2011 MLB Preview (AL)

Hello friends! With opening day right around the corner I have decided to do a 2 part season preview starting with the American League! Just like I did on my tone blog last year I will rank each team in each division in the order that I think they will finish and then give a breif explanation as to why I say this team will win said division! Hope you all enjoy! American League East (Boston NY Yankees Tampa Bay Toronto Baltimore) Although I am a diehard Yankee fan I am actually picking the Sox to win this division! Why? Well I'll tell you! Their 2 HUGE offseason acquisitions Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres and Carl Crawford from the rival Rays, their scary good pitching staff led by Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka among others, their very good bullpen, and last but not least their controversial but very good closer Jonathan Paplebon! Now don't get me wrong I still think the Yanks are going to be in the mix with their loaded offense and their fairly decent pitching staff and bullpen but my main concern is the retirement of Andy Pettitte because without him the Yanks only have 3 quality starters. (CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and AJ Burnett) However despite all their pitching issues I still think that the Yanks loaded lineup will be just enough to get the Yanks into the postseason but as a Wildcard team at best. Despite the fact that the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon this offseason they did trade away their big bat Carlos Pena and quality starter Matt Garza to the Chicago Cubs! But despite that they still have big bats Evan Longoria and BJ Upton but with the loss of Pena and Garza I think the Rays will finish with a winning record however it won't be enough for the Rays to make the postseason sorry to say. As for the Jays well I think they'll be flirting with the postseason just like they did last year but with Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay being just too good I think that the Toronto Blue Jays will be on the outside looking in I'm afraid. As for the Baltimore Orioles well the only bright spots they have are manager Buck Showalter who led the O's to a winning record after he replaced fired manager Sam Perlozzo last year, newly acquired big bat in Vladimir Guerrero who led the Texas Rangers to their 1st ever AL Pennant and trip to the World Series, and Jake Fox who hit 10 Home Runs this Spring! However the O's will still be the O's as I see them finishing as the bottomfeeders in this division yet again. Sorry! American League Central (Minnesota Chi White Sox Detroit Cleveland Kansas City) In the AL Central I like the Minnesota Twins to win this division yet again because of their big bats Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Jim Thome just to name a few! Their solid pitching staff led by Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, and Scott Baker and their equally loaded bullpen! The White Sox will most certainly be in the playoff race up to the very end! With the addition of star slugger Adam Dunn and fellow big bat Paul Konerko and a solid pitching staff of their own led by Jake Peavy the White Sox will most certainly give the Twinkies a fight in the AL Central! As for Detroit well despite the loss of Johnny Damon to the Tampa Bay Rays they still have embattled slugger Miguel Cabrera along with fellow slugging star Magglio Ordonez as well as a solid pitching staff led by Justin Verlander who I expect to be in the AL Cy Young race this year he's that good and Jeremy Bonderman and an ok bullpen at best. But with Minnesota and Chicago being just too good in my book I think that the Tigers will be on the outside looking in! With some very good young talent such as Carlos Santana (no not the greatest guitar player in the history of music) and wily veteran Grady Sizemore the Indians should actually be good enough to avoid the basement as I fully expect the Royals to finish in the basement after letting the only good player they even have on their team get away and that 1 good player was 2009 AL Cy Young winner Zack Grienke who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers! Stupid move Royals! Stupid move! Enough said! American League West (Texas LA Angels Oakland Seattle) Last October the Texas Rangers shocked the baseball world by winning the American League pennant for the 1st time in the illustrious history! Now despite letting Vladimir Guerrero get away to the bottomfeeder Orioles they still have their MVP Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, and their new slugging star Adrian Beltre who the Rangers picked up from the Boston Red Sox this offseason! Couple that with a very good pitching staff led by CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Tommy Hunter along with a very good bullpen and 1 of the best young closers in the game today in Neftali Feliz I expect the Rangers to pick up right where they left off from their World Series run of last year and I would not be surprised 1 bit if they make it back to the Fall Classic again this year because they really are that good and on opening day they face the new look Boston Red Sox in what could be a potential playoff preview! The LA Angels took a major step back last year but with a solid offense led by big offseason acquisition Vernon Wells from Toronto and Howie Kendrick just to name a few along with a decent pitching staff led by Jered Weaver and a good but not great bullpen led by closer Brian Fuentes the Angels should be in the mix but I think that Texas is just too good so the Angels are out! The Oakland A's picked up Hideki Matsui from the Angels but even his big bat won't be enough to put the A's over the top in the West and as for the Seattle Mariners well they may have Ichiro and 2010 AL Cy Young Winner King Felix Hernandez but as great as those 2 are I expect the Mariners to have another down year at best I'm afraid! Overall I like the Boston Red Sox to come out of the American League this year but watch out for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers as I think that those 4 teams will be the playoff teams this year and any 1 of those 4 are capable of winning the pennant this year! But I think that Boston has the best team right now and they are my early pick to represent the AL in this year's World Series! All I know is that I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out in the very competitive, very fun, and very entertaining American League this year! Stay tuned for part 2 of my MLB Preview as I look at the National League!