The AL East On This Baseball '07 Eve Day

It's Sunday, April 1st. Happy April Fool's Day. I'd like to give you my version, a neat and trim one, of how I think the American League East will turn out. Will it be the Yankees leading the pack? Or the rotation heavy Red Sox? The answer to that is.....YES. I'll explain.
The keys to Red Sox success this year can be broken down to four parts. And everyone knows it. In fact, after I finished this article the Hartford Courant smacked into my front door. We get it later on Sundays, and they throw it hard against the front door, hard enough to wake up the household. These days that's only me, and I'm awake anyways. But I'll remember those front door crashes at Christmas time. And lo and behold. These next four points were featured prominently in the Courant's 2007 forecast. Like I said, everyone is aware of these keystones to Sox success. Number one is the Papelbon shoulder. If it remains strong and healthy, the bullpen is a strong plus, but without a healthy Paps, the 'pen AND the team are an average bunch of ninnies. Second, the back end of the bullpen....can it get the club through the seventh and eighth innings with the lead? If the answer is yes and the ball is handed to Paps with a lead in the ninth, good things will happen. VERY GOOD THINGS. Third, is the Sox batting order 6-9 strong enough? We know about 1-5.....up there with the best in baseball. But Lowell, Tek, Crisp and Peds? Only time will tell. I think Lowell and Tek will find their hitting shoes soon. Coco Crisp, if he remains healthy, will be just fine, and Peds will learn and improve as he goes. And the last keystone point is this. How will the new guys do, most notably Julio Lugo and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Lugo will hit and he will get on base. His glove is more suspect. I hope for the best. Lugo's spring training has showed us all of the possible defensive liabilities he has, but some of the plusses, too. As for Daisuke, his last two spring training starts were ones where control was the issue. He had a tough time finding the plate, almost as tough a time as the batters had of putting the bat on the ball. And America itself is a learning experience for him. Again, time will tell, but the rotation, 1-4, is solid, with Jon Lester waiting in the wings. And I think Julian Tavarez will be good for 6, and eventually 7 gritty innings.
The Yankees are going with a proven trio of starting pitchers-Mussina, Wang and Pettitte. Pettitte, if he stays away from injuries, will help this club immensely. But that's a HUGE if. Their number 5 starter, Igawa, will help the club too. But he is more of a question mark. And their number four, Carl Pavano....who knows with him? He could win 16 games or he could be hurt in April.
As for the Yankee batting lineup, it's quite simple. They have the best in baseball when you're talking about power and offense. No worries there. The defense at first is a question mark, but they are fairly solid defensively all the way around the diamond. Sure, Posada is getting older, but to them, he is invaluable, irreplaceable. The EXACT same thing goes for old Mo'. Mariano Rivera. Like Paps, the Yankees' season rests on his gritty and grizzled arm. The Blue Jays made several upgrades offensively and to their pitching staff. They can bash the ball with the best of 'em. And that's scary. The loss of the Orioles' Chris Benson will hurt them, but their bullpen is sound and they can hit. Modestly. Tampa Bay? They have a new manager. That's the most I can say about the Florida club.
So where does this leave us in early October? OK. Remember my very first paragraph when I say this, and don't throw tomatoes, or anything! I think it's a toss up between the Red Sox and the Yankees. Injuries could and will be the difference. That's how close I think these two clubs are RIGHT NOW. On paper. Nobody ever won or lost anything on paper. That'll never happen, not in this reality we know of as earth. The Blue Jays will finish third on the strength of their strength....hitting. And then there are the O's and Rays. That's how I see the AL East RIGHT now, but don't blink. Don't breathe. Well, go ahead and breathe, or the season would be a short one. Oh, let's see, maybe 4 minutes long. Things can change in the time it takes to throw ONE pitch. And it will. We have to hope that if there are any bigtime changes, they will benefit the team we love, the 2007 Boston Red Sox.
And now it's time to PLAY BALL. A happy hour game on Monday afternoon. 4:10 pm, from waterfalled KC. Enjoy, but I'll be back before season's start. Any comments? Do you want to rip me to shreds for not specifying an actual AL East winner. Your turn! As it always is here at Peter's Red Sox Forever. Thanks for reading, my good friends. If you ever have the need to email me, my email addy is right there on my profile. So enjoy your Sunday. And GO SOX '07. To greatness. And beyond.
I forgot to mention. Do you want negativity? Then click on the title of this post for an article from the South Boston Enterprise. I could pick the author apart point by point, but I'd rather have you, my wonderful readers, do exactly that. A totally pessimistic view of our Red Sox. But we have 162 games staring us right in our faces. And I for one say this. "Bring it on!" And your comments? Yes, I'm waiting to read them. Happy Sunday!!