New York Yankees
The Yankees won 97 games in the regular season a year ago to win the American League East and they look even better heading into 2012. The Yankees addressed their biggest need as they upgraded their starting rotation by getting Michael Pineda from Seattle and Hiroki Kuroda who was with the Dodgers. The starting rotation that was a question mark last year is now strong with CC Sabathia at the top followed by Pineda, Hughes and Kuroda. The lineup is great with powerful hitters Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez and the bullpen is always good with Mariano Rivera.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have a new manager in Bobby Valentine who is going to kick them in the butt so they should be improved this season. The Red Sox have a solid lineup but question marks in their rotation put them behind the Yankees in the division.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays could easily be the second place team in this division and challenge the Yankees this season. They have a great rotation that is deeper than any other team in the division but they don’t have as much offense as either New York or Boston.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays simply play in the wrong division. They may finish above .500 this season for all the good it is going to do them. They have some talented players like Jose Bautista and a lot of young talent but in the AL East they are behind the top three teams.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have a lot of problems. Their starting rotation last season was the worst in baseball and their lineup, while good is not as good as New York’s or Boston’s. The team traded their only reliable starter in Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado so now they have to hope their young pitchers can carry the load. It seems unlikely.
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