, 3rd

4. TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Hot Canuck:  Orlando Hudson.  Funny story about Hudson:  He once said that General Manager J.P. Ricciardi was a cool cat because he dressed like a pimp.  Although Toronto insists they were going to do it anyway, Hudson was sent down to the minors.  It’s been a little rocky ever since.    New Arrivals:  1B Shea Hillenbrand, 3B Corey Koskie, LHP Scott Schoeneweis, INF Frank Menechino, INF John McDonald  Departures:  1B Carlos Delgado, SS Chris Gomez, C Kevin Cash  Upside:  Even though many people outside of Toronto would be hard pressed to name another Blue Jay apart from departed first baseman Delgado, this lineup is actually pretty strong.  Ricciardi and Boston’s GM Theo Epstein have both worked under Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s.  In just two years Epstein brought a title to the place that hadn’t had one since 1918. Toronto fans hope it’s Ricciardi’s turn.  Downside:  The pitching staff.  Seems harder these days to get good pitching doesn’t it?  Their ace Roy Halladay missed most of July, all of August and part of September with a shoulder injury.  He decided not to have shoulder surgery in the offseason.  That’s something that worries some Toronto fans.    Bottom Line:  Don’t look for this team to do anything special this year.  If everything broke right they might get back to .500  and sign some key free agents in 2006.  2004 record:  67-94, 5th 2005 prediction:  69-92, 4th

5. TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS

One hot devil:  Casey Fossum.  He may not be the best pitcher on the team, but hey, he is the best looking.    New Arrivals:  OF Alex Sanchez, 1B Travis Lee, C Kevin Cash, LHP Casey Fossum, 1B Josh Phelps, 3B Alex Gonzalez, OF Michael Restovich, RHP Rob Bell  Departures:  2B Roberto Alomar, 1B Tino Martinez, LHP John Halama, INF Geoff Blum, OF Jose Cruz Jr., INF Damian Rolls, INF Rey Sanchez  Upside:  This is a very promising team with a lot of upside.  Their farm system is rich with talent which bodes well for the future.  Pitcher Scott Kazmir has had so many scouts tout him as the next great thing you’d be surprised that he’s only 21 old and hasn’t won a Cy Young yet.  If the younger players can start playing like they’re supposed sooner than later, this team could reach third place in the division.    Downside:  The present.  They have a few legitimate stars like Carl Crawford, Kazmir and Aubrey Huff but the rest are just holdovers until players like catcher Toby Hall, OF Rocco Baldelli and minor leaguers B.J. Upton and Delmon Young are ready to play.  Bottom Line:  Last year the Devil Rays celebrated because they didn’t finish in the cellar.  This year they’ll have to fight hard to keep out of it.    2004 record:  70-91, 4th 2005 prediction:  67-94, 5th