AL East (Last Season's Record) Projected Record for 2009

1.  Tampa Bay Rays (95-67) 93-69

Lost:  Cliff Floyd, Rocco Baldelli

Added:  Jason Isringhausen

The Rays seem as though they lack some offensive depth and a sure-thing bullpen, but Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza are one of the top three "Top 3's" in baseball, and the addition of a full-time David Price is simply terrifying.  The last thing I remember from last season is seeing Price come out of the bullpen in the playoff series against the Sox and thinking to myself "My god, I can't believe I forgot they had this guy in the 'pen!  Well, there's always next year..."  Now, adding that ferociously talented arm to the rotation for a full season seems to make them the team to beat in the powerful East.

There's a fairly good chance the big 3 in the east will beat each other into a bloody pulp for 57 games, resulting in neither the Yankees, Red Sox nor the Rays reaching 90 wins, but something tells me they'll feast on the rest of the league enough to compensate.  With the returning core of Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena, the Rays may just have the upper hand in the best division in baseball.

2.  Boston Red Sox (95-67) 92-70

Added:  Brad Penny, Rocco Baldelli, John Smoltz, Josh Bard, Takashi Saito

Lost:  Coco Crisp

The Red Sox had by far the best offseason no one seemed to hear about.  Adding depth at crucial positions (outfield to spell J.D. "Made from Grandma's China" Drew, bullpen and starting rotation made them a superior team to last year's version on paper.  In case of a temporary loss of Josh Beckett (due to blisters), Tim Wakefield (due to, well age), or John Smoltz (already missing the first half of the season following surgery), the Sox have compensated by adding Brad Penny, and having young and hungry minor leaguers Michael Bowden and Clay Buchholz just waiting for another crack at the bigs.

Add a deep, talented rotation to a seemingly perfect combination of power (David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay), speed (Jacoby Ellsbury, Julio Lugo) average (Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell), and a lineup that will likely alternate lefty-right every batter, and you've got a deep, dangerous team built for the long haul and a serious playoff run.  

3.  New York Yankees (89-73) 88-74

Lost:  Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu

Added:  C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira

Making more noise than any other team this offseason, the Yankees came up with their own bailout package, doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to add three players to a team which missed the playoffs entirely last season.  However, I'm not sure the Yanks filled any of the needs that caused them to miss the big dance last year.

In letting Abreu and Giambi go, they traded Giambi's 30 home runs and 96 RBIs for Teixeira's 33 home runs and 121 RBIs.  Then, they lost Abreu's 100, 20, 100 for some combination of Melky Cabrera's 42, 8, 37 or Brett Gardner's completely unknown abilities.  Although they will have Xavier Nady patrolling right this season, who had a fantastic season between Pittsburgh and New York in '08 at 76, 25, 47, it is a mystery what he'll manage to come up with in the AL East, against the likes of Roy Halladay, Jon Lester, Shaun Marcum and the rest of the aforementioned co-aces of the AL East.  It also should be mentioned that Nady, who turned 30 last year, has never hit above .300 except for '08, when he hit only .268 once he went to the Yankees.  Is their offense improved by adding Mark Teixeira to the offense?  Of course.  Is it going to make that much of a difference after losing Abreu, and having the decreasingly effective and increasingly injury-prone Hideki Matsui at DH?  That remains to be seen, but somehow I doubt it.

But wait, we're not finished yet.  The Yankees also shelled out another couple of billion dollars for defensive end C.C. Sabathia, who has a combined April/postseason ERA that one would probably need NASA to calculate, and A.J. Burnett, whose maddeningly inconsistent career doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of the opposition, especially since the injury-prone fireballer just turned 32.  Rounding out the rotation are Chien Ming-Wang ('08 ERA 4.07 and missing half the season due to injury), Andy Pettitte (who turns 37 in June and hasn't posted an ERA in the American League under 4 since 2002), and Joba Chamberlain (nothing to say here, he's great).

As if that weren't enough, team captain and anchor Derek Jeter turns 35 this season.  And, do I have to remind everyone of the horrendous statistics of players following a steroids scandal, not to mention Rodriguez's pre-season hip injury?  This team will win a lot of games because of its sheer star power, but compared to the sturdy foundations emerging in Tampa and Boston, this team is a brewing disaster.  I absolutely can't wait to watch it unfold.

4.  Toronto Blue Jays (86-76) 81-81

Lost:  A.J. Burnett

Added:  Kevin Millar

Take a mediocre season, subtract an 18 game winner, and what do you have?  An annoying .500 team that will beat the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox into submission on the lego-land astro-turf at the Rogers Centre, then lie down like dogs for the rest of the league or when visiting these same teams.  Write it down right now.  The Jays will sweep each of the top three teams in the AL East at home at least once each this season, and follow up these amazing performances with endless losing streaks that will undoubtedly cause Blue Jay fans to daydream about jumping from the CN Tower.

5.  Baltimore Orioles (68-93) 63-99

Added:  Ty Wigginton, Rich Hill, Felix Pie

Lost:  Kevin Millar

In his attempt to get back with on the Red Sox, Kevin Millar overshot his landing by a few hundred miles and ended up in Toronto.  In doing so, he sucked out what energy this team had left them with what will be a sickening combination of inexperienced young talent and a pinch of true talent.  Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff are fantasy studs, but with a supporting cast of "Melvin Mora and the Kids That Are Young Enough to be My Kids" and a starting rotation and bullpen barely capable of pitching themselves out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning of the Little League World Series, it's a lost cause for the O's this year.  The upside?  Watching Nick Markakis smack home runs, and Adam Jones develop into a star.  If you're a fan of the black and orange, you'd better get used to the idea of taking enjoyment in these small things, because watching the Yanks, Sox and Rays beat these pitchers into embarrassment 19 times per season will drive you banana-sandwich otherwise.

Coming Tomorrow:  AL Central Preview