Yankees Talk D-Rob, Headley, Likely Say Sayonora to Kuroda

The postseason is over with the San Francisco Giants sleeping at night with visions of Madison Bumgarner dancing in their heads. It means it's time to get back to the business of baseball or more precisely, getting ready for next year.

First  on the docket is deciding whether to extend a qualifying offer to your team's eligible free agents. The Yankees most certainly will extend an offer to David Robertson, aka "D-Rob", who did a very good job in his first season as a full-time closer. Those who think the Yankees should let him go and immediately install Dellin Betances as closer are either bananas or haven't paid much attention to the games they watched.

Robertson will turn down the offer, which is set this year at $15.3MM, up from $14.1MM from last season. This is Robertson first chance at a multi-year, multimillion dollar deal and there will be plenty of calls to his agents. He would be a fool to accept a one year deal to keep his high socks in the Big Apple.

No player accepted the 2014 qualifying offer last season and that's a pattern that's likely to repeat this season. The exception, though, could be Hiroki Kuroda. Which is wjy the Yankees should NOT extend him a qualifying offer. After a fabulous 2013 season, Kuroda was very erratic this past season, though the team's lack of defense and run production hurt his record and adversely affected the outcome of many of the games he started. He would probably jump on the offer, if he intends to play another season and wants to stay a Yankee. There's no way the Yankees would (should) give him an amount close to that. The Yankees need to reserve their money for younger, talent-rich players. (And no, that doesn't mean an All-Star at every position.)

Though the only starting pitcher, at the moment, the Yankees have under contract and is (somewhat) healthy is Michael Pineda. Since CC Sabathia hasn't thrown a pitch in a Major League game since May 10, he's not yet in the equation. Ivan Nova is coming off Tommy John surgery. Masahiro Tanaka's seven innings in September, after two months off, doesn't inspire confidence, and Brandon McCarthy is also a free agent. David Phelps, Chase Whitley, and Shane Greene are all question marks for consistency, among other things.

In addition to not retaining Kuroda, the Yankees should also not pursue Max Scherzer, who turned down a six-year, $144MM offer from the Detroit Tigers earlier this year, or lefty Jon Lester, who figures to earn a boatload of money as a free agent. While either would be fine acquisitions, their cost is too high, especially for a team with so much money owed to underachieving players.

The Yankees should try to bring back McCarthy, who adapted to well to Yankee Stadium, and James Shields. While Shields does not always live up to that "Big Game" moniker, he'll give you a solid regular season and 200+ innings, and will make less than Scherzer or Lester. Jeff Samardzija is also likely to demand too many greenbacks.

The Yankees liked what they saw in third baseman Chase Headley, though he has not come close to his 2012 offensive production. (31 HR-115 RBI-.875 OPS) Headley was spectacular manning the hot corner and occassionally filled in at first base. Several media outlets reported today the Yankees are already in negotiations for a new contract with the 30-year old Colorado native. It may not be easy though, as Headley is preferred by a number of team to free agent Pablo Sandoval and his expected wish for a big money contract.

Headley had a .768 OPS in 58 games in pinstripes with 6 HR and 17 RBI. While far from spectacular, it was difficult for anyone  on the team to drive in runs when no one was getting on base on a regular basis. The plan would be for Headley to regular man third base with Alex Rodriguez becoming the primary DH.

UPDATE -  The Yankees indeed made an offer to Robertson and bypassed Kuroda.

D4Assignment: Big Names, Big Games in AL Wild Card Contest

James Shields and Jon Lester, dueling aces

It has been 29 years since the Kansas City Royals reached the postseason. 1985 saw the Royals win their one and only World Series Championship. (With a little help from umpire Don Denkinger.) Tuesday night, the Royals will host the Oakland A’s in a one game showdown between the two AL Wild Card winners. To the victor go the spoils and a divisional round match up with the Los Angeles Angels. You know where the losers go.

The A’s have been to the playoffs 11 times during the Royals drought, but haven’t been to the World Series since 1990. Their last World Series title, the ninth in franchise history (The first five were won when they called Philadelphia home), came in the “Earthquake series” with the San Francisco Giants.

The Royals were an expansion team in 1969, two years after the A’s departed Kansas City after a 13-season run. The only prior postseason meeting between the two squads came after the strike-shortened 1981 regular season. The Billy Martin-managed A’s swept KC in three straight games before they were swept in three games by the New York Yankees in the ALCS. It was a disappointing end of the season for Kansas City, which lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies one year earlier.

Read the rest of the article for free (as always)at Designated For Assignment.

Red Sox Will Clean Their Beards With Champagne

The last decade has been full of ups and downs for the Boston Red Sox. There was the blown ALCS to the New York Yankees in 2003, followed a year later by their first World Series championship in 86 years. It would not have been accomplished had they not redeemed themselves by coming back from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the ALCS to advance.

They grabbed another title in 2007, but a playoff bound team collapsed in 2011 and respected manager Terry Francona lost control of the clubhouse (Especially the eating and drinking habits of his pitchers.)

There were the horrible contracts given to Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford that helped to force out boy wonder GM Theo Epstein.  There was the childish behavior of Manny Ramirez and the ornery, expletive filled behavior displayed by one time ace Josh Beckett.  That was topped though by the one and done hire of Bobby Valentine, who alienated himself from most of the team with his behavior and remarks before the regular season was even a week old. Valentine’s squad managed just 69 wins in 2012, but the team was re-born, with some help from the LA Dodgers, when they jettisoned Gonzalez and Crawford and brought in guys like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino. The result was a worst to first turnaround in the AL East and 97 wins under new manager John Farrell.

The current roster is led, of course, by veteran holdovers Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, who brought their usual consistency to the plate. It's a team that can rely on just about anyone in the lineup to come through with a big hit at a big time.

You still don’t without pitching, but with Beckett gone, so were the distractions to Lester and Buchholz, who got back to being two of the best young pitchers in baseball.  Veteran Jake Peavy was picked up from Chicago to solidify the rotation at the deadline, Ryan Dempster was free agent signee, and John Lackey bounced back from surgery to have a solid season.

All of it – the talent, some luck, and a never- give-up-attitude are what will lead the Red Sox to their third World Series championship since 2004.

Make no mistake though, it won't be easy. Their opponents, the St. Louis Cardinals, are nothing like the pushovers the Red Sox beat back in 2004. With veteran ace Adam Wainwright and red hot rookie Michael Wacha, the Cardinals have the starting pitching to hang with anyone. A strong bullpen anchored by closer Trevor Rosenthal should do a much better job of closing out games than the Detroit Tigers did in the ALCS.

I do believe in teams of destiny, however, and this Red Sox team is one of them. Whether you watch this series or listen to it on the radio, you will hear about the way the Red Sox grind out at-bats - they led the Major Leagues in pitches seen per at-bat this season. You will hear it so often that it may be prefaced by "I don't want to beat a dead horse, but..."  Most of the championship teams in the last 20 years did the same thing (see Yankees dynasty from 1996-2000.)

Backing up the rotation of Lester, a revived Lackey, Buchholz, Dempster and Peavy has been a solid, clutch bullpen. It was a bullpen that got even better when the pitching of veteran Koji Uehara said “this role is mine!”

The Red Sox dealt for closer Jack Hanrahan prior to the season, but he was felled by surgery and never pitched a regular season game. Often injured Andrew Bailey failed at the role that earned him the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2009 and then was injured and out for the season as well. Uehara stepped in and stepped up. He is not your typical closer. He doesn't have an upper 90s fastball or a cutter that no one can hit. But he does throw a nasty splitter that has allowed him to strike out 10.4 batters per 9 innings for his career. (He had struck out a career high 12.2 this season).

A very pleasant surprise for Farrell has been the pitching of Journeyman left-hander Craig Breslow.  The eight year veteran was picked up at the 2012 trade deadline for Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik. Not exactly a head turning move. But Breslow, who was on the Sox in 2006, has done a great job on…right-handed hitters. That's no typo; Breslow has held righties to a .581 OPS and has faced more hitters in the right batter's box than he has from the left side. He’s mixed 90-mph two- and four-seam fastballs with a 75-mph cutter and an occasional changeup and slider to keep hitters honest.

There’s also 25-year old rookie right-hander Brandon Workman, who has struck out 10.2 batters per 9 innings in his first year in the bigs. Though he still has some control issues, Farrell does not hesitate to throw Workman into the mix in setting up the bridge to Uehara.

For all of the reasons stated up, that good old word, intangibles, and destiny, the Sox should be popping a cork or two after six games. Then maybe someone can hose them down and shave those beards off.

Sometimes You Win On High Holy Days, Sometimes You Lose

35 years ago I sat on the floor of our sun parlor, in my lucky seat in front of the couch. Two years earlier that's where I was when I was whispered, "How about a home run?" as Chris Chambliss approached the plate against Mark Littell in Game 5 of the ALCS.  In 1978 it was the Yankees and Boston Red Sox who needed a 163rd game to determine the AL East division winner. No wild card teams back then.

It was Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish New Year and the only reason that schools were closed on a sunny Monday afternoon. Rather than attend temple, our congregation met in front of a 17" color TV. The Yankees stud ace Ron Guidry was having a career year and gutted his way to his 25th win with plenty of help from the bullpen. Everyone, of course, knows that the biggest moment of the game was when the Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent earned an off-color nickname when he gave the Yankees the lead for good with a 3-run home run off former teammate Mike Torrez.  The team went on to win the World Series, their last until Joe Torre and company restored order in 1996.

Yesterday, Saturday, was Yom Kippur. The "Day of Atonement"...and boy did the Yankees have plenty of atoning to do afterwards. I sat on our leather sofa, which has witnessed one World Series title, as Jon Lester dominated the Yankees in a 5-1 Red Sox win. It left the interlocking NY's three games behind both Texas and Tampa Bay in the AL wild card standings. The Yankees stud ace CC Sabathia continued his 2013 struggles; he lasted six innings, and allowed the five runs on nine hits and four walks. He lost his career worst 13th game.

While neither of these teams are as good as their 1978 ancestors, the Red Sox have set themselves apart in the AL East, one year after they won 69 games and finished last in the division. The Los Angeles Dodgers helped them out by taking Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Adrian Gonzalez off their hands last season. GM Ben Cherington and company then picked up Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara, and Mike Carp prior to the season. All of them have contributed to the Sox success as has Jake Peavy who was acquired at the trade deadline. Most importantly they got rid of self-absorbed manager Bobby Valentine and hired their former pitch coach John Farrell, who had been the manager in Toronto, and was very popular with the team.

The Yankees, of course, added to their injury list in the series as they do most every game. Brett Gardner was lost the other night after he strained his oblique. Alfonso Soriano was scratched from Saturday's game due to a sprained thumb. And so it goes...just as they did a week ago the Yankees hope they can salvage one game in a series with Boston. Better say your prayers.

Pitching Matchups Set For Boston Series

Kuroda needs to get the Yankees off on the right foot with his right arm

From the Star Ledger:

FRIDAY: Hiroki Kuroda (11-10, 2.99 ERA) v. John Lackey (9-12, 3.48 ERA).

SATURDAY: CC Sabathia (13-12, 4.82 ERA) v. Jon Lester (13-8, 3.86 ERA).

SUNDAY: Ivan Nova (8-4, 3.17 ERA) v. Clay Buchholz (10-0, 1.61 ERA).

You get to suffer through a FOX telecast on Saturday and an ESPN telecast on Sunday night. I recommend the mute button.

So Much For 162-0, Yankees Look For First Win With Kuroda

I haven't had a chance to write about Monday's dismal opener, though you have listened to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman (as I regretfully did), you would have though the Yankees played better than they did.

I  would like to say things started out well, but former American Idol contestant turned Broadway/Off-Broadway actor/singer Constantine Maroulis absolutely butchered the National Anthem. The rest of the day was followed by short spurts of optimism followed by long stretches of garbage.

CC Sabathia breezed through the first inning and it looked like it was a great day. Then Sabathia got hammered in the second inning for four runs. He lost command of his fastball, which never got above 91 and was at 89 most of the day (per brooksbaseball.net), and couldn't make the big pitch when he needed it. Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. made his MLB debut and drew a walk in the Sabathia meltdown. He hadn't played above Double-A last year.

Hopefully this is just a matter of building arm strength since Sabathia is still recovering from off-season elbow surgery.  More optimism came in the 4th inning when Francisco Cervelli delivered a two-out, two-run single off starter Jon Lester to cut the lead in half. But the Yankees lineup failed in the clutch the rest of the day.

Down 5-2 in the 7th, Cervelli and Brett Gardner drew lead off walks, but Eduardo Nunez, Robinson Cano, and Kevin Youkilis all struck out. With the game still close in the 9th, Joe Girardi went to Joba Chamberlain to hold the deficit where it was. When Chamberlain caught the inning's lead-off hitter, Will Middlebrooks, looking at a called third strike, Sterling exclaimed "Joba's all the way back!"

Chamberlain then gave up a walk, a hit, issued another walk, a two-run single, and an RBI single. Sterling was right, Joba pretty much pitched like he aways does.

The final indignity was a look at the almost completely empty Yankee Stadium seats when the Yankees came to bat in the bottomof the 9th inning. Yes, it was freezing, the sun had been replaced by darkening clouds and light rain, but had this been a close game and the fans weren't already disappointed before the season started, the place would have still been at last half full.

So after a day off (one of the most ridiculous practices in all of baseball), the fans will freeze their butts off as the second game of the series is played tonight (Wednesday). Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees best starter in 2011, goes against Clay Buchholz, who is 2-5, 7.19 against the Yankees in his career.

Robinson Cano (12-25 1 HR 3 RBI), Lyle Overbay (6-22, 4 BB) have the best numbers, among those still standing, against Buchholz. Kuroda was 2-0, 3.60 in five starts against Boston last year. Both wins came at home when Kuroda limited the Red Sox to five earned runs in 23 innings pitched (1.96 ERA).

With Beasts of AL East Gone, Division Up For Grabs

There seems to be no grey area when the so-called experts talk about the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. One or both teams will compete for the AL East crown or will crash roughly into the basement. One thing is for sure, the divisional race will be a five team free-for-all.

Yankees - The two-time defending AL East champs are in a bind, but no one is feeling sorry for them. The team has been beset by injuries, gone on a payroll slashing spree, and has aged seemingly overnight. They won 95 games last year, but some of the keys to that team are either gone (Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, Rafael Soriano) or on the disabled list (Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira).

What remains is a pretty good starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and either Ivan Nova or David Phelps. Mariano Rivera is back after missing almost all of 2012 with a torn ACL and is joined by David Robertson, Boone Logan, Joba Chamberlain, and Shawn Kelley to form a strong pen.

But the Yankees have several question marks about their offense and defense.  The Yankees relied heavily on the long ball last year to win games, but much of the power is now gone. Joe Girardi will instead depend on Brett Gardner to set the table as the lead off man. Gardner played only 16 games last year due to a surgically repaired elbow, causing the team to not be able to play much small ball.  His game is especially critical with Jeter out indefinitely as he continues to repair the ankle he broke in last year's post-season. An average between .270 and .280, a decent amount of walks, and 40+ steals are a must by Gardner.

Robinson Cano is now the go to guy in the lineup, the team's best hitter. The Gold Glove second baseman destroyed international pitching in the World Baseball Classic (1.296 OPS) and was commended for his leadership by Yankees bench coach and manager of the Dominican Republic entry, Tony Pena.

Cano slugged 33 home runs, knocked in 94 runs and had a career best .929 OPS in 2012.  The Yankees need him to repeat those type of numbers as well as improve his hitting with runners in scoring position (.268) and RISP with two outs (.207). They'll also need to find someone to bat behind Cano's third spot to give him some protection in the order.

Kevin Youkilis in a Yankees uniform? No way...wayyyyy. Timing is everything in life; back in 2003 Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone sent the Bronx Bombers to the World Series with a walk off solo home run in Game 7 of the ALCS. That winter Boone tore up his knee playing basketball prompting the Yankees to deal for Alex Rodriguez after Texas' deal with the Red Sox fell through.

This past off-season Rodriguez had hip surgery that opened a spot in the Yankees lineup. Youkilis banished from Boston at last season's trade deadline, signed a one year deal with the Yankees to fill the void. As it turns out Youkilis will non-simultaneously fill two voids. With Mark Teixeira sidelined with an injured tendon in his right wrist, Youkilis might see considerable playing time at first base when the opposing pitchers starts a left-hander.

Speaking of Teixeira, he and Swisher are both switch-hitters which made things tougher on opposing managers. But with Teixeira sidelined and Swisher now in Cleveland, the Yankees do not have a switch-hitter in their lineup. The Yankees may very well have three straight left-handers at the top of their lineup - Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, and Cano - even when a left-hander is starting for the opposition.

The Yankees will need a healthy Teixeira, who is overly optimistic about a May 1 return, to come back healthy and with some strength in his wrist. He still faces the possibility of season ending surgery on the partially torn sheath.

The return of Curtis Granderson will be another huge step forward for the Yankees. Granderson had the bone in his right forearm broken in this year's first Spring Training game. (Thanks a lot J.A. Happ.) Granderson hit 43 home runs last year, but his overall at-bats were nowhere nearly as proficient as they were in 2011 when he hit 41 home runs and led the league in RBI (119) and runs scored (136). His OPS dipped over 100 points last season, he stole just 10 bases, and he struck out a ridiculous 195 times.

Granderson's 169 strikeouts in 2011 were too high as well, but it was tolerable due to everything else he brought to the table. The Yankees need Granderson to have a season more like the one he had with the Detroit Tigers in 2007 when he had 20+ doubles, triples, home runs, stolen bases, hit .302 and slugged .552.

With those two power sources out, Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Brennan Boesch, and Ben Francisco are going to need to pick up the slack. (My guestimate is that Hafner will be DL'ed or released by mid-Summer.)

Lastly, the Yankees need for their captain to get healthy sooner rather than later, but they may have no choice. Ankles don't heal quickly and Jeter's is no exception to the rule. He had a phenomenal season with the bat in 2012 after a resurgence in the second half of 2011. His return to the lineup would also allow Girardi to mix up the right- and left-handed hitters. Jeter is also the face, heart, soul, and emotion of the ball club, and the Yankees could use a big dose of all of those.

Red Sox- The downfall of the Red Sox in 2012 actually began in 2011 when, on the verge of a playoff appearance, they collapsed down the stretch and went home with no post-season plans. There was the chicken eating/beer drinking controversy among the starting rotation and the thought that manager Terry Francona had lost control of the team.

Francona was fired, and over the objection of GM Ben Cherington, the organization hired Bobby Valentine. The move turned out to be a disaster. Whereas Francona was a players' manager, Valentine never connected with the squad and the team finished in last place with just 69 wins.

Cherington and company started the team makeover at the trade deadline last year when he dealt injured/under achieving Carl Crawford, whiny/sapped of power Adrian Gonzalez, and Non-leader leader and pain in the rump Josh Beckett to the LA Dodgers. In the off-season they brought in character guys Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli, and traded for closer Joel Hanrahan to strengthen their bullpen. They also signed free agent Ryan Dempster to try to solidify the starting rotation.

With Beckett gone, Jon Lester is now the ace, but he must revert to his pre-2012 performance. New manager/former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell needs Clay Buchholz and John Lackey to stay healthy and perform at a high level.

The Red Sox are counting on David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury staying healthy to help Dustin Pedroia in the lineup and on youngsters Jackie Bradley Jr. and shortstop Jose Iglesias to perform like veterans. In Iglesias' case, at least until Stephen Drew returns from a concussion. Ortiz is already on the 15-day DL with troublesome heels- not a good omen for Boston.

Rays - Some teams like to flaunt their prospects, talk about how great they are, especially their pitchers. Neither the Tampa Bay Rays or the Oakland A's need to do that. They just continue to churn out guys that know how to pitch and are successful. The unfortunate side for both squads is they have to deal them away when the big contracts come into play.

The Rays have dealt Matt Garza and James Shields as they were on the brink of a big payday. But Joe Maddon can still turn to David Price (20-5, 2.56, 200+ innings for the fourth straight year), last year's AL Cy Young Award winner. He'll be followed by stars in the making Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore, promising youngster Alex Cobb, and veteran Roberto Hernandez (the former Fausto Carmona, beat out Jeff Niemann for the 5th spot).

Fernando Rodney was one of the most inconsistent relievers in all of baseball from 2002-2011. Then last year he was suddenly unhittable and saved 48 games in 50 attempts. He's joined by a host of power arms that gives the Rays an outstanding bullpen.

Offense has been an issue with the Rays for years, especially when their best hitter, Evan Longoria, is out of the lineup. Longoria missed 29 games in 2011, and a much more damaging 88 last year. Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations/VP Andrew Friedman brought in second baseman Kelly Johnson and shortstop Yunel Escobar to help boost a lineup that finished 18th out of 30 teams last year in runs scored.

The Rays also need Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings to continue to grow as offensive forces and Wil Myers (acquired for Shields and Wade Davis) waiting in the wings, but Longoria's health remains the key to success.

Orioles - Baltimore took everyone but themselves by surprise last year when they won 93 games and earned a wild card spot. They then knocked off the two time defending AL pennant champion Texas Rangers in the one game wild card playoff before losing in five games to the Yankees in the division series.

Buck Showalter's squad got big performances from rookies Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen, and a career-best year from veteran Jason Hammel. Closer Jim Johnson came into his own with a 51 save season to lead a solid bullpen.

Offensively, Chris Davis had a bust out year, Adam Jones shone like the star scouts always thought he would be, and catcher Matt Wieters produced his second consecutive solid season with the bat. Third baseman Manny Machado, a natural shortstop, played in 51 regular season games and played like 10-year veteran and not a 19-year old rookie. Imagine what they might do if second baseman Brian Roberts could ever stay healthy.

As a team, the Orioles got things done when they needed to. They were a phenomenal 29-9 in one run games, the best winning percentage (.763) in the modern era. The team also won 16 straight extra inning contests and did it all by using 12 different starting pitchers.

The O's are going to find it difficult to repeat the level of last year's play unless they can get a steady performance from their starting rotation and not have their offense fade away as it did in the playoffs.

Blue Jays - Toronto is the last team written about here, but they won't be near the bottom of the AL East standings. Though I am not going to go crazy on the Blue Jays bandwagon as many people have, the team's off-season moves have made them a formidable opponent.

This past November, the Miami Marlins, in one of their notorious salary dumping move, dealt veteran pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes, and utility man Emil Bonifacio  to the Jays for four young Major Leaguers and three minor leaguers.

It cost them highly touted prospect Travis d'Arnaud, but Toronto then added NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey through a trade with the Mets. If Johnson stays healthy, Brandon Morrow gets more consistent, and Ricky Romero can revert to pre-2012 form, the Blue Jays starting staff is one to be reckoned with.

The bullpen is of major concern though with closer Casey Janssen  and former closer Sergio Santos both returning from shoulder surgery. The Blue Jays hope both are healthy in which case Santos will have ample opportunity to win back the job the Jays acquired him for after the 2011 season.

The two biggest question marks on offense are, is Jose Bautista healthy and can Edwin Encarnacion come anywhere near repeating his 2012 season? After winning two straight AL home run titles, Bautista went down with the injury that is now plaguing the Yankees' Mark Teixeira. After missing a month of the 2012 season, Bautista returned for two games in August, but was immediately shut down and required surgery to stabilize the tendon in his left wrist. He appears ready to go this year after he hit six home runs in Spring Training  and compiled a 1.000+ OPS.

Encarnacion has always been a player that has the burden of potential. Last year he realized it when he had career years in almost every offensive category, including 41 HR, 110 RBI, and a .941 OPS. Everyone doubted that Bautista could repeat his 2010 season when he slugged 54 home runs, but he followed that up with a 43 home run performance. Can Encarnacion follow suit?

The answer here is somewhat so; I would expect the 30-year old to be closer to 30 home runs and his RBI potential will depend on the risks the team took when they acquired Colby Rasmus last season and signed free agent/busted PED user Melky Cabrera.

Expect the Blue Jays to score plenty of runs either way, home and away. One final note- very odd choice to bring John Gibbons back as manager after being the skipper from 2004-2008.

Predictions:

So there you have the team by team preview of the AL East. So who wins the division and where do the Yankees fit?

1. Tampa Bay takes the AL East due to their combination of starting pitching and bullpen. They should also be improved offensively.

2. Toronto; the Blue Jays will have plenty of offense and solid starting pitching. The bullpen should be the only issue (outside of unpredictable injuries) that could sink their season. Otherwise they'll compete for one of the two wild card spots.

3. Yankees; the starting rotation and bullpen will get the job done, but the team is short on offensive firepower and looking to catch lightning in a bottle with guys like Vernon Wells and Brennan Boesch. If Granderson, Teixeira, and Jeter  (and what of Alex Rodriguez?) can return and contribute the team could slide up to second place and a wild card slot. But the feeling here is they will miss the playoffs for just the second time since the 1993 season.

4. Orioles; there would be plenty of outrage in Baltimore at this prediction. The Orioles starting rotation doesn't intimidate anyone and too many things would have to go right to win 90+ games again, especially with Toronto's improvement. Baltimore will give everyone a hard time though.

5. Red Sox; there should be no shock here. The Sox were in last place last year and didn't improve enough to get back to .500. Even before he was hurt, Lackey was struggling. Victorino isn't the player he once was and Napoli is overrated offensively.

Let's Get This Party Started - Red Sox vs. Yankees

Enough whining about pay cuts, and age, and injuries. Opening Day and its clean slate is here.

CC Sabathia faces off against Jon Lester. Two left-handers who had their problems last season. Sabathia with a bothersome left elbow that needed surgery and Lester, who was ineffective for the majority of the season.  But that was then, this is now.

Two teams that are getting crapped on by all bunch of baseball experts. But none of that matters or how many games a  team should or shouldn't win. That's why they play 162.

The lineup should go something like this:

CF Brett Gardner
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Robinson Cano
1B Kevin Youkilis
DH Ben Francisco
LF Vernon Wells
SS Eduardo Nunez
3B Jayson Nix
  C Chris Stewart
  P CC Sabathia

The Red Sox lineup will reportedly be:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
RF Shane Victorino
2B Dustin Pedroia
1B Mike Napoli
3B Will Middlebrooks
DH Jonny Gomes
  C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
LF Jackie Bradley Jr.
SS Jose Iglesias
  P Jon Lester

PLAY BALL

Yankees Can't Find Pulse in Boston

You've gotta have heart
All you really need is heart

The two lines above are the opening lines to "You Gotta Have Heart", one of the best known songs from the musical/movie, "Damn Yankees". It's the story of the hapless Washington Senators who are always falling well short of beating the big, bad Yankees.

Only these days it's the Yankees fans saying "Damn Yankees" at a team that seems to be playing with a lack of heart. You could hear and read a variety of cursing last night when the newest Yankee-killer, Pedro Ciriaco, slid across home plate with the winning run in Boston's 4-3 victory in the first of a three game series at Fenway Park.

David Robertson (1-7) had struck out the side in the 8th before Ciriaco pulled a one-out pitch, that was well of the strike zone, into left field for a base hit in the 9th. Mike Aviles then reached on an infield single that Derek Jeter tracked down in the hole between short and third, but had no play.

Jacoby Ellsbury delivered the only well hit ball of the inning, a base hit to right field, that scored the speedy Ciriaco just ahead of a strong throw from Ichiro Suzuki. The loss combined with a Baltimore win over Tampa Bay, put the Yankees back into a first place tie with the team that calls Camden Yards home.

As has been the case for weeks now, the game never should have been close. The Yankees had countless opportunities against Boston starter Jon Lester, who walked seven batters, but wasn't sent to the showers until Jeter's bloop ground-rule double to right gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the 6th inning.

Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda put in a decent performance, but immediately gave up the lead when he surrendered Dustin Pedroia's 15th home run of the season in the bottom of the 6th.

The Yankees immediately threatened when Jeter started the game with a walk and Nick Swisher snapped out of his Oh-for-September with a double. But Alex Rodriguez's grounder to Ciriaco at third didn't advance the runners and when the Yankees did score it came as the result of another out- a Robinson Cano ground out.

Lester put himself in more trouble by walking Steve Pearce and Russell Martin to load the bases, but Curtis Granderson, who drove in five runs on Sunday, fouled out to end the threat.

Jayson Nix reached safely with a one out double in the 2nd inning, but was stranded. A-Rod and Cano started the 3rd with walks, but were stranded. Another lead off walk to Andruw Jones in the 4th inning produced nothing and Martin's two-out double an inning later added to the left-on-base total.

The Red Sox had taken a 2-1 lead in the 4th when Ciriaco led off with a double and scored two batters later on one of Ellsbury's four hits. After a stolen base, Pedroia delivered one of his three hits to put Boston ahead.

The Red Sox bullpen only allowed two base runners over the final three-plus innings, and one of those was erased when pinch-runner Eduardo Nunez was thrown out in the 9th on a stolen base attempt.

Notes

Joba Chamberlain had one of his best performances when he entered the 7th inning with the bases loaded and one out. He got pinch-hitter to bounce out into a force at home and retired Pedroia on a pop up to Jeter.

Boston closer Andrew Bailey, who missed most of the season, threw a scoreless 9th inning to record his first win of the year.

Ciriaco, who also made a couple of outstanding defensive plays, is now 17-35 (.486) against the Yankees with  an 1.157 OPS. The slim six-footer is hitting .265 (40-151) against the rest of baseball.

The Captain and The Kid Rock The Sox

With their off-season signings, their returning players, and all the hype that surrounded the Boston Red Sox during spring training, it's hard to imagine just how tough things are for the old towne team right now. Jon Lester, one of the most dependable starters in the American League, couldn't make it out of the 3rd inning on Saturday as the Yankees belted Boston 9-1 to shrink the Sox wild card lead to just 1.5 games over Tampa Bay.

Derek Jeter capped a six run 2nd inning with a 3-run home run to the opposite field and Jesus Montero later homered and drove in four runs for the game. Lester allowed eight earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched and has now allowed 18 earned runs in 13.2 innings over his last three starts.

Montero helped his cause for making the post-season roster with an RBI single in the 2nd, a 2-run double in the 3rd, and a frozen rope home run to right in the 6th. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman must decide if Montero's bat justifies him on the squad as the backup catcher as well. Jorge Posada is likely to make the team as well, with Austin Romine left out. Meaning the Yankees hope Russell Martin stays healthy throughout.

Freddy Garcia earned his 12th win and probably a Game 3 start in the ALDS by tossing six shutout innings.

AL Playoff Rotations Forming

The Yankees' Joe Girardi knows he has CC Sabathia to start Game 1 of the ALDS against either the Detroit Tigers or Texas Rangers (or by some miracle the Los Angeles Angels) and Ivan Nova to go in either Game 2 or 3. But the rest is up in the air.

Perhaps Freddy Garcia solidified a spot on Saturday afternoon with six shutout innings in a win against the struggling Boston Red Sox. So who starts Game 4? Bartolo Colon? A.J. Burnett? CC Sabathia on 3 days rest?

Colon has allowed five or more earned runs in four of his last seven starts. He's been particularly bad in his last two starts; he allowed six earned runs in four innings against Tampa Bay (after eight days off) and followed that up with a seven run (five earned) outburst in three innings against Toronto.

Burnett's been miserable the entire second half with a couple of sprinkles of decent thrown in. In a word: non-trustworthy.

So that means CC Sabathia on three days rest for Game 4; something the big guy hasn't had a problem with in the past. There's no question that Sabathia hasn't been as sharp in the second half as was in the first. Some blame coming back from not one, but two rain delays in the same game, while others point to the use of a six man rotation. Whatever the reason, the Yankees will need Sabathia to be on top of his game if they are to make any kind of a run this post-season. Which means he'll likely be the Game 4 starter with Nova, on regular rest, starting the "if necessary" Game 5.


Detroit's Jim Leyland has made it easy. He has steadfastly said that his ace and the sure winner of the AL Cy Young, Justin Verlander, will not be brought back on three days rest. That means Verlander in Games 1 and 5, Doug Fister in Game 2, Max Scherzer in Game 3, and Rick Porcello in Game 4.


The Texas Rangers will use C.J. Wilson to start things off, but then Ron Washington has some decisions to make. It's likely he'll call on left-handers in the first three games with Derek Holland and Matt Harrison pitching Games 2 and 3 (possibly in the reverse order). If Washington doesn't want to go with Wilson on three day's rest, he'll choose from right-handers Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando. Lewis is the likely choice with the way Ogando has struggled in the second half. Washington could also mix things up by starting Lewis in Game 2 since his numbers are much better on the road than at home. Ogando, meanwhile, will move to the pen where he was outstanding in 2010.


If Boston holds on to the wild card, they are two games ahead of Tampa Bay after Saturday's play, Josh Beckett goes in Games 1 and 5, followed by Jon Lester. John Lackey is likely to be the number three starter with Erik Bedard in Game 4. Tim Wakefield will step in if any of the starters have a physical issue.

Terry Francona has to be worried about the normally reliable Lester, who is 0-3 in his last three starts with 18 earned runs allowed in just 13.2 innings pitched. In years past Beckett would have gone on three days rest in Game 4, but with his back issues that is not a scenario Boston can/should use.

The Outsiders

If Tampa Bay does ease Boston out of the final spot, David Price, James Shields, and Jeremy Hellickson are likely to get the five starts. It all depends, of course, on if the final playoff spot comes down to the final day. If Tampa Bay needs a fourth starter, they'll go to Jeff Niemann. If Niemann's back isn't healthy, than Wade Davis will get the nod.

The easiest thing for any team do is just go out and win three straight and then we don't have to all worry about who is pitching when.