Baseball has finally arrived. The American League appears to still be the New York Yankees' to lose, but look for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox to give them a serious challenge.
The AL East should prove an interesting race - and the league's only interesting race, because it's the only one that should provide a two-team competition for the title. We're talking Yankees and Red Sox, as the division's other three teams likely won't be around in October. The Baltimore Orioles have been reeling since their 1996 ALCS loss to the Yankees and will struggle without Cal Ripken's presence in the clubhouse. The Toronto Blue Jays have some promise with a young team featuring power hitting Carlos Delgado, but they don't have the weapons to fight for a division crown. And the Tampa Bay Devil Rays may be the worst team in major league baseball.
The Red Sox, though, are promising despite a turbulent off-season. Ownership changed hands when the Yawkey trust sold the team to the Henry group. Immediate changes took place as General Manager Dan Duquette was fired and, soon after, manager Joe Kerrigan was given his pink slip. The Sox recently hired former Indians and Red Sox bench coach Grady Little, who has a good relationship with many of the players, as he was bench coach with Jimy Williams from 1997-1999. The Sox will boast a potent offense this season with a healthy Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, and Johnny Damon. Acquiring Damon from the A's should help if he puts together a season like he had in 2000, when he compiled a .327 batting average and 46 steals. But Damon experienced a setback last season, hitting only .256 with just 23 steals. Ramirez, acquired a year ago, had a phenomenal season, hitting .306 with 125 RBI's.
The Red Sox will need their offense in gear, though, as they only have a solid starting pitcher once every five games. As usual, as Pedro Martinez goes, so too go the Red Sox. Look for Pedro to return to form and put the Sox into a wild card slot.
The Yankees will have a trio of proven stars on the mound in six time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Mike Mussina, who had a 3.15 era last season. This team is as usual the most complete in the American League, boasting a top-notch offense to go along with its pitching.
The Yanks made the most noise in the AL free agent market by landing former A's first baseman Jason Giambi. Giambi was AL MVP in 2000 and runner up to Ichiro in 2001, and will give the Yankees some much-needed pop. New Uork struggled mightily to produce runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series last season, which ultimately led to a crushing 3-2, ninth-inning defeat in game seven.
The Yankees' MVP, however, has been Mariano Rivera. Considered by most to be the best closer in the game, Rivera has made winning close games an easy task for the Yankees over his last six seasons. With Mariano on the mound when the game is on the line, it's no small task to beat New York.
Don't tell that to the Seattle Mariners, though, who boast a great closer of their own in Kazuhiro Sasaki. Seattle also features Freddy Garcia and Jamie Moyer. Garcia had a 3.00 ERA with a solid 18-6 record.
The M's also boast a tremendous offense. Mr. Reliable, Edgar Martinez, can always be counted on to hit over .300 in the DH role. Bret Boone is coming off a career year in which he hit .331 with 141 RBI's. Also, you can't forget MVP Ichiro Suzuki. The Japanese phenomenon tore up the league on both offense and defense last year, leading the American League in average and winning a gold glove. The only thing that might plague this Mariners club is that so many players had career years last season. A likely regression will leave the Mariners as winners of the West but probably nothing more.
Seattle's main competitor in the West should be the Athletics. Despite the loss of the 2000 MVP to the Yankees, the A's still boast the best young pitching staff in baseball. Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito went a combined 56-25 last season and all had ERA's lower than 3.50.
The Anaheim Angels may be the most intriguing team in the American League. They pulled off a great deal during the offseason, trading oft-injured Mo Vaughn to the New York Mets in exchange for proven winner Kevin Appier. Appier has a career ERA of 3.60, and last season was 5-2 after the All-Star break with 3.53 ERA.
Troy Glaus and Darin Erstad should give the Angels some quality production on the offensive side. Erstad is a tremendous fielder and has a .293 career average. Troy Percival also has been important for the club with 32 saves and a 3.09 ERA last year. Regardless, it seems that the A's and Angels will battle for a meaningless second place finish in the AL West.
The Texas Rangers are again the most overrated team in baseball. They have an eerie resemblance to the Indians of years past. Texas boasts one of the best offensive lineups in baseball with Juan Gonzalez, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro. Unfortunately, the Rangers have almost no pitching. The acquisition of Chan Ho Park will help, but it won't be enough. Therefore, despite A-Rod's 50-plus home run potential, the Rangers will still end the season with a .500 record or worse.
Finally, the AL Central does not feature any serious World Series contenders. Many people still consider the Cleveland Indians a viable contender for the AL Central crown. They still have power hitting first baseman Jim Thome, but they have little else. The losses of Juan Gonzalez and Roberto Alomar will severely hinder their offense. Pitcher Chuck Finely has seen his better days and Bartolo Colon has not lived up to his potential.
The Minnesota Twins, on the other hand, are going in the right direction with some excellent starting pitching. After almost losing the franchise to contraction, the Twins may actually end up winning this division. Eric Milton, Brad Radke, Joe Mays and Rick Reed are all quality pitchers. Milton was 15-7 last season and is on his way up. The Twins, however, have very little in terms of a closer and have next to no offensive pop. While they may be able to win the Central, they will have a tough time against an opponent outside the division.
The Chicago White Sox will look better this season with Frank Thomas back. They have a shot at approaching their 2000 form - when they won the Al Central. Will the Big Hurt's return be enough to get the Chisox into the playoffs? Stay tuned.
